Photo by Ian Gleadle
The first of five gateway signs welcoming tourists to Woodinville stands proudly at its new Woodinville-Duvall Rd.

The first of five gateway signs welcoming tourists to Woodinville stands proudly at its new Woodinville-Duvall Rd. location, near the White Stallion.

According to Mick Monken, director of Public Works for the City of Woodinville, many residents began noticing the signage immediately and have called to comment on it.

He says, “The feedback from people has been very positive. The public seems to like it and the sentiment is that it adds charm and character to the area, not to mention that it provides important destination information for those entering the city.”

The idea for such signs originated with the city’s Tourism Taskforce Committee as a means to help identify Woodinville as a destination. The committee was formed about a year ago with the intention of helping to define who comes to Woodinville and for what purposes do they visit the city.

“We needed to examine what tourists are looking for when they come here,” explains Barbara Grube, Woodinville Chamber of Commerce president and member of the Tourism Taskforce. She adds, “Many come to visit the wineries, which have increased in number over the past several years, and others come to shops Market. Still others come for the new skate park or to bike down the trail. We wanted to develop an efficient way for vehicle users, cyclists and pedestrians to find their way to various services and attractions. The signs are a great solution because they help to guide people and help to define tourism here in Woodinville.”

According to Monken, the process to develop the design concept began last February and it received final ordinance approval by the City Council in late spring. The design, which was approved by the Tourism Taskforce Committee, was created by an artist at Ste. Michelle Winery and it features the city’s logo, in handsome maroon, green and cream colors. The other four main gateway signs will be located at the entrances to Woodinville from each of the varying directions.

“These signs create distinct gateways to the city,” says Monken, “and indicate general directions to destinations within the city. Then there will be several other types of smaller wayfinding signs. One type is a general directional sign. These will be located at key intersections to indicate changes in direction. Then there are secondary signs to provide directions to specific tourist-oriented businesses and destinations. The name of the business or destination and an arrow are on these signs.

Finally, there will be “wayfound” or “destination” signs which are site specific. These will have the name of the place and a removable open/closed sign or hours of business on them.”

The signs are being purchased with a combination of public and private funding. Businesses will need to pay to play for point of interest signs and/or destination signage.

“We’ve had quite a bit of interest from various businesses in the area,” adds Monken. “They want to be able to be easily identified by people entering the city and this is a great way for them to let visitors know they exist and where they are located. It’s a classy way to do it, not unlike what you might find down in Napa Valley.” Monken expects the major gateway signs to be installed by the end of the summer, with the rest of the smaller signage to follow.