Residents co-design 26 Stone Mountain Trail crosswalks
Georgia State students work with DeKalb County neighbors to plan pavement art across a five-mile stretch, aiming to slow traffic and boost trail activity.
By Ivan Dvorak ·
Daily users of the Stone Mountain Trail are currently determining the visual identity of 26 crosswalks and trail markings. The initiative, led by Georgia State University students, replaces the traditional model of hiring a single design firm with a collaborative process that includes local residents, business owners, and youth in the decision-making stage.
The project covers a five-mile segment from the Avondale Estates MARTA station to Clarkston. DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry, a former Clarkston mayor, initiated the proposal after seeing successful crosswalk murals in downtown Clarkston. Terry directed the focus toward pavement art along the trail, and DeKalb County provided the funding for the current phase, which includes 15 major intersections.
A team of six undergraduate students from Perimeter College is executing the design work. These students, who are studying computer science or art and design on the Atlanta campus, are paid for their contributions. Their duties include running workshops, managing outreach, and building AI models to visualize resident ideas. The team has completed three open house sessions and presented the project at the Compassion Con festival in October.
The university expects the new crosswalks to reduce vehicle speeds by up to 20 percent and increase trail usage by 30 percent within the first year. To achieve these goals, the team has distributed digital surveys in more than 10 languages. More than 60 people have completed the survey, which asks for stories, safety concerns, and design preferences. Residents will also vote on the final designs before construction begins.
The design process relies on a method known as participatory design, which originated in Sweden. Fernando Rochaix, an associate professor of art history and the lead for the Connecting Communities program, explains that the approach asks people how they use a space before building within it. The team uses open-source AI models on university equipment to create quick visual mock-ups from resident input, a method Rochaix says helps protect privacy and reduce energy use.
The design phase concludes in December. The team will submit a report with the proposed designs to DeKalb County and select a vendor to handle the painting. While some sites may be ready sooner, Rochaix anticipates that the full installation will take approximately one year to complete.
This work follows an earlier partnership between the city of Clarkston and Perimeter College. In April 2023, students painted a mural at Market and Vaughan streets, funded by a Georgia Municipal Association grant. That initial effort led to two additional murals and drew the attention of county officials who wanted to expand the concept to the Stone Mountain Trail.
