Sitka seeks crosswalk design ideas for Lincoln Street

Sitka is inviting residents — kids included — to design a crosswalk. Through 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, the City and Borough of Sitka and the Sitka Walkability Advocacy Collab are accepting community-drawn patterns to paint onto Lincoln Street downtown as a temporary safety project, with the goal of making pedestrians more visible to drivers along the heart of the city's main commercial corridor.

The brief is loose. The city wants earth-tone geometric patterns to supplement existing crosswalk markings. There's no entry limit, no artistic experience required, and the age range is wide open. Entry forms are at City Hall and the Sitka Public Library, or by emailing [email protected].

The favorite designs will be showcased at 6 p.m. June 25 at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Final patterns may get a polish before they hit the street, and the city plans to actually paint the crosswalks later this summer as weather, funding, and crews allow.

The project came out of Sitka's participation in the Walkability Action Institute, a national pedestrian-safety program the Sitka Assembly signed onto in April 2025. Assembly Member JJ Carlson is the city's elected representative. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is coordinating with the city on the installation.

It fits inside the broader road-safety push in Sitka driven by the city's federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant work. If the call for designs goes the way it's intended, Sitka's crosswalks will carry a piece of the community on every step across Lincoln.