Fresno unveils first traffic box mural near airport in east central area
Fresno’s first traffic box mural went up near the airport, launching a pilot backed by city funding and aimed at curb appeal, vandalism reduction and corridor investment.
A traffic cabinet on McKinley Avenue near Fresno Yosemite International Airport and the 144th Fighter Wing has become Fresno’s first Box Art installation, turning a piece of ordinary street infrastructure into an aviation mural and setting the tone for a citywide beautification push.
The mural was created by Kayla Casteel and anchors the city’s new streetscape effort in east central Fresno. The aviation theme fits the corridor’s location near the airport and military base, and Casteel’s personal tie to the subject is close to home: her partner is an air traffic controller. The project also carried family meaning, with her children seeing the work as proof that persistence and hard work can pay off.
City leaders are treating the mural as the start of a broader pilot, not a one-off decoration. Fresno says the Box Art Program is a new initiative launched with Beautify Fresno and funded as part of citywide art beautification approved in June 2025 for the 2025-26 fiscal year. City documents say the goal is to turn traffic cabinets into canvases for original art while also helping deter vandalism, a practical benefit that matters in corridors where public infrastructure can be an easy target for tagging and wear.
The city’s program structure makes the public investment broader than a single neighborhood gesture. Fresno says artists of all ages and experience levels can submit designs through an open call, with selections moving through panel review, finalist selection and higher-level approval. That process is meant to widen access to the work, giving both emerging and established artists a chance to shape how Fresno’s intersections look and feel. The first phase of the pilot centered on 20 traffic boxes in central Fresno, with a reported budget of about $100,000 and artist stipends of $1,000 per box, up to three boxes per artist.
The next phase is already mapped out. City materials say the 2026 round will split the work between two themes, aviation and Bulldog spirit. McKinley Avenue is set aside for aviation, while Shaw Avenue and Cedar Avenue will carry Bulldog spirit designs tied to Fresno State. The city lists 20 cabinets in all, with six on McKinley between Cedar and Clovis avenues, 10 on Shaw between First Street and Chestnut Avenue, and four on Cedar between Bullard and Gettysburg avenues. Fresno’s timeline calls for an April 22 RFP advertisement, a May 22 response deadline, June 3 artist selection, June and July installations, and July unveilings, extending the program deeper into central Fresno corridors.
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