A traffic signal controller cabinet by the sidewalk at the southeast corner of 41st Street and Colby Avenue is adorned with a North Cascades scene on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 in Everett, Wa. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

A traffic signal controller cabinet by the sidewalk at the southeast corner of 41st Street and Colby Avenue is adorned with a North Cascades scene on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 in Everett, Wa. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Everett’s new art installation is a real traffic-stopper

EVERETT — The city’s colorful new art installation is a real traffic stopper.

And it didn’t cost taxpayers a cent.

What’s up with that?

It’s a traffic signal controller cabinet by the sidewalk at the southeast corner of 41st Street and Colby Avenue. Instead of steely gray, the tall vertical box is adorned with a popular North Cascades scene of a snow-capped mountain reflected in bright blue lake water.

It’s something pretty and calming while you anxiously wait for the light to change.

Kathleen Baxter, spokeswoman for the city’s Public Works department, said the vinyl wrap was a free option by the cabinet supplier.

Accepting it was a no-brainer.

“Well, if it’s no cost, why don’t we see how it works and give it a try?” she said. “We’ve been wanting to try it. It was a good location.”

The corner is along the corridor that is part of the 41st Street Freight Mobility Improvements project for better traffic flow and pedestrian safety.

TrafficWrapz, a company specializing in protective film to beautify ugly utility objects, installed the wrap.

Baxter said the city’s traffic engineering division selected the scene showing Mount Shuksan reflected in Picture Lake from thousands of choices. Mount Shuksan, which is near Mount Baker, is one of most photographed mountains in Washington state.

Utility boxes are a magnet for graffiti, a ready canvas for gangs and teens with spray cans.

“(The wrap) is supposed to be graffiti resistant,” Baxter said.

Cities worldwide, including several in Washington, are transforming signal cabinets into artful masterpieces.

Lynnwood has decorated two, with a third in the works, said Fred Wong, Lynnwood’s community programs coordinator.

“It’s an economical way to add art, beauty and history to our public spaces,” Wong said.

The first project last year features butterflies and flowers on a box at the intersection of 196th Street SW and Scriber Lake Road by the Big Lots store near Highway 99.

Students at nearby Cedar Valley Community School had a hand in designing it.

In May, Lynnwood arted up a second box at Alderwood Mall Boulevard and 40th Avenue W with bicycle and railroad graphics highlighting the segment of the Interurban Trail that was the former Seattle-Everett Interurban Railway.

Officials even invited the public to celebrate with a ribbon-cutting and sparkling cider toast.

At the Everett site, there wasn’t any hoopla when the mountain majesty debuted last week.

Maybe diners at the Ivar’s and McDonald’s across the street raised a cup of soda in appreciation.

There are 177 signalized intersections maintaining law and order in Everett.

“We don’t have plans to do any more,” Baxter said. “We’ll see how it performs and what people think about it. We wanted to see what’s the response.”

What’s your verdict? Send an email to everettpw@everettwa.gov.

Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.