My wife and I noticed this even before we bought our house and loved the whimsy – I remember leaning out the window as we did a loop around the circle (yes, we went ALL the way around, like a good motorist should) to see what each sign would reveal.
I’ve asked around the neighborhood, but no one is talking. I see a gleam in the eye of a couple of neighbors – but thus far the artist remains elusive!
On occasion, someone takes offense and puts duct tape or otherwise marks up the sign.
They remind me a bit of the work of Alberto Vargas, a famous artist known for his movie posters , and for a series of pin up girls called “Varga Girls”. He also created the cover art for The Cars album “Candy-O”
Or maybe someone from Seattle’s Old School Pin Up Store lives in Wallingford? Who knows?
What do you think? Whimsical? Too little? Too much? You can see for yourself at the intersection of 39th Ave and Bagley Ave N!
I dunno…I kinda think the ladybug at wallingford(?) and 49th(?) is the best intersection…clearly the artistic pedigree of the ladybug does not rival the Vargas underpinnings of these, but the ladybug is super creative, super fun and super effective at slowing traffic..and it wins points for community participation as well…
but, perhaps, you simply find the ladybug a little too, um, pedestrian? ha ha
We live on this block and love it (though my mother-in-law was apparently scandalized).
The ladybug slows traffic the first time someone drives through the intersection. It’s useless after that.
Love the whimsy! Makes me smile every time!
The lovely ladybug is not a traffic calming circle, it’s art, a street painting sanctioned by the City. Many find it far from “useless”. See http://www.yourdictionary.com/ars-gratia-artis#
I like the signs. and probably would love the ladybug too.
I’ve noticed way to0 much speeding on the north south streets in this neighborhood.
No, the ladybug is pretty useless when it comes to slowing down traffic. We live on that block and get a lot of cut-through traffic, especially when 50th is backed up on nice, sunny days. The ladybug is cute, but it doesn’t really slow anyone down. Not that a circle necessarily would either, though. Maybe a brick wall? I don’t know. I do hope nothing bad happens. There are lots of kids in this area.
I’m looking forward to the end of the “Brittany-Paris” fad where sexualized, objectified images of women aren’t considered cute and trendy.
I like the images on most of the signs – someone hula-hooping, someone skateboarding, people gardening. But, the pin-up image of the bent-over woman in stilettos waiting for “?” Unlike the other images, I’m having trouble imagining that happening in a public Wallingford space. So, I’m puzzled as to why its inclusion would be considered whimsical or neighborly.
@Hik Bikski – has there been a time when images like those in the traffic circle weren’t considered cute or trendy?
And how different is it than items such as local billboards with guys with no shirts, big muscles, etc? I’m truly curious – do you think there is a difference? Are men being sexualized in art and advertising too?
I agree with Carole. Not only is the bending -over- woman rather obscene, it’s also not very imaginative. I’ve seen that silhouette a thousand places. Love the hula hoop and the skateboarding one, and would like to see MORE like those ones!
I like the collection of the 4 images. Seems to say, “Wallingford, something for everybody.”
Gosh Holly, I have not seen the sillhouette of a woman picking flowers in many other places. Would it help if she were plump and frumpy? It can be arranged.
What would YOUR traffic circle look like? I personally am a shapely lady (keep those legs nice with lots of skateboarding!!!) who wears high heels. Even in the garden…it’s o.k. to be sexy and athletic.
Well don’t you worry girls and boys: after a very nice piece on the 10 o’clock news last night (Channel 13) a representative of all came and removed the whimsy.
They took them down? Damnit! Why do people so love to ruin the enjoyment of a bit of public creativity for everyone else? If you don’t like it, don’t look at it. Don’t suppress and ban things just because it isn’t to your taste! That’s not what America should be about people. Or maybe these art removers are the kind who like to burn books in their basements too?
The Hula-Hooper crossing sign is a symbol of the band “The String Cheese Incident”.
http://stringcheeseincident.shop.musictoday.com/Product.aspx?pc=3IAS08