Mural proposed for Carrboro retaining wall

A retaining wall in Carrboro is up for a massive makeover.

Earlier this month, the Carrboro Arts Committee approved a proposed mural at the intersection of N.C. Highway 54 and Jones Ferry Road. It would be on three sections of a wall that goes along the highway.

The proposed mural site is more than 1,000 feet long and 6 to 7 feet tall in most places, according to a Facebook page set up for the mural.

The committee still needs approval from the town’s Board of Aldermen and the N.C. Department of Transportation to hire a muralist and gather community input on what the mural will depict.

Clara Jackson, chairwoman of the arts committee, said she thinks the mural will unify the community and beautify the area.

According to the mural’s Facebook page, each day about 24,000 vehicles pass the N.C. Highway 54 side of the site and 8,600 vehicles pass the site’s Jones Ferry Road side.

Michael Brown, who has painted several murals in Chapel Hill, proposed the idea to the committee and would be the artist responsible for the mural if it is approved.

Jackson said Brown would be doing the project for free.

“This is for the love of the town,” she said.

In his bid to be the chosen muralist, Brown showed the committee several of his designs, which have been featured in six Chapel Hill elementary schools and around the state. He recently completed a mural near Carrboro’s Open Eye Cafe.

“The town is involved from a creative standpoint process of approving what has to go to the Board of Alderman for final approval,” said Rah Trost, who serves as the art committee’s town staff liaison.

So far the mural is in its preliminary stages.

“It’s so new it’s all up on the drawing board at this point,” Trost said.

The Department of Transportation already approved a project for safety improvements on Jones Ferry Road to reduce traffic with sheltered turn lanes and plantable medians.

The project will also add sidewalks and a protected bike lane near the proposed mural site. There will also be a traffic light installed at Davie Road with two crosswalks. The funding and engineering of the safety project is complete and contract negotiations will begin in early 2014.

Alderman Jacquelyn Gist said she loves the idea of the mural and appreciates Brown for the idea.

“I see it sitting in very well with the brand of Carrboro,” she said. “I think it would announce who we are: a community that values creativity.”

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