San Diego District 2 City Councilman Ed Harris, volunteers from beautifulPB and community volunteers participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 20 to unveil the first “Safe Route to School” intersection mural to emerge in San Diego. 
BeautifulPB, the ecodistrict for Pacific Beach, unveiled its latest community improvement project at the intersection of Diamond and Haines streets. After nearly a year of planning, more than 110 volunteers gathered to paint an enormous street mural as part of the “Safe Route to School Street Art Murals Installation” project. 
The mural project was a collaboration between beautifulPB and Pacific Beach Middle School, and is the first of several murals planned at PBMS and local Pacific Beach elementary schools. Student Ciara Gray, in ninth grade at Mission Bay High School, designed the mural while a student at PBMS and worked together with local artist Lorrie Blackard Friet during the summer to finalize the design. BeautifulPB planned, organized and funded the project and then invited the Pacific Beach community to paint the mural and celebrate its unveiling with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. 
“This project will engage students and the public in practicing a safe morning commute — something we cannot take for granted with so many children walking to school through the busy streets,” said Kristen Victor, board president of beautifulPB. The mural serves as a traffic-calming measure while highlighting local student artwork.
“These murals will mark the heart and center of the PB community and help create a safe environment for our children,” Victor said.