New signposts to be installed downtown

Black Victorian-style signposts, like the one pictured, as well as new black and white street signs, are scheduled to be installed in several spots throughout the downtown area this week. (Michael Pommier/Tribune)

Thanks to a project by the Phoenix Committee, new signs and signposts will soon be included in the historic downtown district.

The project, scheduled to begin this week, involves the replacement and enhancement of about 35 street signposts and signs in the downtown area from Third Street to Skubitz Plaza near the Fort Scott National Historic Site, and from National Avenue to State Street. It is another project to help continue to beautify downtown Fort Scott and enhance the uniqueness and historic look of the downtown area, officials said.

Street signs downtown will be replaced with black and white "helicopter-style" signs, while the regular metal street signposts will be transformed into black Victorian-style posts that coordinate with the street signs and feature scroll work on the bottom of the signs and a ball-type finial on top.

Committee member Jim Pitts said the project will take a few days to complete. Signposts will match the style of street light poles along downtown streets.

"In the historic district, we're sleeving all of the vertical support posts for the stop signs and street signs with decorative supports similar in style to the light posts downtown," he said.

This summer, the Fort Scott City Commission lent its support to the project, releasing funds designated to the committee to pay for the project.

The committee originally planned to replace all signs, including parking signs, street signs and stop signs, however, they realized it would not be possible with the amount of funds they had available. The project was scaled back to focus only on street and stop signs.

"We're bringing all signs up to date with new federal standards concerning design," Pitts said.

The committee researched new federal guidelines regarding lettering, size and reflectivity of signs, as well as the minimum height off the ground, and decided the new signs would comply with the regulations to prevent them from having to be replaced in the future.

Pitts said the city of Fort Scott will provide the new posts that will be elevated to seven feet off the ground to comply with the standards. Sign Posts Transformations, of Mission, Kan., will be doing the installation. The company produces a decorative sleeve that fits around the existing post, thus keeping the cost down by eliminating the need to remove the old post and install a new one.

Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lindsay Madison said a portion of the materials that will be used for the Sign Posts Transformations'project comes from Extrusions Inc., a local firm.

The signs will be provided by Newman Traffic Signs, a Jamestown, N.D., company.

Pitts said the project is expected to cost about $16,000, about half of the committee's available funds. Once the project is complete, the committee will look into purchasing "way signs" to direct tourists to attractions around town.