Pictured is the sample vehicle sign that has been installed on Alameda Boulevard near Country Club Lane.
June 2016 Update: Signs have started going up at specified locations around Coronado.
At its June 16, 2015 meeting the City Council approved, by a vote of four to one, a Wayfinding Signage Program for the city. The program will include a total of approximately 50 signs and a kiosk. There will be 19 vehicle, 20 bicycle, and from 12 to 16 pedestrian signs. The original proposal included 47 signs. At its special meeting on June 23, the City Council added up to eight additional signs to the program. These will include as a many as six signs on A, B , and C Avenues that will direct pedestrians to cross Third and Fourth Streets at Orange Avenue and one or two signs on Glorietta Boulevard at the bridge that will instruct pedestrians to use the path under the bridge. In addition, 19 existing signs will be removed or collocated with the new signs.
The intended benefits of the wayfinding program are to improve the flow of traffic in the city through improved navigation, to identify points of interest and their proximity thereby reducing the use of vehicles in town, to improve visitor safety and the overall visitor experience, and to reduce the number of lost visitors in residential neighborhoods.
The estimated cost of fabrication and installation of the signs and kiosk, excluding the signs added on June 23, is $475,000. The city has included $300,000 in its Capital Improvement Program for fiscal year 14-15 for the project, and the Port of San Diego will contribute $200,000 to the project. The City Council previously authorized $60,000 to develop the final designs, specifications, and messages and to identify the locations for the signs.
In January 2015, three mock-up signs were installed in the field for the purpose of soliciting community input. A vehicle sign is located on Alameda Boulevard near Country Club Lane. A pedestrian sign has been erected on Strand Way near the pocket park, and a bicycle sign has been installed on the Bayshore Bikeway near City Hall.
A press release and notice on the mock-up signs invited the public to provide input on the signs and the Wayfinding Program. The staff report to the City Council indicated that only positive comments have been received regarding the mock-up signs along with a few suggestions regarding the locations of other signs.
It has long been suggested that wayfinding signage would be beneficial in Coronado given the large number of visitors and tourists who visit the city. The need for wayfinding in Coronado was specifically mentioned in the Orange Avenue Corridor Specific Plan adopted in 2003. In 2012, the Coronado Tourist Improvement District (CTID) hired a consultant to prepare a Wayfinding Analysis and to develop city-wide wayfinding and signage system concepts.
The final draft of the report prepared by the CTID’s consultant was presented to a stakeholder group composed of representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, MainStreet, Historical Association/Visitor Center, Transportation Commission, Bicycle Advisory Committee, Planning Commission, Tourism Improvement District, community at-large, and city staff. The purpose of the stakeholder group was to develop a consensus recommendation for presentation to the City Council. In September 2013, the City Council accepted the report and authorized the city staff to proceed with Phase II of the study.
In March 2014, the City Council authorized awarding a contract to Graphic Solutions, LTD to assist the City in developing the final Wayfinding Program and preparing final specifications. The consultant and staff worked with the stakeholder group to refine the design, messages, locations, and number of signs. The final overall design was approved by the stakeholder group. In consultation with the stakeholder group and the consultant, the city staff determined the final locations, messages, and number of signs. Through this process the number of signs was reduced from the original 133 signs proposed in Phase I to 47 signs, excluding the signs added by the City Council at its June 23 meeting.
The consultant and city staff also met with Caltrans, which provided input on the size, color and locations of the signs. Preliminarily, Caltrans has approved the proposed Wayfinding Signage Program with the exception of four signs that need minor location adjustments. In compliance with a Caltrans requirement, the stakeholder group selected the teal color for the vehicle and pedestrian signage. Wayfinding signage cannot be the same color as Caltrans standard green signs. Further, the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) requires a standard green background for the bicycle signage.
The signs will be fabricated out of aluminum and three dimensional, ranging from two to four inches in depth. The face of each sign will be either teal or green with white lettering. The backs of the signs will be painted silver with a wave pattern in light aqua metallic silver. The poles supporting the signs will be galvanized steel with a metallic silver painted finish. A city logo of a crown, painted gold, with “Coronado” in green will appear at the top of each sign. The large signs will have decorative, cast aluminum bases. All painted elements of the signs will have an anti-graffiti coating.
The signs should be installed in the next three to four months with the exception of the signs on A, B, and C Avenues and at Glorietta Boulevard and the bridge that were added by the City Council at its June 23 meeting. According to Assistant City Manager Tom Ritter, these signs should be in place within the next month. The other signs will follow after the city receives encroachment permits from Caltrans, the Port Authority, and other property owners; prepares and issues request for proposals, and selects the vendor. The vendor will then fabricate and install the signs.
The vote in opposition to the program was cast by Councilman Richard Bailey. He explained the reason for his opposition as follows, “I think the program is well-intentioned, but in my opinion at a price tag of nearly $500K the vast majority of the fifty proposed signs provide little or no value to our residents or visitors. This program originated back in 2003 and the way we navigate has changed a lot over that time largely due to smart phone technology that many people, both young and old use every day to get around. I hear many residents stating we have too many signs and too much clutter in town, but I rarely hear we need more signs. The additional signs I am supportive of are the ones that direct visitors traveling by foot on the safest route from the Ferry Landing to the beach, business district, and Hotel Del. But there are some signs that simply state the obvious -“Beach to your right” when you can hear the ocean, or the “Bridge Up Ahead” when you can see the bridge, or “Bike Lane” when you already know you’re in a bike lane…these are just a waste of money and increase the visual clutter.”
