Tacoma staff outline plan to install pride-themed decorative crosswalk on Broadway

City of Tacoma staff on May 14 told the Infrastructure Planning and Sustainability Committee they expect to install a pride-themed decorative crosswalk on Broadway at the mid-block crossing between South Ninth and South Eleventh and to complete a policy for future decorative crosswalks by mid-2026.

The project responds to a council directive tied to Resolution 41539 and is being paid from a $35,000 council contingency fund. Brennan Kidd, assistant division manager in the transportation division of Public Works, said staff selected a thermoplastic material for the design because it supports color options and has built-in slip resistance, and that the project remains within the allotted contingency funding: "the culmination of this effort to install the crosswalk is forecast to stay within its allotted council contingency funds budget of 35,000." Kidd said the thermoplastic material itself is expected to cost no more than $15,000, equipment rental about $2,500 and street operations labor and related work about $13,500, leaving roughly $4,000 for unforeseen costs.

Kidd described work completed so far: staff removed the existing scored concrete crosswalk, laid new asphalt to create a uniform surface, and finalized a design developed by the city's public works artist in residence, Natalie Dupill. He said street operations will perform the installation, with oversight from the material manufacturer and the equipment renter, and that staff expects installation as early as mid-June to ensure the crosswalk is in place before July. "We are trying to blend that a little bit. So we are having our street operations perform the work. They're gonna have oversight from the manufacturer of the material as well as the equipment renter to kind of give them some tips and tricks and things like that," Kidd said.

Rebecca Solverson of the Arts and Cultural Vitality Division said the Arts Commission reviewed and supported a draft of the design in February. "We brought this to the Arts Commission in February, and they were really supported. They were excited to see this," Solverson said, adding that having an artist in residence stationed with Public Works made the project feasible.

Committee members asked about several practical issues. Council Member Hines asked whether buying the specialized equipment rather than renting could make sense for future installations; Kidd said a used machine would add roughly $10,000 to procurement cost and that the rental approach lets street operations gain experience without committing to a purchase. Committee members also asked about vandalism and maintenance. Staff noted the city's general-fund artwork maintenance budget could be used for repairs and that the thermoplastic design could be repaired in pieces by reordering specific sections from the manufacturer, though replacement would still incur material and installation costs.

Staff described follow-up policy work. Kidd said the city will prepare a guidance document addressing community engagement, funding options, transparency, and technical standards for decorative treatments in the public right of way; a first draft is expected by the first half of 2026 and will be informed by this pilot installation and peer-city research. He said the policy may be published as an appendix to the city's right-of-way design manual and that staff will analyze funding approaches so future requests do not rely on council contingency funds alone. The Arts and Cultural Vitality Division and Public Works also discussed the possibility of using the city's 1% for Art program for smaller installations.

Votes at a glance: the committee voted to approve the minutes of the Oct. 30, 2024, special meeting; the motion was moved and declared adopted on a voice vote (no roll-call tally recorded in the committee transcript).

The pilot crosswalk is being presented as an informational briefing; no new ordinance or formal council action on the decorative-crosswalk policy was taken at the May 14 meeting. Staff said they will return with status updates and the draft policy when available.