Murals painted on Graham Avenue starting to peel and crack

A colourful part of the painted road on Graham Avenue is already in need of a touch-up.

Weeks after being painted as part of a pilot project to beautify a section of downtown Winnipeg, murals painted directly on Graham Avenue have started to peel.

In June, four blocks of Graham Avenue were closed to vehicle traffic making the street a pedestrian friendly hub. As part of the hub, murals were painted on the street throughout July.

However, as of Aug. 13, some of the paint is starting to chip away.

Coun. Janice Lukes said they believe the paint chipping is due to the years of oil residual on the road, as it served as an active bus route until this summer.

“When something’s a pilot, we experiment,” she said. “We learn that it’s not going to be perfect every time. So, I don’t think people need to get worked up about this. We’re going to touch it up. We’re going to learn.”

Cool Streets Winnipeg painted the murals over 10 days in July.

A spokesperson for the City of Winnipeg said the crews used an acrylic floor coating designed for exterior courts before the murals were painted.

“Despite our best efforts, however, the amount of imbedded oil in the concrete remains high due to all the buses that previously operated on the road. The peeling is happening in the same location on both sides of the road, likely based on vehicle oil pan placement,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson added that the city declined to chemically treat the street before the painting happened, saying it would’ve added a week to the timeline and increased costs in addition to chemical run-off. They added the street was cleaned “as thoroughly as possible” before the first coat of paint was applied.

The painting was funded through a grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative, the city said. Funding is available for touch-ups in 2026, but no funding has been set aside for 2027 and beyond.

“As this is a pilot, we’ll be able to use this data when considering the permanent redesign of the street,” the spokesperson said.