City of Grand Rapids
Park Entry Sign Development
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Department began the process of creating a cohesive park entry sign replacement plan over a year ago. Kicked off by a competition for a sign design, the public had a chance to vote on which entry should become the new City park sign. Building on the winning design, Williams & Works and Valley City Sign are assisting the City in the development of an park entry sign suite and final design. An inventory of park signs to be replaced, research on the zoning and permitting of signs, and preliminary cost estimates have provided a basis for refining the final signs.
The design portion has included exploring non-traditional materials, assessing color schemes, forming sign icons, and creating a sign suite to fit mini park, community park, and regional park scales. The final design is reflective of the winning submission through similar textures and colors, but will better fit the character and natural elements of the existing parks.
Final details and specifications for the sign suite will become the standard for construction of future park signs. Two park entry signs were constructed and installed at Canal and Roberto Clemente Parks in 2021, with additional park sign replacement to follow.
