Where can you find sand hill cranes, metal spires and what some call a “Steam Punk Weathervane”? If you are in the city of Jackson, you can find these sculptures and more in the middle one of Jackson’s ever multiplying traffic circles.
When exiting the highway onto Cooper Street exit off I-94, you’re instantly greeted by a traffic circle. Heading to Cascades Park? Traffic Circle. Going to Ella Sharpe Park? TWO traffic circles. If you mention these vehicular rotary phones to an area resident, you may end up going round and round about their virtues or lack there of for several minutes.
Opinions vary on their effectiveness, however according to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s study, roundabouts lead to 37% less collisions and 90% less fatalities than traffic lights. Conversion to roundabouts also led to quicker traffic flow, with a reduction in delays of anywhere between 20% and 89%. They are also cheaper to build.
One of the issues municipalities deal with when converting an intersection into a roundabout is what do they do with all the dead space in the middle? What will residents and tourists see on their left as they traverse in a circle?
Enter Jackson area artists and the giant sandhill cranes on Fourth Street, metal spires at Kibby and Deton Road or the sculpture that kind of looks like a weathervane but isn’t one at Washington and Cooper. These works of art give us something to do as we wonder if the car on our right knows how to get around.
The City of Jackson is looking to round up “Sculpture Proposals” for the traffic circle at MLK Drive and E. Morrell Street. This traffic circle is currently void of any art and if you’d like to contribute to the city’s south side neighborhood by offering up your idea for a full-sized sculpture you have until Tuesday, November 1st 2022 to submit your proposal to the Jackson Public Arts Commission.
Requests for Proposals are posted on the City website and it provides more information about the guidelines and qualifications. A link is provided below.
JPAC and the City of Jackson hope to decide on a design and have the artwork installed in the spring of 2023. In the meantime round up your ideas, circle up your friends (maybe some Rotarians) and get those ideas in round about November 1st, 2022.