Sign costs a sign of the times?

This sign at Western Reserve is an example of the kind of quality that the local board hopes to bring throughout our parks and reserves – but at significant cost.

More than $200,000 is being spent on renewing and improving signs in parks and reserves in the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board area.

The aim is to remove and replace signs that contain legacy Council logos, amalgamate the signs to de-clutter and improve readability and “provide a better park user experience by optimising signs”.

Initially, signs in 19 reserves are to be replaced– 11 of these reserves are on the Hibiscus Coast.

A total of 275 signs will be replaced at an estimated cost of $225,150 – making the cost per sign more than $800. The bulk of this cost, $175,150 is allocated for installation of the new signs.

On the Hibiscus Coast, 164 signs are to be replaced– including 47 in Orewa Reserve and 33 in Stanmore Bay Park.

In part the expense has come from the process itself, which began in 2017 with contracting the assessment of the conditions of the signs out to Paradigm, a design and print business in Auckland city.

Last year Council staff went on site visits to the reserves “to ensure signage conditions had not changed since the signage audit in 2017”.

The work was then prioritised and the local board approved the programme of work at its February 20 meeting.

At the meeting, local board members Caitlin Watson and David Cooper questioned the cost of the work. In response, senior local board adviser Michelle Sanderson said that it was about producing a high quality result.

The next stage is to plan and design sign concepts for each reserve. Designs will be presented to the local board for approval, and the signs will then be manufactured and installation scheduled.

If any money remains in the budget at that stage, the signs in further reserves will be investigated.