Keys to the City

Creative crosswalks have beautified cities all over the world, but have gained remarkably little traction in Sacramento. Here’s how—and where—to strike just the right note.

6 minutes ago

Rob Turner,

This image shows what a piano crosswalk might look like at 13th and K streets. (Photo illustration by Jeremy Sykes)

Crosswalk Art made to look like a piano — This image shows what a piano crosswalk might look like at 13th and K streets. (Photo illustration by Jeremy Sykes)

The Idea

Over the past decade or so, creative crosswalks—essentially murals on crosswalks—have exploded in popularity worldwide. Like murals, they transform our urban concrete jungles into massive art galleries. Yet, few artful pedestrian crossings dot our own sprawling metropolis, despite their aesthetic appeal.

There’s one place in Sacramento where such a crosswalk would not only enhance the street’s aesthetics, but also serve a critical utilitarian purpose. It’s where 13th Street meets K Street, with the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center and adjacent convention center on one side of 13th Street, and several of the city’s biggest hotels and parking garages on the other.

Remarkably, there is no crosswalk—creative or otherwise—at the nexus between these complementary neighbors that regularly host thousands of people in a single day. Without one, the site is a car-centric urban design misstep in the middle of a pedestrian-dominated block.

While there is a loosely implied crosswalk there—a pair of sculptures by prominent local artist Stephen Kaltenbach with a gap in between—there needs to be a more pronounced marker to slow traffic for the thousands of people leaving, say, a concert or a musical, many of whom head for the Esquire building garage and its 700 parking spots across 13th Street.

So let’s find a way to do what even far smaller cities, from Modesto to Walnut Creek and Hayward, have all accomplished, and create the most elegant solution for patrons attending the performing arts center—a crosswalk that resembles piano keys. Sure, we could choose a different design, but the beauty of the piano keys—other than their pitch-perfect nod to the theater—is that, with their black and white strips, they resemble traditional crosswalks, but with an artful wink. Subtle, yet sublime.

The Players

Creative crosswalks typically have a variety of champions, but most are initiated by the city or an improvement district. In this case, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP)—which recently installed lighting features along K Street and is deeply invested in boosting the appeal of downtown—would be the perfect facilitator, working in tandem with the city’s public works department.

The Bottom Line

Pricing for creative crosswalks varies depending on size and materials. Painted designs are less expensive, while thermoplastic markings—heat-applied so they bond to the asphalt—cost more, but last longer. In 2024, the city of Walnut Creek paid $21,500 to install a thermoplastic piano crosswalk in front of its performing arts center. The same year, Hayward paid $30,000 for its thermoplastic version. But Donald Bowman, president of Sacramento’s Asphalt Impressions (which installs both painted and plastic crosswalks), explains that on crosswalks where vehicles don’t make turns (like our proposed spot), paint is exposed to far less friction from wheels turning on it, and thus lasts much longer—around five years before touch-ups are needed. His estimate for a painted crosswalk here is around $14,000. Either way, the city spent $352 million to renovate and expand the theater and convention center in 2021, making the piano crosswalk a drop in the bucket—and a clear black-and-white case.