Fourteen traffic signal boxes along Government Street and nearby Mid City neighborhoods could soon be covered in vinyl artwork instead of bare metal and, in some spots, graffiti tags. Mid City Merchants is asking the Metro Council to approve the plan, which would stretch from Park Boulevard to Lobdell Avenue at Goodwood.
The Metro Council reviewed the proposal Wednesday night and could vote on it as soon as Nov. 11, according to WAFB. The station reports the project has grown since it was first pitched: the first phase was originally planned to include 10 boxes, but it expanded to 14 after neighborhood groups threw their support behind it. The Goodwood Crime Prevention District, Capitol Heights Crime Prevention District, Garden District Civic Association and Ogden Park Neighborhood Association all backed the expanded plan, per the same report.
The idea traces back to a public call for artists issued by The Walls Project, which sought one or two artists or artist teams to design original work for ten utility boxes across Mid City and Old Goodwood. The Walls Project, working alongside Mid City Merchants and the Old Goodwood Crime Prevention and Neighborhood Improvement District, described the goal as a walkable art trail reflecting the people, places, history, architecture, businesses and character of the surrounding neighborhoods.
Budget, Timeline and a Scheduling Mismatch
The original artist-design budget topped out at $5,000 for all ten boxes, or $500 per box, according to The Walls Project's call for artists. The current proposal sets aside a larger figure, about $2,000 per box, covering artist fees, administration, labor and installation materials, the station's report notes.
There is also some confusion about when artists needed to apply. The Walls Project's own posting listed September 4, 2026 as the application deadline, while WAFB's earlier coverage gave the deadline as Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. Either way, six artists ultimately responded to a national call, and a selection committee has since chosen artists who are now submitting revised design drafts, the station reports.
Under the arrangement described by The Walls Project, selected artists create the artwork and production-ready files, while printing and installation fall to the project partners. The Walls Project runs the artist call for an administrative fee and is working with the contractor that will install the wraps once the council signs off, per the WAFB report.
Who Pays, Who Maintains
Funding for the Mid City Merchants public art fund comes partly from events like White Light Night and Hot Art Cool Nights, and crime prevention districts have their own small funds set aside for beautification and enhancements, the station notes. Mid City Merchants and The Walls Project also have funding lined up to rewrap any box damaged, for example, by a car.
The city-parish will not maintain the wraps once they go up. Mid City Merchants is responsible for replacing an unattractive wrap or removing it and cleaning the cabinet, and the city-parish will notify the group if its department spots graffiti on a wrapped box, according to WAFB's reporting. Fred Raiford, East Baton Rouge Parish's transportation and drainage director, does not anticipate issues with the plan, per the same report, and both the city-parish and Mid City Merchants must approve the design proposed for each box.
Built to Last, and to Deter Graffiti
The wrap material itself is heat resistant and weatherproof, with an expected lifespan of about 10 years, and it will not damage the circuitry inside the signal boxes, the station reports. The designs will vary by the location and community around each box, and Mid City Merchants expects the artwork to deter graffiti, with beautification and community improvements believed to deter crime more broadly, per the station's account.
That belief echoes findings elsewhere: research on murals and graffiti deterrence suggests that improving services such as removing garbage, graffiti and vandalized items may reduce fear as much as it reduces crime, according to a study published on researchgate.net. Downtown Baton Rouge already has signal boxes depicting civil rights movement history, and Mid City Merchants hopes to emulate similar art-box programs running in Lafayette, New Orleans and Hattiesburg, Mississippi, per WAFB.
Other Cities Have Tried This Too
Baton Rouge would not be breaking new ground nationally. In Charlotte's Plaza Midwood neighborhood, local artists' work was printed on vinyl wrap covering eight signal boxes along Central Avenue and The Plaza back in 2019, coordinated by the Plaza Midwood Neighborhood Association and Plaza Midwood Merchants using neighborhood funds and a city Placemaking Grant, according to the Charlotte Observer. That effort drew 80 submissions from artists ranging from high schoolers to established names, backed by a $7,000 Placemaking Program grant.
Portland has taken the concept even further. The city now has 130 wrapped signal boxes with nearly 50 more in the works and more than a dozen distinct designs, Axios reports, at an average installation cost of about $1,750 per box. Portland's transportation agency began wrapping boxes in graffiti-resistant vinyl as part of a broader public-environment push and is studying whether the wraps ultimately cut down on long-term repainting and cleaning costs.
Design Rules and What Comes Next in Baton Rouge
Per design guidelines described by WBRZ, each Government Street box is meant to function as its own artwork while fitting into a cohesive, walkable trail, with designs meant to be recognizable from the roadway while rewarding pedestrians who stop to look closer. The signal-box wraps also must not trap heat, according to WAFB's reporting.
Graphics for the first 10 boxes are being finalized this week or early next week, and four additional boxes make up what's being called Phase 1A, per the station's report. Mid City Merchants plans to begin installation as soon as the council approves the plan, with some boxes expected to be up before White Light Night, held the Friday before Thanksgiving.
Looking further out, Mid City Merchants hopes to eventually wrap utility boxes on North Boulevard and Florida Boulevard once signal upgrades and replacements happen under MovEBR projects, and the group is aiming to add a couple dozen more wraps over the next two to three years, according to WAFB's reporting.
