MOUNT VERNON — New street signs are going up in downtown Mount Vernon. The new signs, which will go up in three stages, are designed for more readability and will mark intersecting streets, direct motorists to free city parking areas and show the way to area parks.
Installing the signs will be an ongoing project for an indeterminate time. Debris removal in the city is taking precedence over the new signs, although some have gone up already. Motorists should be aware of the installation process and the lift trucks that will be blocking some traffic during the installation.
The effort is a result of a determination by the Greater Downtown Management Council that realized better and more informative signage was needed in the city.
“The Heritage Centre Association took on the task of getting the task done,” said Lynne Ricard, downtown manager of the HCA. “In October last year was the first meeting of local stakeholders with a firm called EyeThink. It is a company based in Powell, Ohio. They came in to meet with the stakeholders to get an idea of what people thought was important with the signage and what all needed to go into it.”
EyeThink designed the signs and also surveyed the city to determine where new signs should go and what they needed to communicate with drivers in the city.
There will be blue signs with white lettering to identify street names. Signs with a black background will direct motorists to municipal parking areas. Signs at the seven entrances to the city will have a brick-red background and welcome visitors to Mount Vernon.
The effort is the result of a combined effort of the Community Foundation, which gave a grant to HCA for the purchase of the signs, Ariel Corp., The Mount Vernon Parking Co. and the Rudin Fund. While the signs are being installed by street department personnel, the signs were not purchased with taxpayer money.
