More than 70 volunteers gathered on Keolu Drive in Kailua to paint a rainbow crosswalk mural near Kaʻelepulu Elementary School, turning a stretch of road where a beloved mother was killed in 2023 into a tribute designed by the very students who walk past it every day. The mural honors Jenifer Van Lent, a Kailua mother, Tūtū and retired educator who was killed in a crosswalk during an early morning walk in January 2023.
Van Lent was struck near Keolu Drive, close to Kaʻelepulu Elementary School, according to Hawaii News Now. Her daughter, Sabrina Cervantes, said she and her family still bring flowers to the spot every week in her mother's memory. Cervantes told the outlet she wished her mother could have seen the finished mural in person, adding that the family now looks for Van Lent in rainbows whenever they appear.
Students Designed It, Adults Had to Paint It
The rainbow crosswalk mural was designed by third- and fourth-graders at Kaʻelepulu, who studied Kailua's land and stories before creating the artwork, according to Kailua artist Lauren Roth, who helped bring the students' vision to life. Roth, who is based in Kailua, worked alongside the children to translate their ideas into the finished design on the pavement. Because the road itself was too dangerous for children to work on, adults ultimately carried out the painting on the students' behalf.
The project came together as a partnership between worried parents, the students and Kaʻelepulu's PTSA, according to the same report. Kate Chang, a parent and PTSA member at the school, said the effort was meant to help keep the community safe, noting the mural sits at the corner of Akiohala and Keolu Drive, adjacent to Kaʻelepulu Elementary. The mural's bright colors are intended to slow drivers down, visually narrow the roadway and remind motorists that they are passing through a school zone.
A Response to Years of Speeding Complaints
The push for a visible safety fix followed years of frustration in the neighborhood. Cars continued speeding past Kaʻelepulu Elementary despite earlier safety measures, including handheld “see me” flags meant to help children cross, and many parents said they feared letting their kids walk to school at all. The mural design was presented to the neighborhood board before receiving approval from the Honolulu mayor's office, paving the way for what organizers described as a positive step forward for the community.
The concerns around Keolu Drive are not new. Honolulu's Department of Transportation Services has planned broader improvements to the roadway and portions of nearby Wanaʻao Road, Awakea Road, Ka Awakea Road and Paukū Street to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, according to Spectrum News Hawaii. The city has said Keolu Drive was built primarily for vehicles, and that drivers often speed while children biking to school lack connected or protected lanes and struggle to navigate existing crosswalks safely.
Citywide Push to Slow Drivers Near Schools
The Kailua mural is part of a larger, ongoing effort across Oʻahu to address school-zone safety. Honolulu has been updating traffic signs across the island to reflect new 20-mph speed limits in school zones from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on school days, according to Aloha State Daily. That project is expected to install or update roughly 10,000 traffic signs at more than 200 schools islandwide. As of this past July, 14 school zones were under contract for new signage, with installation expected to begin rolling out the following month, per Civil Beat.
Hawaiʻi law prohibits drivers from exceeding the maximum speed limit established for a school zone, under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes §291C-104. The danger facing Oʻahu schoolchildren drew statewide attention after Van Lent's death: about a month later, 16-year-old McKinley High School student Sara Yara was killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver on Kapiʻolani Boulevard, according to Hawaiʻi Public Radio, a loss that helped galvanize lawmakers behind safer-street legislation that year.
How Other Schools Can Apply
Schools interested in designing their own crosswalk mural can request information by emailing [email protected] or calling 808-768-8312, the same contact shared for the Kaʻelepulu project. For the Kailua community, though, the mural's meaning goes beyond traffic calming. It stands as a daily, visible reminder of the mother, Tūtū and educator whose family still stops to leave flowers on Keolu Drive.
