Thanks to an artistic collaboration between Gold Bar Mayor Linda Loen and students at Gold Bar Elementary School, a person walking along the new Fifth Street sidewalk might encounter an owl or a horse ' even a butterfly.
Composed primarily of artistic images created by students at the school, the new art walk features a total of 22 15-inch square cement tiles that were inlayed adjacent to the city's new Fifth Street sidewalk. Mayor Loen decided to offset the art walk from the high-traffic area of the sidewalk in order to better preserve the images. The new grant-funded sidewalk extends along the west side of 5th Street from Lewis Avenue to U.S. 2, for a total of .11 miles.
The improvements include 400 square yards of concrete sidewalk, 100 square yards of concrete driveway and 830 lineal feet of traffic curb and gutter. New crosswalks were added to several key areas along 5th Street, including near the city park, the fire station, Gold Bar City Hall and the school.-á
Loen partnered with former second-grade teacher Jonathan Stratman earlier this year to get the kids involved. One of the tiles is imprinted with the words, "Every Living Thing Needs Clean Water,GÇ¥ the overlying theme for all the artwork. Gold Bar Elementary School students from first through fifth grade submitted their artwork, which was selected for the project through a random drawing process.
The designs were transferred from the original drawings to the cement tiles by Loen, who said she enjoyed the opportunity to do something creative. Gold Bar City Councilmember Davi Martin commended Loen for her artistic skills.
"She's a very talented lady,GÇ¥ Martin said.
Gold Bar city staff member Bonnie Jones assisted with the project, which involved using a wall projector to transfer the students' images onto 15-inch square pieces of poster board. Once the images were copied onto the poster board, they cut them out and used the shapes as a stencil. They etched each of the images into the concrete by hand, adding in the rest of the line-work based on the appearance of the original drawings.
Loen and Jones added each student's initials and grade level to the tiles. The concrete tiles were poured by public works staffer Richard Baker.
The project was primarily funded through a Small City Sidewalk Program (SCSP) grant from the Washington Transportation Improvement Board (TIB),a state-funded agency that provides grant opportunities to improve arterial roadways, build sidewalks and create greater connectivity. TIB revenue is generated from the state gasoline tax, and projects must meet specific criteria to be eligible for TIB funding.
The Gold Bar sidewalk project was eligible for TIB funding because the new walkway improves pedestrian safety and streamlines access to key areas of the city.
"This makes it safer for the kids to walk down to the park across the street,GÇ¥ Loen said. "Everything is right here, so we needed that connection.GÇ¥
The total cost of the project was estimated at $250,245, including design, engineering and construction. The TIB grant funded up to $24,506 for design costs and $187,881 for construction, for a total $212,387 grant.
Sources like the TIB are vital to small municipalities with limited resources for funding transportation improvements. Gold Bar Public Works Director John Light spearheaded the grant application and handled the subsequent bid process. The project was engineered by the Blue Line Group and the construction was completed by Granite Falls contractor Northend Excavating.
Loen said she plans to continue efforts to enhance the city through meaningful improvements like the sidewalk project.
"We're just trying to clean it up, so that it looks nicer,GÇ¥ Loen said.
For more information about Gold Bar, visit http://cityofgoldbar.us/. -á -á
Photos by Chris Hendrickson Gold Bar Elementary students created art that was added to a new Fifth Street sidewalk that stretches to U.S. 2.
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