Groundswell and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) designed the Traffic Safety Sign Residency Program to engage public school students in exploring traffic safety information through the creation of original street signs. Signs designed collaboratively by students at each of our partner schools are digitally rendered by Groundswell artists, fabricated by NYC DOT’s Sign Shop, and temporarily installed in local locations students identify as in need of traffic signage. Through this program, students learn how signs and symbols can work to communicate ideas and explore visual art techniques to develop graphic images. These signs then help increase safety awareness and prevent accidents in locations around each school community.
 
The Groundswell youth artists at IS 71 created a sign that illustrates ways to cross the street carefully. The scene depicted is set at a busy crosswalk. Characters are colored green for safe choices like wearing a helmet when on a bike. Characters in red participate in unsafe choices like paying more attention to music rather than the street.