Lansdale Wayfinding Moves Closer to Completion

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign. Commuters and pedestrians will be getting around a lot easier in Lansdale Borough soon.
Last week, council unanimously approved three motions related to the wayfinding program in the borough: An agreement with PennDOT for Lansdale Public Works to maintain all related signage on state roads, a cost agreement with the Lansdale Parking Authority related to phase two of the project, and the preparation and advertisement of bid specifications for fabrication and installation of necessary signage.
Council's approvals came on the tail of recommendations for approval by the Communication Commission and Economic Development Committee last week, as some of its members were on a steering committee for the wayfinding process.
Borough Manager Timi Kirchner told both committees that the wayfinding product is now 100 percent complete, due to the efforts from contracted firm Merje Environmental Graphic Design. By being fully complete, Merje has satisfied its task of taking the project to the bidding process. 
The wayfinding project preliminary work was wholly funded by a $42,000 Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission grant, Kirchner said. Lansdale Parking Authority and Lansdale Borough contributed $5,000 matches each to the project, Kirchner said.
Kirchner said the wayfinding project would be phased in two parts.
"It makes sense, since there is so much construction in the borough right now," Kirchner said. "There are many destinations that are not even in place yet."
Phase one of the project will cost the borough an estimated $68,400 for 11 gateway signs.
Phase two of the project is all the remaining parking signage, at an estimated cost of $24,900. This includes six parking trailblazer signs, one parking directional sign and five parking lot identification signs, Kirchner said.
However, the Lansdale Parking Authority will be reimbursing the borough for the $24,900 cost, Kirchner said.
"This all started with the parking authority, with the parking study they did," Kirchner said. "The parking authority worked hard to make parking profitable in the borough. It's not and it hasn't been."
Kirchner said if parking is to be profitable, then people need to know where the parking lots are in Lansdale through good signage.
"The new Susquehanna (Avenue) lot, being done as part of the PCTI project, that's going to be a prime parking lot we would want people to go into," she said. "We want people to park there and come through the borough to get to the train station. It optimizes the look at the borough and what's here for people to see." 
Kirchner said the agreement with PennDOT is needed since signs will be posted on Main Street, which is a state road.
"In the agreement is we would engage in a planning process, and that meets the requirements of PennDOT, and that we would put the project out to bid, according to all rules that govern the bidding process, and that we would pay for the wayfinding and maintain the signs that are on the state routes," Kirchner said.
At the joint Communication Commission and Economic Development Committee meeting last week, Councilman Steve Malagari, a member of the Economic Development Committee, asked about the budgeted amount to pay for the maintenance of the signs.
"How much will it cost in the beginning phase? Once all the signs are fully installed, what is the maintenance budget?" Malagari said.
Kirchner said maintenance costs would come out of the public works budget.
"I don't know what the cost of maintenance would be or installation costs, but we do have that planned," she said.
Economic Development Committee Chairwoman Mary Fuller said a plan for maintenance was part of the whole package discussed in the planning phase with PennDOT.
As far as a warranty on signs, Sign-a-rama owner Mary Schwalje said the specifications define the signs must be for long-term usage with anti-graffiti covering.