WANT TO MAKE YOUR OWN?
Navigating the “how to” of pavement murals can be overwhelming. We receive questions from all over the country about paint products, permits, designing for traffic calming, and more. So, we’ve created a landing page for the essentials, with helpful resources from our peers below. Sharing is caring!
We wish you success, inspiration and safety in your pavement mural installations. The more attention we ALL put into our surface murals, the more successful the safe streets movement will be.
Please email us for additional consulting services: ABBY@CHALKRIOT.COM
DO I NEED A PERMIT?
Listen, we’re not lawyers, and this part is complicated. By no means are we giving legal advice here! Every city, county and state (shoutout statehood) are going to have different laws, concerns, and requirements for allowing pavement murals. Our goal here is to offer a bare minimum answer for your consideration, and so that you can discuss possible next steps with your collaborators.
To be clear, these guidelines are for traffic-calming artwork intended to last at least a couple months. Our recommendations are very different for ephemeral, temporary works that wash away with the rain.
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You may not need a permit, but definitely permission.
Find out who manages the parking lot, and pursue them for permission. It could be the City, the County, the State, the Feds, or a private real estate company. You can usually find out who by looking at signage posted in the lot. Simply call the number listed and start asking around. Parking lot management will want to offer ample notice to their users that the area will be closed. Be courteous about the fact that a closed lot will mean a temporary loss of revenue for the owners.
For pedestrian plazas, the same suggestions apply. -
You will most likely need a permit to create a pavement mural on a closed roadway, even if it’s closed.
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You may not need a permit, but definitely permission if you intend on creating anything with a lifespan longer than a couple days. Parks typically require permits if there is vending or community activity involved where a dedicated space must be reserved.
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For private property, you probably do not need a permit unless you require a total or partial road closure that must redirect traffic. Anything that redirects traffic affects an entire local traffic flow, so the City may want to see traffic management plans and know specifics of installation dates and times. You absolutely need permission from the real estate company who manages the property.
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You will definitely need a permit. Be prepared to produce traffic management plans, diagrams and renderings of the artwork, and installation logistic specifics.
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Sis, you do you. Don’t tell them we sent you.
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Every City has different graffiti laws, and in some places, even washable sidewalk chalk in public parks is considered vandalism. While this is really an effort to tamp down on free speech (and they probably won’t care if you create washable smiley faces and hearts) we recommend knowing your rights! Local muralists and graff writers can be good resources for this kind of information.
If you want to adorn your public park with more permanent ground art, you probably don’t need a permit unless you have to close off an area while you work. It’s best to consult with your local Parks and Recreation Department.
SAFETY FIRST
The irony of traffic calming murals is something we wrestle with a bit at Chalk Riot: in the name of increasing safety, we put artists at risk to work in high-incident intersections. Yikes! Everyone needs to take this seriously, especially at sites that are in active roadways. The highlights we’ve listed here are with everyone’s safety interests in mind.
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Allow us to shock you into taking us seriously on this one. HERE is a video that went viral last year, of a construction worker on a highway almost being hit. This worker is wearing high-visibility gear head to toe, and is surrounded by a giant sign and a visible work vehicle. Too many drivers just do not pay attention. So please follow our tips below to prioritize the safety of you and your team.
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Painting a road keeps your eyes down towards the ground, even if painting while standing. Our peripheral vision is a superpower, and is the evolutionary result of keeping ourselves safe in the wild! So, when painting in teams, face opposite directions as your mural partners. AKA one person faces “upstream” and the other person faces “downstream”. This increases awareness for everyone.
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Painting on the ground can mean contorting one’s body into crunched-up positions for extended periods of time, and activating muscle groups that are not totally used in daily life otherwise. At Chalk Riot, we like to designate a timekeeper for stretch breaks, and once every two hours, they let everyone know it’s time to streeeetch!
For hydration, always have a cooler handy, even when it’s not very hot outside. People are more apt to drink water when it’s cold, so throw everyone’s water bottles on ice and drink up! -
This is important!! Did you know that the average adult in 2025 checks their phone over 200 times a day? In an active worksite, this is unacceptable. We always recommend investing in some walkie talkies that allow quick communications without the need to look at a phone. If you can’t do that, minimize your notifications, and invite the group to listen to a collective speaker instead of personal headphones for music.
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Especially in high-traffic areas, the constant noise and stimulation can be overwhelming if you’re not used to it. Make sure to take breaks for quick walks up and down the block, to check in with your team, or grab a snack. It’s important to stay level-headed and alert when working in the public realm.
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There are many visibility tools available for your worksite to increase safety: traffic cones, caution tape, and signs aplenty. Use it all! The more tools you use, the more visibility your work site will have, bottom line.
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Painters should be comfortable but protected. Close-toed shoes are a non-negotiable. Wide-brim hats are helpful for sun protection. High-vis clothing should be prioritized!
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Definitely check out the resources section for more thorough explanations and plenty of visual examples! Here are some essential reminders of the basics of traffic calming mural design. Striking a balance between meeting legal requirements and increasing visibility while creating a meaningful visual story can be challenging. But, design challenges as such can be invigorating and all the more satisfying once the project is successfully installed! Keep your eye on the prize: safer streets and happier people.
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Crosswalk and lane separation lines are white and yellow for a reason: these colors are high contrast from the grey asphalt. Colors that are high contrast are high visibility, during nighttime and daytime! When choosing colors for your asphalt art, we recommend a “squint test” where several people squint their eyes to see if they can make out the edges of the mural. If the colors seem to fade into the ground, your colors do not have high enough contrast.
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It seems intuitive to design a large pavement mural from a bird’s eye view. But, unless there’s skyscrapers in immediate view of your artwork, it’s best to design from the perspective of pedestrians and active mobility users. Create artwork that speaks to people passing by, while also boldly catching the attention of drivers behind the wheel. It’s a healthy creative challenge, we believe in you! You can do it.
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At Chalk Riot, we always start with the history of a neighborhood. What built that place? Why are people even living there today? In the United States, too many of our highways and major roads were built with the blatant intention of racial and economic segregation. To pave better paths for the future, painting artwork on top of those roads can help heal those divisions through education, artistic engagement, and authentic storytelling. You can also take inspiration from hyperlocal places of interest, flora and fauna, and more!
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The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) was recently updated with several guidelines in favor of pavement murals. However, there are still important rules to which you must adhere. Notable rules include no words or numbers in your designs, measurements, and more.
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This is a biggie! Creating art on rough, large surfaces such as old asphalt or pebbly cement can take a significantly longer time than on a recently paved road or smooooooth sidewalk. Painting detailed images on the ground, while not impossible (we do it!) takes practice and methodical planning. There is a reason that most pavement art is much simpler in scope and shape than wall murals. Be cautious of designing murals that are too detailed to be easily replicated on a rough surface, that will then eat into your labor budget. We see this misstep often.
Lastly, remember that pavement murals can be hard on the body, so creating something that can be installed swiftly and simply is best for your bodies and your pocketbook (do people still say pocketbook?). -
If you’re using a thicker pavement coating such as ColorPave or Streetbond, it may be more challenging to capture high levels of detail. These products are about the consistency of a thick milkshake, and tiny brushes just don’t do it. However, the thinner paint products are still water-based, and operate almost identically to other acrylic latex paints. Keep in mind that the type of product will also determine what brushes and tools you’ll need on site.
HOW TO CLEAN THE PAVEMENT
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To determine how much you really need to clean the surface, you’ll first need to examine the pavement without anything on top of it. Make every effort to sweep leaves, branches, dust, litter, or dead rats (sorry) OFF and away from the ground. A deck broom and a high-power leaf blower are useful tools. After that, you can pour some water via a bucket or hose over the surface. After it dries, look for grease spots.
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There’s some instructions on how to degrease HERE. Grease spots, created by oil leaks from vehicles, are identifiable because they are a darker color than the asphalt. Sometimes after sweeping, you’ll notice that dust sticks to the grease spots but not the surrounding pavement. Any driveway degreasing agent will do, but we like to recommend Simple Green and Purple Power for their water-safe qualities.
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Depending on your budget and labor capabilities, you can hire this task out to a contractor or do it yourself. A hired contractor will have a portable water tank and appropriate brush hose attachments and surface cleaners for thorough cleaning. You can also rent pressure washing equipment, or see if a local tool lending library has what you need.
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A very common mistake that mural teams make is not blocking your newly cleaned pavement from vehicular traffic prior to painting. Once your surfaces are clean, you need to ensure they stay clean right up to the moment when you begin painting. Otherwise, all your time, energy and money spent pressure washing is basically pointless!
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Even when you do your best at protecting your recently cleaned pavement, sh*t happens! For instance, a rainstorm could wash debris down the gutter and into your curb extensions, or a car ignores the cones and drives over your area anyways (…yup). So, just in case, keep your spot degreasing tools and broom handy on your first day of painting.
HOW TO APPLY YOUR DESIGN TO THE GROUND
CHALK
Sidewalk chalk is a great tool for sketching out shapes and lines. However, use it with a light touch! Too much chalk dust can create a barrier between your paint and the surface upon which you are painting, resulting is weaker adhesion.
TAPE
Blue painter’s tape can be very helpful for marking long straight lines and funky shapes, and for marking measurements.
SPRAYPAINT
Use the cheap stuff, as this is only for marking! It can be finnicky when used upside down on the ground, but some practice will help.
TEMPERA PAINT OR HOUSE PAINT
HOW TO TRANSFER YOUR DESIGN FROM
PAPER OR SCREEN TO THE PAVEMENT
WING IT
Just flow, sis. If you’re a muralist used to working at a large scale, you’ve got this. And use the preexisting infrastructure as your guide. When drawing your design, include elements like fire hydrants, manhole covers, sidewalk separation cracks, drains, crosswalk stripes, in your renderings, and you can use them as reference on the ground.
STENCILS
Stencils are great for community participation and repeated patterns. They can increase efficiency for layout, but take ample preparation pre-installation. Ensure you use a material that will maintain its rigidity and sharp edge after multiple uses of paint, such as plastic or MDF board. If you are applying your stencil image with a dry media like chalk or a paint pen, you don’t need to worry so much and could use cardboard, poster board, or Ram board.
PAINTBRUSH ON A STICK
Chelsea is basically an evangelist of this system. Save your back, save your life!!
GRID SYSTEM
doodle grid or traditional
TYPES OF COATINGS LISTED IN ORDER OF DURABILITY / LONGEVITY
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AKA “poster paint” or “kids’ paint’, this washable, water-based paint will fade slowly with the weather. It’s perfect for special events and community gatherings where creating and imagining is the goal, but not durability. Special tip: Use tempera paint for proof of concepts to hesitant cities ;) The more you dilute with water, the more quickly it will wash away. If you can’t wait for the rain, you may also pressure-wash this paint away very easily. Be aware that red, black and orange like to stain concrete, though!
SITE: https://www.dickblick.com/categories/painting/tempera-paint/ -
If your budget is nonexistent and you just want to “get it done”, you may absolutely use water-based latex house paint. Just don’t expect it to last or grip to asphalt, brick or cement very well.
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Disclaimer: We are not sponsored by Sherwin Williams, but we do have a great relationship with them and love these two products for asphalt art. They are available only at Sherwin Williams stores. They can be used interchangeably, and are basically the same product marketed to two different customer bases: industrial and domestic, respectfully. These products are water-based concrete stains intended for ground surfaces like driveways and garage floors. They are formulated to withstand hot tire pick-up (you want this) and you do NOT need a primer coat with these products. Because they’re water-based, clean-up is easy. Available in most Sherwin Williams colors.
SITE: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/hc-heavy-shield-waterbased-solid-color-concrete-driveway-enamelstain
https://www.sherwin-williams.com/painting-contractors/products/armorseal-treadplex -
Available at Home Depot, who has an exclusive with Behr. This is also a water-based paint that is available in most colors that Behr offers, and allows for easy cleanup. The acrylic paint has epoxy resin mixed in, which means it will dry into a thicker, sturdier finish than typical latex paint. It is resistant to hot tire pick-up. This is a quality paint at affordable Home Depot prices.
SITE is HERE -
Colorpave is an acrylic pavement coating system that is intended for industrial level projects, at sites that anticipate lots of wheel and foot traffic. This is commonly used in traffic gardens, bike lanes, pedestrian plazas, athletic courts, and public parks. It is the most expensive paint or pavement coating on our list here, but it is one of the most durable paint systems available.
Colorpave application takes more preparation, supplies and practice, but you can do it!
SITE: https://www.sportmaster.net/traffic-gardens/ -
Streetbond requires more supplies, preparation and practice, but you can do it! It comes in two grades relevant to pavement art in the traffic calming context: SB120 and SB150. The 120 formula is perfect for pedestrian areas or curb extensions that do not anticipate vehicles at all. 150 is best for crosswalks or active roadway sites where vehicles are expected.
To purchase, you will need to develop a relationship with a rep in your area.
SITE is HERE -
Thermoplastic — short for thermosoftening plastic - is a type of plastic that becomes soft and moldable under heat application and then grips the pavement as it cools and hardens. A lot of striping work and road icons are created in thermoplastic, as it is incredibly durable and efficient to install. However, it is definitely the most expensive, and there’s blowtorches involved. Unless you know your way around with a blowtorch, we recommend collaborating with a local contractor to help bring your vision to life!
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