At first glance, it might just seem like a painted sidewalk.
But new public art on San Ysidro's Willow Road footbridge also offers some surprising functional advantages.
"It is helping preserve the pavement. The materials can help also reduce ground temperatures because of the reflectivity. We've also piloted a glow-in-the-dark treatment to make the space more vibrant at night," said Nick Buenviaje, Caltrans' Government and Community Affairs manager.
Caltrans partnered with a San Ysidro nonprofit art space on the project.
"It is a very important bridge to this community. We knew that. There's a lot of history along this bridge," Buenviaje said.
An elementary school on one side means a regular flow of kids crossing to get to and from school. The nearby library, transit center and small businesses also bring a lot of foot traffic.
"People cross to get their groceries and cross back. There's park spaces on both sides, so it's a pretty heavily used pedestrian bridge," he said.
BLK Box Gallery was co-founded six years ago by brothers Elbert and Ernesto Gonzalez. Elbert Gonzalez said their design for the bridge was inspired by alebrijes — brightly colored, fantastical creatures in Mexican folk art.
"It's a big part of our culture. It's a spirit animal that's like a protector. It's a guide. I think that's very big in our community as far as having that — to be able to reference and get the unity that we need," Gonzalez said.
The gallery and Caltrans' partnership is called "De Colores," or "made of colors." A geometric pattern spans the length of the bridge, painted in five bright colors. Some sections are formulated to glow in the dark.
While Elbert Gonzalez has worked on other public art projects before, this type of paint is new to him.
"I've been working on some (murals) here, but never with the material that they used. I was pretty excited to find out that they had the glow-in-the-dark paint," Gonzalez said.
The glowing sections are a pale yellow-green color similar to the glow-in-the-dark stars that decorate many childhood bedroom ceilings.
"It's actually these greenish ones that absorb the sun throughout the day and then at night illuminate," Buenviaje said. "It has an added product to it. But they do kind of a base layer, the glow treatment, then a protective coat."
And much like our childhood glow-in-the-dark stickers and toys —
"You can even tell the difference between a sunny day and a cloudy day in terms of how much it glows," he added.
Along the path, a series of stenciled silhouettes depict miniature scenes of neighborhood life and history — children hitting piñatas, running to school and a family planting a tree.
"This one's one of my favorites. This kind of represents the agricultural history of San Ysidro from the early 1900s. There was the Little Landers Colony, you know, kind of the thought that all the family needed to survive was kind of a strong community and a little plot of land," Buenviaje said.
Each silhouette has a specific historical significance — but Buenviaje says families can now find their own meaning on the bridge.
"There's still to this day along the Tijuana River Valley, you have a lot of small family farms, and it's also the largest community garden in the county, in San Diego, along the river valley," he said.
Buenviaje said the silhouette of kids walking to school is a nod to community activism after school bus routes were cut.
Pavement treatments like this mural can extend the life of the pavement — and they can also reduce ground temperature
"Just looking at solar reflectivity, and how the products could — rather than absorb — reflect heat. And in that way, we look at what we call urban heat islands. And so this was a space where because of the pedestrian traffic, we thought it was worth a try to reduce the ground temperatures here," Buenviaje said.
The brightness of the paint livens up the bridge at night, he said. But it's the sense of ownership and pride that he hopes the community feels that will ultimately make the bridge safer.
"There are studies showing that when you beautify an area, it decreases vandalism, decreases littering. And we saw studies of how it can increase active transportation and walkability within a neighborhood," he said.
A few blocks away, crowds of young people gather at BLK Box for an all-ages metal show.
Much like the bridge mural, the work at BLK Box is about connecting the community, making existing spaces more vibrant while providing a safe outlet for art and creativity.
"I think the community has shown us that by having this space, they're not writing on the walls. We've kept it in here. So that's great, just hearing back from the immediate community that they're not getting written on anymore," Ernesto Gonzalez said.
BLK Box was founded to meet a real need: community events, live music and visual art — for everyone.
"It's a community center for everybody to enjoy. To be able to just fly with their idea, their passion. There's a lot of people that don't get the doors opened because they don't have any connections to a venue or to somebody that has the potential to open those doors," Elbert Gonzalez said. "So I'm just glad to be able to have that door open for them, because I wish I had that when I was growing up at that age."
The gallery celebrates its six-year anniversary on Thursday, with music, art, food and festivities from 3 p.m. to midnight.
Despite recent arts funding challenges, Gonzalez hopes that in another six years — and beyond — the work continues.
"Just to be here, to be around, to be accessible, to just have the doors open and the lights on," he said. "I think we just need to get more of the arts, music and culture integrated into the community, and will help shape the youth. It's proven in statistics as far as the more that we push that into our community, the less crime rate, less violent rates."
