City OKs sign money

Tim Willert

GLENDALE CITY HALL -- After more than two years of debate over

design and cost, the City Council has agreed to fund a sign program

to aid directionally impaired drivers.

The council voted Tuesday to spend nearly $170,000 to manufacture

and install five major directional and 19 secondary signs.

The signs will direct drivers to key points of interest in

Glendale, including The Alex Theatre, Brand Boulevard of Cars and

Glendale Civic Auditorium. Downtown shops and restaurants are also

expected to benefit from the directional aid.

The signs -- tubular metal frames with aluminum panels -- will be

installed at Sanchez Drive and Brand Boulevard, Colorado Street and

Kenilworth Avenue, Monterey Road and Portola Avenue and Brand at

Cerritos Avenue.

Each one of the entry points is freeway accessible or close to San

Fernando Road.

“People get off the freeways and don’t know where to go a lot of

the time,” Councilman Dave Weaver said. “Spending $170,000 on signs so people can find their way around town is fine with me.”

Councilman Gus Gomez, the only one to vote against spending the

money, said the program is not cost-effective.

“It’s a lot of money to spend on signage,” Gomez said. “If it was

$20,000, I could live with it, but $170,000 is way overdone.”

Gomez prefers attaching color-coded signs to existing light poles.

“Those can be very cost-effective because you don’t have to dig a

hole and fill it up with cement,” he said. “The way it has been

approved gives you more clutter on the streets.”

Weaver, though, doesn’t see a problem with spending the money.