Alexandria officials are test-driving a new series of street signs aimed at helping drivers and pedestrians find their way around the city, but not everyone is happy about the latest additions to Old Town’s historic scenery.
The city has scattered nine new signs throughout the neighborhood’s centuries-old environs.
The signs range from two large brick welcome-to-Alexandria “gateways” on the north and south ends of Washington Street, to signs directing drivers to parking lots, to “mini-kiosks” intended to help pedestrians navigate the neighborhood’s streets and tourist sites.
The new signs are temporary mockups meant to draw resident feedback, but they likely represent the face of Alexandria’s future.
“The goal is to create a more comprehensive and unified way finding system for the whole city,” said Carrie Beach, who works for Alexandria’s planning and zoning department.
Not everyone is excited about Old Town’s new look.
“These signs are excessive, they’re a waste of money, and they will diminish and detract from the city’s historic ambiance,” said Poul Hertel, president of the Old Town Civic Association.
Hertel said he and other residents cherished Old Town’s historic character, and the new signs posed a threat to the neighborhood’s old-fashioned aesthetic.
Beach said her department was aware of resident worries.
“We’ve worked very hard to make sure that these signs have the appropriate character for Old Town,” she said.
Mayor Bill Euille empathized with Hertel’s concerns and said the city would work with residents to get the signs right.
“It’s important to make sure [the signs] fit in with the old historic district and it’s not something that causes a blight,” he said.
Euille also emphasized the new sign program was still in its early planning phases.
So far the City Council has approved funding only for new traffic signs directing drivers to local parking garages, which Hertel said he supported.
But he said he opposes the city’s ultimate plan to install large kiosk-style maps, more traffic signs and city boundary markers.
“When you try to make signs explaining every single detail [of the city], it becomes just astoundingly cluttered,” he said.
