Kirkwood Spending $40,000 for Downtown Directory Signs

Kirkwood is investing $40,000 to erect new directory signs that will help guide visitors searching for businesses, restaurants and other attractions in the city’s downtown.

The set of six signs will have black posts with a maroon frame surrounding a beige gold map insert. Downtown Kirkwood Executive Director Donna Poe said they are the second phase in the organization’s “wayfinding program” and predicted they will become a valuable asset.

“It is something that can directly impact our businesses,” she said. “Plus, we are seeing more and more tourists and they need to find their way around.”

There isn’t a solid timetable yet for when the posts will be installed. The project only recently received the go-ahead from city hall and must be put out to bid, but Poe said she hopes to see them up before the summer is over.

The costs of the signs will be paid out of the Special Business District's budget, a separate fund from the city's general operating budget. 

The first phase of the program involved signage put in four years ago at the city’s public parking lots. Poe said the design and color scheme of the directories will coordinate what has been erected at the parking lots.

“We want a consistent program that reinforces our brand,” she said. “Historic and charming is what we are looking for.”

The next step involves larger, destination-specific signs for some of Kirkwood’s most visited spots, such as the train station or the farmer’s market.

Poe shared the plan and the designs with downtown Kirkwood business owners at a recent annual meeting between the two and received a positive response.

“We are very excited and I can tell you that the businesses are very enthused about it as well,” she said.