The grey, featureless steel cabinets that house the paraphernalia for traffic and pedestrian signals are a magnet for vandals.
But wrap these ugly boxes in pretty wrapping and the tendency to decorate with graffiti diminishes.
It costs taxpayers approximately $10,000 a year to get rid of the graffiti, and a program to install anti-graffiti decorative wraps has proven so successful in other municipalities that the Township wants to follow suit.
“It’s a great idea,” Councillor Bob Long said, adding that the program is even better when school children become involved in the art that decorates the boxes. It then becomes a crime-prevention program, he added.
Councillor Charlie Fox said that just as the orchard town of Kelowna tailors its utility cabinet wraps to apples, Langley should do the same with its different communities, such as Fort Langley and Aldergrove.
A report to council revealed that the incidents of vandalism or graffiti cost $350 each, while the cost to install the anti-graffiti wraps on existing signal cabinets is about $800-$1,000 per box.
Council approved the program, agreeing to spend about $35,000 a year over the next three years.
