Hundreds help paint State Street; Pedestrian Mall Experiment to launch May 8

posted April 22, 2024 – 11:29am

Aerial view of State Street painting and murals

Image credit: Ian DeGraff

The City of Madison is one step closer to getting people to #FlockToState for the start of this summer’s Pedestrian Mall Experiment thanks to the hard work of hundreds of volunteers this past weekend.

More than 600 people from across the Madison area signed up to help paint State Street on Sunday, April 21, adding vibrant colors in the form of murals, stencils and polka dots across the 400 to 600 blocks of State Street.

The City’s Planning Division is so thrilled with the wonderful turnout and amazing team effort that transformed State Street yesterday. It was wonderful to see Madisonians from across the City participate on a beautiful Spring Day to support our local artists and begin the first steps of our #FlocktoState experiment this summer. We hope it will encourage others to come downtown and experience the amazing things our Downtown has to offer.

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City of Madison Urban Design Planner Rebecca Cnare

Volunteers gather to help paint State Street
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway thanks the artists and volunteers helping paint State Street
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Alder MGR Govindarajan paint a stencil on State Street
Stencil being removed as Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Alder MGR Govindarajan paint on State Street
Angela Puerta provides entertainment for painting volunteers and artists at the new busking station on State Street
Pedestrians admire one of the new murals on State Street
Finishing touches on one of the State Street murals
Volunteers help paint one of the large murals on State Street
Painting instructions for one of the State Street murals
People of all ages gathered to help paint State Street
State Street will be closed from the 400 block to the 600 block as part of this summer's Pedestrian Mall experiment
Four large murals and dozens of stencils now cover State Street

The painting was the first step in getting that stretch of State Street ready for this summer’s Pedestrian Mall Experiment, which is scheduled to officially begin on Wednesday, May 8. With the street painting complete, City staff will begin adding new benches, planters, and sculptures to the area over the next couple weeks.

Once the Pedestrian Mall is opened, people are encouraged to capture the many made-for-social media sights and sounds using the hashtag #FlockToState and tag musicians performing at the new busking location across from Concrete Park with the hashtag #MadisonIsMusic. A full summer’s worth of programming and performances are being planned for the Pedestrian Mall.

The Pedestrian Mall, stretching from Gorham Street to Hawthorne Court, will be closed to all non-emergency traffic starting at 3 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends and holidays, ending at 4 a.m. every day. Traffic will continue to flow normally on all cross streets even when the pedestrian mall is open, including on Gorham and Gilman Street.

The nature of State Street, with many local businesses not having alley or back door access for deliveries, prevents a full closure to traffic. The City of Madison worked in consultation with the businesses on the 400-600 blocks of State Street in setting the hours for the experiment.