Largo’s $97K welcome sign project: More than aesthetics

Why would a city spend nearly $100,000 on welcome signs?

For Largo officials, the answer isn’t simply replacing aging infrastructure. It’s about creating a stronger sense of arrival for residents and visitors while reinforcing the city’s identity in Pinellas County, where municipal boundaries can be easy to miss.

The Largo City Commission approved the purchase and installation of new gateway signs Tuesday as part of its consent agenda, authorizing an estimated $97,313 for the project. The item was approved without discussion.

The project will replace six aging gateway signs at key entrances to the city, along with facility signs at the Belcher Soccer Complex, Largo Cemetery and the Largo Central Park Nature Preserve.

While the project replaces aging signs, city officials say it’s also intended to strengthen Largo’s identity and create a more cohesive identity at the city’s entrances.

“The City of Largo’s gateway sign project began with the need to replace several aging entrance signs that were no longer consistent with current City code,” Communications and Engagement Director Kate Oyer wrote in an email to the Catalyst. “Rather than simply replacing the existing signs, the City saw the opportunity to create a more cohesive and welcoming experience at key entrances to Largo.”

Oyer said the signs were designed in-house by the city’s Communications and Engagement team and are rooted in Largo’s 2017 branding initiative, which included community outreach to help shape the city’s visual identity. She said the project is intended to create a more consistent look throughout the city, while improving wayfinding and providing visitors with a recognizable sense of arrival.

The project also supports goals outlined in Largo’s Vision 2030 Strategic Plan, which identifies community pride as one of the city’s four strategic focus areas and calls for fostering a welcoming community while enhancing public spaces through beautification and signage.

According to city documents, approximately $60,000 is budgeted annually for welcome signs, while another $52,500 was budgeted this fiscal year for replacement facility signs. The approved expenditure falls within those existing appropriations.

Forward Pinellas Executive Director Whit Blanton, whose agency coordinates long-range planning among Pinellas County’s 24 municipalities, told the Catalyst gateway signs have become a common planning tool, particularly in a county where the boundaries between cities often blur together.

“There’s not a lot of differentiation when you drive down East Bay, Roosevelt, 66th Street or U.S. 19 from community to community,” Blanton said. “Communities want to have a sense of character and a sense of place and a sense of arrival.”

He said gateway signs work alongside streetscape improvements, landscaping, architecture and other design elements to reinforce a community’s identity. “It can’t do it all on its own,” Blanton said. “But that kind of consistent branding really reinforces a sense of place and a sense of community.”

Blanton said creating a recognizable identity has value beyond aesthetics. Communities with a strong sense of place can foster civic pride, help businesses identify with the community and distinguish themselves from neighboring municipalities.

“There’s inherent economic value in creating a sense of identity and a sense of place,” he said.

Blanton said Largo has spent years working to define itself in a county where neighboring cities often blend together. In a county with 24 municipalities packed into 280 square miles, he said, gateway signs help distinguish one community from the next.

He said communities with historic downtowns or railroad corridors often develop a natural identity over time. Largo, by comparison, has had to build that identity more intentionally through efforts such as downtown redevelopment, landscaping and gateway signage.

“I think Largo has really been working hard to define itself as a city,” Blanton said.

“It’s all a strategy.”