The initiative is meant to uplift the community by displaying public art on select traffic boxes around the neighborhood, said Vicky Taylor, executive director of the Lake Highlands Public Improvement District. The first of the new traffic boxes, which is located at the intersection of Walnut Hill Lane and White Rock Trail, was unveiled May 4.
The backstory
The idea for this art project started at least five years ago during the All in D10 town hall-style meetings Adam McGough, District 10 Dallas City Council member, holds, said Kathy Stewart, former executive director of the Lake Highlands PID. Stewart will replace McGough as the District 10 council member after she won the May 6 general election.
The project, which is fully funded by the Lake Highlands PID, will help fill a void of public art in the neighborhood, Stewart said.
“We don’t have a lot of public art in District 10,” she said. “The city has a lot of wonderful public art, but District 10 has [about] three pieces of public art, and that’s a pretty small number compared to other districts.”
Each box selected for the project will be wrapped with a nature-themed mosaic, Stewart said. The first of the new traffic boxes depicts two peacocks as a nod to the peacocks that are known to live near Flag Pole Hill.
What’s next
The timeline for the installation of future traffic box art displays is not yet set, Taylor said. However, the Lake Highlands Public Improvement District is working to select a site for the next box, which she said will be located in the area near Forest Lane and Audelia Road.
“I can’t really say how many more of these that we’re going to do, but we do plan on doing more,” Taylor said.
The Forest-Audelia box is likely to be decorated with butterflies, which are often seen as a symbol of growth and rebirth. The symbolism is significant for that area of Lake Highlands, which city officials are hoping to revitalize with a new park and multipurpose center.
Stewart said the “best-case scenario” is that the Lake Highlands Public Improvement District is able to install 5-10 traffic boxes in the next few years.
