By Dedra Cordle
Staff Writer
When Donna Bogue gives directions to her home in the village of Urbancrest, she always keeps her phone in hand.
“I always get that call asking where it’s at,” she said.
According to Bogue, the problem is not a lack of clear direction, nor a lack of understanding; instead, she says it is the lack of the village’s identifying features along the main entry point.
“There are some there but they’re easily overlooked,” she stated.
The village council and administration say they know it is an issue for visitors to the community.
“Some people just don’t know where (the city of) Grove City ends and where Urbancrest begins,” said village Mayor Joseph Barnes Sr.
To try to make the two neighboring communities more easily identifiable, council recently began discussing the possibilities of marquees on Broadway.
At the July 10 meeting, Brian Coghlan, the vice-president of the engineer and surveyor company Bird + Bull, presented council with a conceptualized rendering of the marquees. While council expressed interest in the design, it sparked a debate about the necessity of the planned quantity and its locations.
There were initially three planned locations for the marquees (one on First, one on Fourth and a multi-flag display on Central) which would make the village home to four marquees; one is located near the highway entrance and exit on Centerpoint Drive. This led some members of council to say it would be overkill to have four marquees in a village of its size.
“I think having three marquees on this side of the village is a bit much,” said Deborah Larkins-Jackson, referring to the residential portion of the community.
Alicia Wiggins agreed.
“I think it’s really just a matter of taste,” she said.
After discussing the issue further, council decided the best scenario would be to place a ‘Welcome to the Historical Village of Urbancrest’ sign on First Avenue; keep the multi-flag display with a historical marker on Central Avenue; and install the marquee on Fourth Avenue. The marquee would likely come with solar lights and possibly planters or other landscaping ideas.
While council did come to a consensus on the locations, resident Bogue said she was hoping for the large marquee at First Avenue.
“I don’t think it was overkill,” she said during the meeting.
Barnes and council members said they could revisit the issue in the future should they feel the corner looks bare after the installation of all of the entry features.
