lansingwayfinding120All the little signs dotted on the corners of major intersections in the Town of Lansing will be gone soon.  Wednesday the Town Board came closer to replacing haphazard signs with municipal wayfaring signs that will help drivers find local businesses.  Code/Fire Enforcement Officer & Building Inspector Lynn Day presented design alternatives to the board and asked board members to approve a plan.

"We had talked about having wayfaring signs on North Triphammer Road, across from East Shore Drive, and on the corner of Brickyard Road," he said.  "It's up to you where they go.  We will put the posts up and a 'Welcome to Lansing' sign.  Then each person will pay to get on it.  That will be their sign instead of having individual signs on the corner.  It will be a one-time charge."

wfs_millerpicPhoto of Burlington sign by Kathy Miller

The board is considering using two designs for different locations in the township.  The first would be made of two steel posts with slats spanning them, each slat a sign for a nearby business or municipal location.  The second involves a single post with signs mounted in different directions.  Day suggested three inch high letters at the stop light at East Shore Drive and 34B and four inch letters for other signs.  One may be placed at the intersection of Ridge Road and Brickyard Road, and another at the corner of North Triphammer and Peruville Roads.

Day said he will send letters to businesses that previously placed their own signs on street corners to notify them that the signs are no longer permitted.  He will offer them the option to buy a slat on the new wayfaring sign.  Any nearby business will also be able to buy onto a sign.  He said the cost of the sample slat was about $40 and the charge to get onto a wayfaring sign would simply cover the cost.

"If anybody sees it an knows about it and wants to get on it, then they will," Day said. 

Day added that municipal destinations like the Town Hall and Lansing Community Library should also be on the signs.

Councilman Doug Dake said that signs that are not in compliance should be removed, noting it is within the Town's rights to do so.  Day said he would notify them, but Supervisor Kathy Miller agreed with Dake that they should also be removed by Town employees.

"That's what other towns do," she said.  "They just take the signs down."

wfs_slatA sample of a slat with four inch lettering showed board members how readable the signs will be

Day had a sample slat made to show how readable the new signs will be.  He placed the sign at one end of the town courtroom.

"You can read those four inch letters very clearly from that doorway and that's 48 feet away," he said.  "If we put one across from East Shore Drive I would like to shrink it down to three inch letters because you are stationary (at the traffic light) when you are looking at it."

The sign posts will be made of steel.  Town officials are considering a black and gold color scheme.  Day said he asked Cayuga Signs' Craig Christopher about using Lansing schools blue and gold combination, but was told it would be harder to read from a distance.  Freestanding signs in Lansing can be as high as 15 feet, but Day said the new signs will be about seven feet high.

Councilman Doug Dake asked Day how soon he could implement the signs.  Day replied that it can be done very quickly once the Board approves a design and the expense.

"I would like to have something in place by May," Day said.

v10i8