Belmont aims to help people find their way

The initial efforts started around 2019, though they were placed on the back burner after the COVID-19 pandemic, tightening budgets and other initiatives became higher priority.

“Branding and identity and connectivity and prompting safety is really important, and I think this project does that,” Councilmember Davina Hurt said during the Tuesday, Dec. 3, City Council meeting. “This is a framework, and we’ll continue to delete and add as necessary and there is even more time for input.”

The plan is in the early stages, but preliminary research calls for various signs placed throughout the city. Signs would be placed in areas like the Belmont Village, which has been a focus for where the city wants to attract more visitors in recent years.

“Part of this has been trying to discover the right characteristics of Belmont through environmental graphics and wayfinding. We’re looking to develop a cohesive system that works for visitors and residents,” said Jenn Bressler, principal at Hunt Design, a consultant on the project.

She added that part of the objective is to also direct people to parks, schools, City Hall, Barrett Community Center and the Notre Dame de Namur University campus.

However, Councilmember Tom McCune was not in favor of some of the initial designs, including the logo, stating it looked like “a barren, desolate moonscape, not a lush, green vibrant cityscape.”

“I’m strongly in favor of a good signage and wayfinding program. I think much of what has been done here is good, but it still needs work,” McCune. “I think there should be more work done at this stage before I would be comfortable voting for it.”

A budget amount has not yet been allocated or determined by city staff or council.

“We still have a lot of work ahead of us to really define all the fine-grain details,” Community Development Director Carlos De Melo said.

The council voted 2-1 to move ahead as discussed in the meeting.