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June 24th, 2009
Downtown gets new street signage

City workers install new street signs.

STAFF REPORT

Downtown visitors might notice some new signage on the Courthouse Square, as the City of San Marcos and 3M Corporation install new easier to read, decorative street signs. The signs are part of a pilot project to evaluate new reflective sheeting technology.

“Studies have shown that better signage reduces accidents,” said Sabas Avila, the city’s assistant director of public services. “In San Marcos, where we have a wide range of drivers from young college students to elderly tourists, these signs may be a low-cost way to improve driver comprehension and reduce accidents.”

The signs include larger lettering and block numbers, with distinct colors and insignia. They are blue and white, with a San Marcos logo on the right side. The signs also incorporate Diamond Grade DG3 reflective sheeting from 3M, which is made up of millions of highly reflective, full-cubed prismatic lenses. The lenses allow drivers to see the signs at farther distances and wider angles.

“In addition to the safety benefits, the new signs are distinctive and help to delineate San Marcos’ historic downtown,” said Avila.

City workers will continue to install the new signs over the next two months, as hardware is delivered. They will be installed from Guadalupe Street to C.M. Allen Parkway.

Four of the signs were donated by 3M and San Marcos purchased ten additional signs. The total cost of the project, including discounts and hardware, was less than $5,000.

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0 thoughts on “Downtown gets new street signage”

  1. Cripes… get a real logo to put on that! This should have waited and incorporated whatever logo is used as part of the future wayfinding sign system. Personally, I’d like to see some internally-lit street signs on the major roads to help with navigation at night.

  3. I hope that total cost includes the labor and overhead to install those signs. If not, that makes these signs $500 each??!!

  4. I wouldn’t worry about the installation cost. City staff replace street signs all the time as part of routine maintenance throughout the city, and the existing signs were in rough shape (faded, lost reflectivity). These just happen to be a different type of sign. The signs are an improvement, but every city I’ve seen install signs like this have a more unique logo. I do like that the 100 blocks are clearly shown.

  5. Why even have the city “logo”? Are people so lost that they need to know what city they are driving in? The “logo” just adds to the overall size of an already large sign which clutter and block an already congested skyline/sky view.

    What is the “logo” anyway? It just looks like “San Marcos” in a Times New Roman font with a New York license plate orange “Texas” below it… not creative at all. I say cut that part of the sign off.

  7. Ethel… quit bitching… they are good street signs!!! Some people will complain about ANYTHING!!! or any improvement!!!

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