All signs point to Poulsbo
Published 10:15 am Saturday, April 26, 2008
POULSBO — Residents and shoppers traveling the streets of Little Norway will soon be taking new cues as they navigate the town.
Fifteen coordinating signs designating Poulsbo’s major business locations have been developed by the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the city and area merchants.
The postings could be in place as soon as the end of the month.
The Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce Directional Signage Project — which gained momentum last April after the city council committed $24,000 from the hotel/motel tax fund reserves to the program — was designed to create improved customer flow community-wide. With locations around town chosen by local business owners, the signs will provide clear direction to nearby shopping, gas and food amenities, the waterfront, historic downtown, lodging, Olympic College and city hall.
“It’s additional signage to help facilitate the flow of consumers and shoppers through the area,” said chamber executive director Stuart Leidner, adding the Historic Downtown Poulsbo Association, representatives from the Poulsbo Village, College Marketplace, Viking Avenue and Poulsbo Mayor Kathryn Quade all contributed.
Visitors will not only be directed to various distinct shopping districts throughout the city, but will see specific business placards purchased by individual companies. The annual fees needed to acquire those spots will go toward the sign upkeep, which was designed to be fairly easy.
“The city is going to do the maintenance,” said Poulsbo Mayor Kathryn Quade. “That’s one of the main reasons we picked the materials that we picked.”
Made of recycled milk jug material and Ultraviolet stabilized colors, no repainting will be needed by city workers. Instead, just the occasional “power wash” will be required.
“I’m really thrilled,” said chamber board president and North Kitsap Herald publisher Donna Etchey. “It went really well. People were really excited and wanted to be a part of it. I think it’s going to be really good for the shopping districts.”
Sign locations will include various spots along Highway 3, Finn Hill Road, Bond Road, Viking Avenue, Lindvig Way, Lincoln Road and State Route 305.
“Having an overall uniformed approach to the signs is certainly going to make it easier to identify where they want to get around town,” Quade said of visitors. “If we’ve got to have signs I’d like to make them as aesthetically pleasing as possible.”
Quade added the signs should create expectations for drivers, who will soon come to anticipate finding certain information on them.
“I’m excited to see them out on the road,” said chamber office administrator Trina Wood. “They’re going to help flow people a lot better through Poulsbo. That was one of the major goals of the project.”
