Tuesday, March 22, 2011

creative deterrent to tagging...

I did a double-take last week as I drove my usual route to town and noticed we had new Canada Post drop boxes in our community...


...that looked like this.  Before they were were solid red...and now they sported a jumble of letters, which turned out to be postal codes from across the country.  I learned that Canada Post has come up with a new and creative way to deter graffiti artists from vandalizing their drop boxes.  Let's hope it works.

As we were out and about on our Sunday afternoon drive...I noticed that BC Hydro has much the same idea. 


The green service boxes that once blended into the landscape...


...have now been replaced with works of art.

Petunias, evergreens and clematis are replacing...


skunk graffiti.   What do you think?

23 comments:

  1. What a brilliant idea. I do hope no one tries to spoil them.

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  2. Interesting approach to graffiti in your corner. Graffiti...blick!

    (The city next to us decided to try allowing schoolkids to create "acceptable" graffiti in an effort to avoid the obnoxious stuff. It's still quite "the look."

    Our local post office has a can of spray paint and they cover it up immediately. That pretty much serves to dampen the spirits of the most tenacious graffiti "artist.")

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  3. They are quite attractive, much better than 'skunk 1'. Hope it works! :D

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  4. Creative ideas... will be interesting to see if it works. I know here, on stone walls with murals, there seems to be less grafiti done than there is on plain ones they have to repeatedly wash.

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  5. Great pics. I like the creativity of the mail boxes and the utility boxes are beautiful.

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  6. What a great idea! And it adds a bit of pretty to an otherwise unsightly object.

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  7. We have them here on the Island too, and they seem to work. The village of Oak Bay has been doing this for a long time, with vintage photos of the current box location. It has been two years now and no graffiti!

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  8. I do like the idea of those mailboxes and such blending into the background but it's better this way than seeing all the graffiti. I noticed that our mailbox is scratched up, that's not so easy to cover up.

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  9. I hope it works, too. Those really are pretty alternatives. I don't think I'd want to be part of Skunk 1.

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  10. I dislike graffiti and I like this approach to make it more difficult to make these objects a canvas for it! The utility boxes look very pretty!

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  11. Judy I noticed the Canada Post boxes when i was in the city last weekend. I think it's a wonderfully creative way to brighten up utilitarian structures. Hopefully it will prevent graffiti!

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  12. I would LOVE to live with such beauty.

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  13. Thumbs up on that!

    I hope they will periodblueically change the designs. Oh wait, if they keep each design permanently the boxes can be used for giving directions, like turn left after the box painted blue with white flowers.

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  14. I had no seen the BC Hydro boxes.. I like the ones you captured...but the mailboxes... I did a double take too. I still like the plain red ones.

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  15. I love the new mailboxes and was so excited to see them start appearing around town. Haven't seen the new hydro boxes, love how they blend.

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  16. These look great...such a good idea. Havent seen them on public bins in the UK but I have seen similar covers that can be bought and attached to wheelie bins.Much better than the graffiti!

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  17. What creativity! I would have take pictures of those boxes too. I do hope that serves to deter the graffiti. Let us know if it did next year.

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  18. Fantastic idea don't you think? Now. .what kind of covers will they come up with for the trains that we watch with interest as we wait at the crossing.

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  19. Such a great idea to cover graffiti! They should do it on the back of buildings as you ride the trains!

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  20. I have noticed them as well....and rather like them. Glad you shared what our city is doing to keep things looking nice.

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  21. Skunk will have to line up at the unemployment office now!

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  22. I love our new mail boxes. Did you catch any of those photos last year at the Olympics? They must of just come to this part of the valley...
    Interesting how they have made creative art statements out of our utilities.

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  23. We live in Langford and also have an unsightly BC Hydro box in our front yard. Anyone know if we can get the City (or BC Hydro) to beautify it for us? I know they do the ones on City property...

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'The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.'
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson