Downtown's Pedestrian-Friendly Strawberry Way Gets Colorful Makeover

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Strawberry Way is a colorful name for an alley. In fact, it's a colorful alley, thanks to artist Deanne Mance of Polish Hill. She's painting the asphalt with colorful shapes and figures.

"This is an abstraction of my environment, and the conversation I'm having with people," she explains.

She says some who pass see city scenes in her images.

"Yellow arches that kind of symbolize the bridges. And the wonderful, beautiful, but tedious city steps. Some people have even said that they see train tracks," she says.

A project of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, the painting extends from Grant Street to Smithfield Street.

Envision Downtown Director Sean Luther says 700 pedestrians come through on their lunch hour.

"It just looked like every other alley downtown. We really wanted to give Strawberry Way its own identity. So, in part, it's to give a lively walk for pedestrians. But at its core, it's also about pedestrian safety," Luther said.

He says the artwork will make drivers more aware that the alley is pedestrians first.

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Mance says she's accustomed to painting on paper.

"There's these kinds of boundaries that happen with paper, and with asphalt, it's a completely different experience," she says.

The part of Strawberry Way for pedestrians only has not been paved in a while, so it was a little rough to paint on. In fact, the artist encountered potholes. She filled one with paint. It took a whole gallon.

The mural remains for two years, after which another artist takes a turn on Strawberry Way.

In the meantime, Deanne says, "Commuting back and forth to lunch every day, I'm happy to brighten up their days a little bit."