Savannah Standard

The City of Savannah has initiated a project to wrap traffic cabinets with graffiti-resistant laminates featuring archival photos, aiming to beautify streets, combat blight, and reduce graffiti abatement costs. The City's Transportation Department recently installed 16 wraps and plans to complete eight more, with another round scheduled by the end of summer.

“The new wraps on our traffic signal cabinets will help reduce the cost associated with removing graffiti which has been a constant maintenance issue for the City,” said Stephen Henry, Senior Director of Transportation. “They also provided an opportunity to beautify a typically mundane looking but required transportation device.”

Images for the cabinet wraps were sourced from various collections in the City of Savannah’s Municipal Archives and selected based on the location of each cabinet. For instance, at the corner of Price and Henry, near the Carnegie Library, a photo from 1914 was used.

“The use of historic images on the cabinet wraps helps share Savannah’s rich history with visitors while giving area residents a sense of pride in their community,” stated Luciana Spracher, Director of Municipal Archives.

The images were taken from collections such as WW Law Photographs, V. & J. Duncan Postcards, 1902 Artwork of Savannah, Savannah Fire Department Collection, Municipal Archives Photographs, MPC Historic Preservation Photographs, Engineering Department Maps, and Palumbo Postcards.

The vinyl wraps are designed to resist permanent markers, spray paint, and adhesives; these substances can be easily removed using simple cleaners.

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