Politics & Government

Hey, Stranger, Come Spend Money in Our Town

Novato moving toward implementation of signs to point the way to Old Town business district and other key locations.

You might know your way around the Old Town business district in Novato, but do the out-of-towners cruising up and down Highway 101?  

We want to lure them like an Amsterdam madam into our lair to spend money at our restaurants, boutiques, antique stores, coffee shops — everywhere. It's going to require some non-Novato dollars to help our small businesses thrive and stave off any more vacancies.

On Wednesday, the city planners will discuss a wayfinding signage program before the Novato Design Review Commission and try to pinpoint which revised sign concepts, gateway features and logos will work best to pull in more business to the Grant Avenue corridor. The commission is to provide a recommendation to the Novato City Council about preferred wayfinding choices.

Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Randy Stemmer of the Downtown Novato Business Assocation said his group gives a green light to the signage program.

"Uniform design and colors that lead to the downtown shopping area and parking are key to any downtown's success," he said. "The DNBA encourages all parties involved in this project to work together to complete this project and get the signs up as soon as possible."

Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The city hosted two community workshops about wayfinding options over the past two years and now has reached the point with final recommendations for things like sign sizes and color schemes.

The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at .


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