Reimagining PhinneyWood Signal Boxes

Vinyl wrap artwork & art piece

“Reimagining PhinneyWood Signal Boxes” was a community-powered initiative that transformed 18 traffic signal boxes into vibrant works of public art. Stretching from Woodland Park Zoo up through 90th Street and along key sections of 85th, these installations celebrate the creativity and character of PhinneyWood—a neighborhood born from the blend of Phinney Ridge and Greenwood.

I was selected to design a wrap for the signal box at 83rd St & Greenwood Ave. The wrap was completed in late May 2024, with a community launch party in early June. The project also included an auction featuring artwork inspired by each artist’s utility box design.

Reimagining PhinneyWood

Our challenge: turn 18 ordinary traffic signal boxes across PhinneyWood into vibrant public works inspired by the theme “Wander PhinneyWood”. Each piece was too invite neighborhood goers to “pause, look closer, and see familiar streets in a new light.”

83rd & Greenwood

The box I was assigned powers the only dedicated bike crossing along the PhinneyWood corridor. As an avid cyclist myself, the inspiration was immediate: celebrate the joy of riding PhinneyWood by bike.

Photographer Peter Woods stopped by to capture me mid-project.

Sasquatch, Cyclists, and Wolves, Oh My!

I began by hand-sketching the characters—starting with a bike-riding sasquatch, a PNW nod to the fun and freedom of cycling. Other characters followed, inspired by real-life riders I’ve seen throughout the neighborhood: a mother with her kids in a cargo bike, a wolf riding alongside them (a reference to the howls of children in the 99 underpass); an older couple riding a Brompton tandem together; a rider complete with all the bags needed to run his day’s worth of errands; and more.

The Grand Reveal

On Thursday, June 5th 2025, the wrap was applied and the launch party kicked off to overwhelming success. Hop on a bike, ride over to Coyle’s Bakery for a coffee, and enjoy the artwork and the many cyclists that use the very intersection the signal box powers.