Just for Fun: Beautifying Bike Lanes
Have you noticed that cycling infrastructure around town has been getting a bit of a glow up lately? Just outside of the Cycle Toronto headquarters, for example, the concrete barriers on Richmond that provide protection for cyclists have been adding colour and excitement to Cycle Toronto’s staff members’ commutes for a few years now.
These beautiful murals that you’ve noticed adorning cycling infrastructure across town are brought to you by StreetARToronto’s Concrete Barriers Program.
(Artwork by Ella Mazur and Monica Pramanick. Image: Mike Hajmasy and Gage Fletcher)
It’s described as a program that “encourages active transportation, makes our streets more inviting and safe, reduces overall infrastructure maintenance costs, showcases local artists, mentors emerging talent, and creates opportunities for positive engagement among residents, business owners and operators, artists, and arts organizations.”
The Concrete Barriers Program has been around since 2020 and has beautified 12 different locations throughout the city, including some pedestrian walkways. They mostly target cycle tracks (i.e. bike lanes with a protective barrier between cyclists and cars).
(Artwork by Elicser. Photo: Kwame Newman-Bremang)
The latest addition to the collection of StART projects around town will be located on Lansdowne between Dundas and Rideau Avenue. On Sunday, September 7th, these pieces will be unveiled at a special event that’s open to the public. Cycle Toronto will be there – want to come?
The event is from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at West Lodge Park at 165 Lansdowne Avenue and celebrates the new additions of painted cycling infrastructure on Bloor between Parliament and Sherbourne, and the aforementioned ones on Lansdowne. Participating artists are invited, along with family and friends, the project teams, and the local community. Everyone is welcome!
We thought it would be interesting to hear from the folks who were chosen to design these particular pieces. Daria Domnikova and Janine Payne worked on this project through a mentor-mentee partnership.
We asked them about their designs and process for the 2025 Cycle Track Murals Project and about riding a bike in Toronto. Hope you enjoy the interview, and don’t forget to join us on September 7th.
Chatting with Daria and Janine
1. How did you get involved with StreetARToronto’s Concrete Barriers Program and the 2025 Cycle Track Murals Project?
Daria: I’ve been seeing the painted Concrete Barriers around Toronto for years and have always loved seeing the vastly different pieces artists come up with and wanted to participate! My first Cycling Track Mural was completed last year – I was following StreetARToronto for a while on Instagram, saw the call for submissions and applied. It was a similar process applying for the 2025 Cycle Track Murals Project– it was a wonderful experience working on the previous round of these canvases and I wanted to contribute more to the Program, and to share what I have learned, tested and polished from last year and other mural work with someone who is passionate about taking their work into the mural realm.
Janine: I first came across StreetARToronto’s Concrete Barrier Program on Instagram. I follow a few artists who have participated in previous years, which always looked so fun! So, when I saw the call for submissions post earlier this year, I was immediately intrigued to get involved. I love exploring new creative opportunities, and this mentorship program felt like the perfect entry point into the mural community. As well as a great way to try something new and take my art practice to a whole other level!
(Janine and Daria working on the barriers. Photo: Kwame Newman-Bremang)
2. What excited you most about the opportunity to use these bike lane barrier walls as a canvas?
Janine: What excited me most was the chance to paint on something so different than what I’m used to. I usually work on a much smaller scale, so getting to paint on these barriers felt like a good challenge to expand my skills. It also seemed like the perfect entry into the public art space, especially having a mentor to look to for guidance.
Daria: What excited me most is the opportunity to contribute to growing and improving a very crucial part of the city’s infrastructure – the cycling tracks. I’m an avid cyclist, a city dweller, and a muralist, so you could say it’s a perfect match! Our city is vast and we need more safe and comfortable ways of navigating it, and I’m a huge believer in the power of public art to provide both of those. The vibrancy, visibility, and the respite for the senses (often on huge and busy streets) that these bike lane barriers provide cannot be overstated. When you see hundreds of cyclists comfortably follow these colourful tracks, when you see pedestrians stop and engage with the murals and folks on the bus point them out from the bus window...that’s when you think “This is why I’m doing this”. And it was amazing doing this again, especially having a mentee to share in this whole process with.
3. How did you decide how you wanted to design the bike lane barriers?
Janine: I’ll let Daria explain this one!
Daria: The bike lane barriers are a very unique canvas– there are many things to take into account when working on these including their shape and purpose. Usually located in places of high traffic, they have to be high-visibility, and also the right amount of engaging. I knew I wanted to create something that would provide a positive message that can be perceived without difficulty when someone is travelling through the city, and bring parts of the natural world into my design– something that I love and make a recurrent motif in my work. I also knew that I wanted to remind people that we aren’t alone (even when we feel separate from others and perhaps anonymous), hence all of the barriers playing with the phrase “NOT ALONE”. Funny enough, I literally was not alone when working on these murals – I had invaluable amounts of support from my mentee Janine, along with the support from StreetARToronto’s team of curators and coordinators without whom this Program wouldn’t be possible.
4. How long did it take to complete the project?
Daria: I think some stars definitely aligned when we were paired as a mentor and mentee – like Janine said, it was pretty smooth sailing for us! I provided the design and explained the design process to Janine prior to being on site and mapping it out, and then we jumped into the painting. It took us around 4 days of painting on site which I consider one of the quicker turnaround times for mural painting!
Janine: Once the designs were submitted, it really only took a few days of painting to complete the project! Daria did much of the heavy lifting, mapping out each barrier with her designs and showing me her process, and I jumped in to help paint wherever I could. Altogether, I think we spent about 3-4 days at the yard painting our three barriers!
5. Janine, how was it to work with Daria? Daria, how was it to work with Janine?
Janine: Absolutely amazing! I could not have asked for a better mentor. Daria was so attentive in showing me the ropes and so welcoming to such a new space for me. She had so much knowledge to share about mural painting and was such an inspiration the entire time. Daria encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone by trying spray paint for the first time. Which I’m so glad for, because it turned out to be way less intimidating than I thought and actually really fun! But beyond being such a supportive mentor, I really admired watching her process and how confidently she approached mural painting. It was so inspiring to learn from her not just through guidance, but by watching her in action.
Daria: Ah-mah-zing! Janine was wonderful to work with and I can confidently say that it was more than an opportunity to help someone approach large-scale work– it enriched my artistic practice, and forged a lovely friendship. Janine is an established artist so I’m grateful for her receptiveness towards my expertise and curiosity about the process – I couldn’t have asked for a better mentee. Janine was also very confident and brave when I nudged her towards something she hadn't done in the past – working with spray paint, which she tackled with ease. As an arts educator I’m comfortable with and love getting people curious about different types of art-making, but working with Janine within this mentorship component really allowed me to see myself in a new light as a mentor, and made me want to continue sharing my mural-making experience with other artists in the future.
(Janine and Daria in front of the barriers. Photo: Kwame Newman-Bremang)
6. What role do you think public art plays in a city like Toronto?
Daria: I think public art plays an incredibly important role in helping us experience a sense of belonging and ownership of our shared spaces. Toronto is one big multicultural home to many, and having public art that is accessible to its residents and visitors is a form of caring for the emotional wellbeing of the communities that inhabit the city. It is also a wonderful way to make people feel safe, seen, and curious about their public spaces. I believe that when people are able to feel these things, they become attached to and invested into their (beautiful) surroundings – which in turn leads to an interest in how their city is structured and run – an organic and needed act of reciprocal care-taking that is given willingly.
Janine: I think public art plays a huge role in creating welcoming spaces for us. Toronto is so diverse, and public art helps reflect that diversity and celebrate the many different communities we have throughout the city. It helps turn everyday spaces, like a bike lane, into places where people can feel seen and represented as they go about their day. It also plays a huge role in making art more accessible to everyone and creates moments where people can connect with the city and see themselves reflected in it through its art.
7. If you could add your art to any other element of the city (e.g. crosswalks, sidewalks), what would it be and why?
Janine: I love Toronto’s waterfront, and I would love to see more public art along the Lakeshore paths! So if I could add my art to any other element of the city, I think it would be there. Whether that be the sidewalks, barriers, benches, or planters, I would just love to add my art there to brighten up some of those spaces!
Daria: I’m a hedonist when it comes to art and think there can’t be too much of it, so for that reason the list would probably be long! But a few things I think would be amazing to have are ground murals on crosswalks and sidewalks which would improve safety and navigation, custom painted planters to add greenery and vibrancy, and more monumental mural work – I dream of one day being able to contribute a very large-scale piece to the city. I think it would be amazing to have more murals in densely populated areas like Parkdale, but also spaces that are a bit more sprawling – like the east and west ends, and North York.
8. Do you ride a bike in Toronto? If you do, what is your favourite part of town to bike around?
Daria: I do, and most of the year! (though I’m yet to gather courage to brave a Toronto winter on a bike). I love biking on the newly built bike paths along Bloor Street and University Avenue. I also really love smaller streets in the Annex because they feel very peaceful (and also incredibly smooth). Shaw Street is one of my favourites.
Janine: Yes! I love biking along Lakeshore. The views are amazing, and it’s so great seeing so many people bike this path and engage with the public space. But I think Lansdowne may be my new favourite spot to bike once all the barriers are in place!
Thanks to the artists for chatting with us and doing their part to beautify our bike lanes and thus the city.
Want to find out more about the artists and see more of their work?
Find Daria at:
Website: https://www.dariadomnikova.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/domnikova.design
And find Janine at:
Website: https://janinepayneillustrations.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janinepayneillustrations
