Street signs lose direction

June Casagrande

The good news is that city officials could soon reach a consensus on

new signs to guide visitors through the city. The bad news is that

now there’s no money to produce them.

A city committee charged with helping to choose a design for city

directional signs has come out in support of oval signs with white

letters and gold trim. Council members eventually will give final

approval. The committee, made up of members of the business community

and residents, was charged with helping to select a design and then

trying it out at several city intersections.

Last week, cardboard copies of the signs were placed on Jamboree

Road, Coast Highway, 32nd Street and Balboa Boulevard. A four-day

test period for the signs that ended Thursday gave officials a chance

to see the signs in place and drive past them to assure they were

large enough to read from a moving car.

“Generally speaking, a majority of the subcommittee liked the

shape, the color, the lettering,” said George Berger, economic

development program manager for the city. “We have higher standards

here in Newport Beach, so we wanted to be sure that this will be

something the community will like and appreciate.”

But now it looks as though there isn’t enough money in the next

budget to build and install the signs.

“Our estimate was almost $400,000, and given the fiscal situation

we are in at this moment, that did not get included in the

recommended capital projects for next year,” Assistant City Manager

Sharon Wood said.

Staff won’t include the funding request in the upcoming fiscal

year’s budget, she said.

“We are hoping we can at least get the design and the program

approved and seek funding at another time,” Wood said.

The plan is to have the design phase approved and ready to go for

whenever the council decides to purchase the signs.

The signs will help motorists and pedestrians find general and

specific destinations in the city. For example, signs posted on

southbound Coast Highway could help motorists avoid the common

mistake of turning right onto the peninsula when they really intended

to head toward Laguna Beach. The signs will note specific

neighborhoods, districts and destinations such as Cannery Village,

Corona del Mar and Fashion Island.