If you’ve been spending time downtown, you may have noticed the new black and white street signs, which is a new initiative of the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID).
The purpose of the BID is to improve and upgrade downtown Humboldt and the idea for the street signs came up when the BID was brainstorming on how to improve downtown.
“We wanted a historic, cozy feel, like what Moose Jaw has,” said Lisa Klee, a board member of the BID who spearheaded the project.
The signs will be put up all down Main Street from 2nd Avenue to Highway 5. Eventually the BID plans to expand the project to the next street and eventually get all of downtown.
Klee did not elaborate on cost, but the funding comes from a tax levied to the downtown businesses. The BID consults with the businesses and gets business owners’ input on any initiatives, so everyone knew about the tax. Klee said there was some concern that the funding is coming out of personal or residential tax money, but that isn’t the case.
Klee designed the signs, and some of the inspiration came from a similar initiative in Lethbridge. She liked the black and white, historical look of the signs.
The signs were actually made by 77 Signs in Saskatoon and the poles that will go with the ground-level signs are being made by CIM and Muenster Powder Coating.
The second name on the signs are actual historical names for those streets, which Klee got from Jennifer Hoesgen at the Humboldt and District Museum.
Klee said that so far the response to the signs has been positive.
