LYNNWOOD—The newest member of the City of Marysville’s fleet of specialized maintenance vehicles now has a name: Sir Stripes-a-Lot.
In an NCAA-March-Madness-inspired bracket, the City encouraged residents to vote for their favorite names. After three rounds of weekly voting, ‘Sir Stripes-a-Lot’ garnered the most votes. Other contenders were, in order of popularity:
- Optimus Lines
- The Emperor Stripes Back
- Wesley Stripes
- Stripy McStripeface
- Piper the Striper
- Pablo the Painter
- McFly
“We think these are fun ways to get community involvement in getting to help name new equipment,” Streets Supervisor Jake Wetzel said. “The timing of the naming contest for the paint truck worked perfectly with NCAA’s tournament.”
In previous years, the City contracted out for street paint striping, but with nearly 190 miles of roadway needing to be refreshed annually, the City decided it was time to bring the job in house.
Sir Stripes-a-Lot streamlines the painting process into three steps. 1) Thin nozzles clear debris away from paint paths on the street by blowing pressurized air. 2) Another set of nozzles spray paint lines on the street. The truck holds about 500 gallons of yellow and white paint, and can apply both colors simultaneously. 3) A third set of nozzles applies a layer of reflective beads to the wet paint, which helps improve visibility at nighttime.
After Streets crews complete training to operate the paint truck, residents may start seeing Sir Stripes-a-Lot on the road sometime after June.
“We really appreciate all the support during this naming process, and I was really impressed with the level of community engagement,” Wetzel said. “I’m hoping to have the truck at our Touch-A-Truck event on Sept. 14 so everyone can meet Sir Stripes-a-Lot in person.”
This is the second time that the City has organized a naming contest for a specialized Public Works vehicle. Last fall residents suggested names for the City’s new hydro excavator, “Stormy.”
SOURCE: City of Marysville
