All Those Bright Lights Didn’t Help Trinity Sign Bid

It is coveted by many but goes only to a few: the “Next Exit” freeway sign.

Disneyland has several. Ditto Knott’s Berry Farm. Universities are so marked.

But not many are chosen, as the folks at the Trinity Christian Center International, home of the Trinity Broadcast Network in Costa Mesa, learned last week when their request for some extra guidance for their visitors was denied.

“We have to be very conservative and careful about who gets the signs,” said Rose Orem, a Caltrans spokeswoman. “People think we’re giving Disney special treatment, but we follow strict guidelines.”

To approve every request for a sign is a scenario transportation engineers dread. They call it “sign pollution.”

So they draw the line, and the gleaming, faux-classic Trinity complex just off the San Diego Freeway did not make the cut.

Caltrans officials say Trinity doesn’t qualify because it can be easily seen from the freeway (especially at Christmastime, when an abundance of white lights sets the building aglow).

Perhaps most important, it doesn’t generate enough traffic.

Trinity would like the agency to reconsider.

“We’d like to dialogue with them,” spokesman Colby May said. “I don’t know what real study they did or did not do in judging the benefits . . . but we believe there’d be a real benefit of Trinity having a sign.”

Several hundred visitors a day come to the complex, May said. As many as 3,000 can be expected for major events.

But with Disney attracting more than 13 million visitors a year, those numbers hardly raise an eyebrow at Caltrans.

Of course, Trinity did not go into the reject heap alone. With 10 to 15 such requests a month in Orange County alone, all sorts of applications are turned down.

Last month, Caltrans said no to the Fullerton Arboretum (not enough attendance). A few months back they turned down a La Habra wholesaler of surplus state office equipment--the owners thought their line of work might get them special consideration.

“It didn’t,” Orem said.

Even the Crystal Cathedral is signless along the major freeways because its jutting glass steeple is hard to miss, Orem said.

The signs--green and white for general interest, brown and white for historic landmarks--are paid for by the group or business making the request.

Signs pointing the way to Old Towne Orange were the last to be approved in Orange County.

Peter Naghavi, Costa Mesa’s transportation manager, said he understands the need for Caltrans to be choosy, even though it was his request on behalf of Trinity that was turned down.

“Can you imagine if Caltrans agreed to give signs to every private entity that wanted one?” he asked. “It would turn into a Hong Kong. There would be signs everywhere.”