About the Community-Led Placemaking Program

busy intersection with colorfully painted bike lanes

Art in the Right-of-Way can be paired with DOT’s quick-build traffic calming program.

To install a Placemaking Project in your community, submit your project designs and documents. 

What is the DOT Community-Led Placemaking Program?

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation (DOT) lets community groups create fun and creative projects in public spaces like streets, sidewalks, and alleys. These projects can make neighborhoods look nicer, help slow down traffic, and give people more space to walk and gather.

The group that wants to do the project must pay for it.

Some examples of these projects include:

  • Artistic painting on streets or sidewalks
  • Landscape plantings
  • Planters and barriers for traffic calming or tactical urbanism
  • Signs that welcome people to the neighborhood or teach them something about the area
  • Parklets or temporary public spaces built within the roadway
  • Other special projects such as art installations, special lighting, or other unique urban designs

***IMPORTANT***  If new traffic calming elements such as bump-outs, crosswalks, flex-posts or striping are part of your project, the traffic calming elements must be installed prior to the implementation of the art.  There are two ways to install traffic calming elements:

  1. Submit a traffic calming request to 311.  DOT will look into your request and determine whether the location meets the criteria for the proposed traffic calming elements. If DOT approves your request, you can send in your Community-Led Placemaking Application after the traffic calming tools are put in place.

    Submit Traffic Calming Requests to 311 
     
  2. Hire a contractor to install the traffic calming elements for your community.  All plans must be approved by DOT.  You may submit engineering drawings, materials, and installation details with your Community-Led Placemaking Application.

    Before hiring a contractor, make sure that your location does not have any planned projects.  Check DOT’s platform for all planned projects this year.

    Check Miss Utility for planned utility projects.  

    To make sure the location is eligible, email us. 

Projects pursued under DOT’s Community-Led Placemaking Program include: (1) Paint in the Right-of-Way, (2) Greening, (3) Planters and Barriers, (4) Signage, (5) Parklets, and (6) Special Projects.  Submit all project requests through our Community-Led Placemaking Program Application which can be found at the end of this page.

For a step-by-step guide on how to plan and implement a project in DOT’s Right-of-Way, please review the Made You Look Toolkit created by the MICA Center for Social Design.  The guide talks about a project called "Paint in the Right-Of-Way," but the information can help with all kinds of projects.

For neighborhoods that need pro-bono (or free) design assistance, the Neighborhood Design Center may be able to assist you.  Apply for free assistance.

Four people painting a bike lane with colorful flowers

This project in Johnston Square was developed following MICA’s Made You Look Toolkit for Art in the Right-of-Way.

Completed Projects

Types of Community-Led Placemaking Program Projects:

1. Paint in the Right-Of-Way

Painted designs are allowed in existing crosswalks, sidewalks, alleys, bump-outs, and other locations maintained by DOT where approved.  Applicants are not allowed to paint designs that incorporate words or political messages, and all designs are subject to approval by DOT.

Paint must also be pre-approved by DOT.  Pre-approved paints include:

  • Sherman Williams Highway Products – Hotline® Traffic Paint with SharkGrip® H&C™ Slip Resistant Additive
  • PreMark® by Flint
  • Integrated Paving Concepts (IPC) installed by Alternative Paving Concepts
  • StreetBond® SB150

Locations in which organizations may paint include:

  • Within existing striped bump-outs and shoulders
  • Between the diagonal white stripes in continental crosswalks
  • Within the striping of transverse crosswalks
  • On sidewalks
  • In pedestrian plazas
A brightly painted sidewalk

Art in the Right-of-Way is used near a school and playground at 26th and Calvert Streets.

Street art on a crosswalk

 photo credit: Instagram @Grahamprojects

For saltbox and traffic signal box artwork, you may apply for a Temporary Use of Right of Way permit from the Baltimore City Department of Transportation Right of Way Services.  Please include the type of paint and a rendering of your design with your application. Complete the application for Temporary Use of a Right-of-Way. 

2. Landscape Plantings

Greening means planting trees, flowers, and other plants to help make Baltimore City’s public spaces more beautiful and healthy. These kinds of projects are a great way to:

  • Make neighborhoods look nicer
  • Help bees, butterflies, and other pollinators
  • Keep the city cooler by adding shade and clean air
  • Soak up rainwater so it doesn’t carry pollution into rivers and streams

When choosing plants, make sure they won’t grow too big and block views, signs, traffic lights, or get in the way of power lines, sidewalks, or streets. The people doing the project must plant and take care of the landscaping. Before planting, they must contact Miss Utility to make sure digging won’t hit any underground pipes or wires.

People in a community garden

Community gardening and landscaping can bring generations together and add beautiful greenspace in Baltimore.

3. Planters and Barriers

DOT permits planters and barriers to be placed in the roadway for traffic calming or to aid in the protection of pedestrian and bicycle spaces.  Planters and barriers may include:

  • Concrete jersey barriers
  • Plastic barriers
  • Granite blocks
  • Wooden crate planters
  • Tire planters
  • Custom wooden, metal, plastic, or concrete planters
  • Self-watering planters
  • Straw wattle
  • Concrete buttons
  • Parking Stops
  • Flex-posts
  • K-71 Delineator posts

Many of the planters and barriers listed above can be made more fun and beautiful with art. For example, planter boxes and murals can be added to jersey barriers. All planters and barriers — including designs, materials, and where they will go — must be reviewed and approved by DOT.

The group doing the project is responsible for keeping everything clean, safe, and in good shape.

 
A row of planters separating the sidewalk from a street

Planters and traffic barriers can be used to protect parklet spaces within the roadway.

Electric Scooters parked next to a road

Planters and colorful barriers can help delineate spaces separate from the travel lanes. 

4. Signage

Signs play a positive role in the aesthetics of the neighborhood and make it easier to identify surroundings.  Some of our neighborhoods may be interested in installing special signage.  DOT has processes in place to facilitate the installation of:

  • Pole-mounted aluminum signs
  • Standing signs
  • Pole-mounted vinyl signs (please follow the procedure outlined on the DOT ROW page for this signage)

Additionally, DOT requires that all pole-mounted or standing signs installed under this program fall under one of the following categories:

  • Community Name Signs
  • Industrial Park Signs
  • Historic Sites Signs
  • Museum Signs
  • National Historic Landmark Signs
  • Historical Marker Signs
  • Program Recognition Signs (recognizing the Department of Transportation’s role with partnerships in certain programs)
  • Hospital Signs
  • General Services Signs
  • Reference Location Signs
  • Business District Signs

Request vinyl banners.
 

A sign explaining cultural significance of a park

Educational signs can help teach people about important places, history, or nature in the community.

A park with a sign that reads "Roland Park"

Community Gateway Sign in a roadway median

A red sign with a pig that says "Pigtown"

 
Photo Credit: Instagram @PigtownMainSt

5. Parklet

Parklets are small, temporary public spaces built in place of street parking spots. They turn parking areas into fun and useful places where people can relax, meet, and enjoy the neighborhood. Parklets work best in busy areas where lots of people walk and where more space is needed for things like benches, plants, lights, or bike racks. These mini-parks are especially helpful in neighborhoods with not much public space.

All parklets must be open to everyone.
If a business wants to turn a parking space into outdoor seating or something just for their customers, they must get a special permit from the DOT’s Right-of-Way (ROW) department.

The DOT Planning Division can help community groups that want to build a parklet. These groups might include neighborhood associations, local businesses, nonprofits, or school parent groups.

The group applying for the parklet must pay for it, build it, take care of it, and make sure it runs safely. They must also have commercial liability insurance to protect against accidents.

It’s a good idea to get help from a design expert, like an architect, engineer, or landscape designer, to plan and build the parklet. Please refer to the Parklet and Plaza Design Manual for more information.

Road blockage expanding a sidewalk

Parklets can provide additional space for pedestrian safety and enliven the sidewalk area while also helping to calm traffic. 

6. Special Projects

Sometimes, neighborhoods want to try special projects in public spaces like streets or sidewalks. These projects may be allowed if DOT gives special approval. In the past, these projects have included small public plazas, creative lighting, and public art.

Plazas are a way to turn empty or unused spaces into places where people can walk, sit, and enjoy the area. Plazas follow many of the same rules as parklets. If a group wants to build a plaza, they will work with DOT to figure out the best size, shape, and design.

Some groups may also need commercial liability insurance to do this kind of project. Please consult the Parklet and Plaza Manual for guidance.

For any special project inquiries, please email us.

A road that has been painted in blue designs

Plazas can change a street into a vibrant community space.

People sitting outside under string lights

Photo Credit: Instagram @MobtownBallroom

Projects will not be approved under the following circumstances:

  • Contain any obscene, vulgar, or violent messages
  • Block walkways that everyone can use, or do not follow the rules of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • Introduce a roadway safety hazard such as blocking sight distance
  • Require unreasonable maintenance on behalf of the DOT
  • May cause damage to DOT assets or public utilities
  • Have harmful or poisonous plants

All requests must include:

  • A design rendering
  • The location(s) of your project
  • The materials to be used
  • Letters of support or signed petitions from adjacent occupants (renters and owners):
    • For parklets and other mid-block projects, the petition must include 60% of the occupants of the block
    • For intersections, the petition must include 60% of occupants of three properties in each direction
  • Proof of property owner support from property(s) directly abutting the project
  • Proof that your organization is in good standing with the State of Maryland
  • Commercial liability insurance ($1 million for each occurrence, $2 million in aggregate) for parklets and special projects
  • A maintenance plan for the project

Project Approval

When your application is approved, you will get a written agreement. This agreement will explain what has been approved, when the project will start and end, who will take care of it, and any special rules you need to follow.

To install a Placemaking Project in your community, submit your project designs and documents.