Portland's utility boxes get an artful glow-up
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A Blazers-themed utility signal box on the corner of Southeast Hawthorne and 12th Avenue is one of dozens of designs. Photo: Meira Gebel/Axios
Portland is dressing up one of its least glamorous pieces of public infrastructure: the bulky metal cabinets on street corners that keep traffic lights running.
Why it matters: The brightly-colored "signal wraps" are part beautification project, part maintenance experiment — with the goal of adding more artistic whimsy across the city while also deterring graffiti.
State of play: You've seen signal wraps around town. Some are covered in oversized roses, clouds and comic book-style graphics, while others have lumberjacks, animals and cartoon characters.
Catch up quick: The signal wrap initiative grew out of the Public Environment Management Office — a small team led by director Anne Hill that was created during the pandemic to tackle visible quality-of-life problems like graffiti, trash and neglected public spaces.
- The agency began wrapping utility boxes with graffiti-resistant vinyl coverings last year. They featured rose-themed graphics designed and donated by creative agency Wieden+Kennedy as part of the "Portland Is What We Make It" campaign.
- The Blazers also have their own designs with the team's slogan, "Rip City runs deep."
What they're saying: Before the wraps, many of these utility boxes were repeatedly tagged and subsequently painted over in mismatched swatches, leaving them looking patchy and worn.
- "When you're standing there waiting for the bus, instead of seeing something that's been painted 16 colors or is just old and gross looking, what can we do to both beautify and solve a pragmatic problem?" Hill told Axios.
Between the lines: Signal boxes and utility cabinets house electrical equipment that control traffic lights, crosswalks and other traffic operations. Downtown, they often sit along narrow sidewalks or at intersections.
- In East Portland, taller, larger boxes are often visible at busy transit corridors.
- Hill said her office focuses on adding signal wraps to areas where people wait for the MAX, shop or sit in traffic.
By the numbers: There are now 130 wrapped signal boxes across Portland (with nearly 50 more in the works) and more than a dozen different designs.
- The average cost per installation is about $1,750.
What's next: The office is working to maintain the wraps to see if they reduce long-term repainting and cleaning costs.
- Hill said the initiative has to have some return on investment besides the civic pride she's seen it bring to neighborhoods and businesses.
- "People are now like, 'We want ours done. When can we get ours?'" she said. "It's high impact, it brings a smile."