Q: Lately I’ve driven through some intersections that have artwork painted on the pavement, including some multi-colored crosswalks. I think it looks great, but I wonder if it distracts drivers and makes intersections less safe. And is it legal to paint crosswalks whatever color you want? I thought there were rules that specified the colors for crosswalks and other street markings.

A: I have often said that predictability is a core component in safe driving. When we follow traffic laws, other drivers can better anticipate our actions, and it creates harmony and safety on the road. But what about our transportation infrastructure? Should the markings on the roadways also be predictable? Yes, they should.

Imagine if every county and city decided how to mark roadways independent of each other. Absent a national standard, each jurisdiction could choose whatever colors and patterns they wanted to mark their fog lines, bike lanes and crosswalks. An artsy town might paint a centerline of salmon spawning up the road. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices sets the standard for road signs, signals and markings. States adopt it as state law.

Some cities permit, and even encourage neighborhoods, to paint art in crosswalks and intersections. But the devices manual states in bold text, “Crosswalk markings shall be white.” How do neighborhoods get away with painting multicolored crosswalks without running afoul of the law? And how can cities encourage their citizens to violate the law? Well, they don’t.

There are a variety of ways to mark a crosswalk; the two most common are a pair of parallel lines or a series of bars. Those lines or bars are required to be white. However, the interstitial space isn’t part of the crosswalk marks. The latest version of the devices manual includes “provisions for aesthetic treatments for the interior portion of a legally established crosswalk.”

As long as your artwork doesn’t cause confusion for pedestrians with vision disabilities, uses colors that are outside the range used for traffic markings, doesn’t include advertising, and doesn’t encourage loitering in the crosswalk you’re in good standing with the devices manual.

But just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. If crosswalk and intersection art cause more crashes, that’s a problem. And I can see why you might suspect that. Could the novelty of art in the street distract drivers from where they should be looking? It turns out, no. Until recently, this was speculative. But a 2022 study of multiple asphalt art sites found a 50% decrease in crashes involving pedestrians after the art was installed.

The only passive intervention I can think of with a greater positive impact is roundabouts. The same study shows positive behavior changes, too. Drivers yielded to pedestrians more often, and pedestrians crossed when the “don’t walk” sign was illuminated less often.

Asphalt art is legal and has a remarkably positive impact on traffic safety, especially for pedestrians. Meanwhile, pedestrian traffic fatalities have more than doubled in the past decade. If intersection and crosswalk art is allowed in your city, maybe it’s time to rally the neighbors, grab your paintbrushes and transform your streets.

Doug Dahl writes a weekly column for this newspaper. He is with the state Traffic Safety Commission.