New street signs sought for Tamaqua
An incident at the Willing Park in Tamaqua led Mayor Nathan Gerace to ask Tamaqua Borough Council for No Parking signs in the area of the basketball courts. The signs were approved and will hopefully deter motorists, such as this one Tuesday night, from parking on the grass. KATHY KUNKEL/TIMES NEWS
Tamaqua has 229 intersections throughout town. Of those, 127 are missing street name signs and another 35 have signs that are almost illegible, according to Councilman Tom Cara, who is spearheading a project to replace street and stop signs as needed.
Cara made a motion at Tuesday night’s council meeting, seeking approval to purchase $5,000 in new signs from U.S. Municipal Supply. Funding for the project will come from the borough’s liquid fuels tax fund. Each sign, according to Cara, will cost approximately $60 for the sign, post, brackets and hardware.
“This means we can update about one-third of the signs we need.”
The motion generated much discussion, from colors to adding block numbers to the bottom of the signs. After all was said and done, the new signs will have a blue reflective background with white reflective lettering. Some of the streets with longer names, such as Orwigsburg Street and Schuylkill Avenue, may forgo the St. or Ave.
As to whether the new colors will clash with the current signs — those not being replaced — council members agreed to continue replacing signs until they all match.
In another beautification matter, Cara made a motion to redo the “Welcome to Tamaqua” sign at the south end of town, the one in the area of the Speedway station. Graver’s Landscape Design proposed creating a new sign, moving it closer to the highway, adding boulders, lights, two hydrangeas and river rock, as well as creating a 25-by-25-foot lawn area, using Kentucky bluegrass. The cost was quoted as $3,070. Cara’s committee is hoping to install or replace welcome signs at all four entrances to the borough, one at a time.
Other council members questioned where the funding would come from for such improvements, to which Cara had no specific answer. The motion was tabled for further discussion.
Council also approved:
• The sale of 216 Penn St. for $3,006.
• Handicapped parking for 235 Spruce and 403 Willing streets.
• List of members for the Owl Creek Reservoir Commission.
• Roof repairs to the building housing the office of District Judge Stephen Bayer.
• The request of Mayor Nathan Gerace for No Parking signs near the basketball courts at Willing Park.
• Resignation of Kevin Titus, an employee at the Still Creek Water Treatment Plant.
