Sound Walls To Be Installed In Akron As Part Of Interchange Project; City Holding Contest For Featured Icons

Akron soon will get its first new sound walls in seven years. For some, this won’t be a welcome sight.The city, however, is hoping the public will help make the walls more aesthetically pleasing.Akron is holding a contest to find iconic images that will be featured on the walls. The icons will be like those on the sound walls on Interstate 77 in West Akron — a blimp and a canal boat, for example — that city officials chose without public input.“We want to give people a chance,” said Stephanie York, Akron’s spokeswoman.