The city has published an open call for submissions to create new neighborhood welcome signs, a welcome change as some of the city’s most prominent neighborhoods have gone years without one.
The mayor’s office put out their call on February 7, a broad collaboration between several city departments to redesign and create signage welcoming arrivals to Boston’s various neighborhoods. They’re paying out $1,000 for each chosen design with the help of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
The
requirements of the signs themselves are fairly broad so long as they
include the neighborhood’s name, with the competition rules stating only
a few technical details and a preference for artists who are living in
the sign’s neighborhood. Even after a design is chosen there will be
three rounds of edits before the piece is finalized.
The
submission deadline is March 3, with winners chosen on March 17 and the
city looking to implement the designs in “early summer.”
“Our
neighborhood signs are often the first thing residents and visitors see
when they cross into different areas throughout Boston,” said mayor
Michelle Wu in the announcement. “I’m excited for this program to
empower our residents to create welcoming, creative signs to reflect the
unique, vibrant neighborhoods and communities they live and work in.”
The
city is considering signs for Allston, the Back Bay, Brighton,
Dorchester, East Boston, the Fenway, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan,
Mission Hill, Readville, Roslindale, Roxbury, South Boston, the West
End and West Roxbury.
The
Fenway, Beacon Hill and the South End are all currently lacking their
own border signs, though it’s likely there are others as well since the
city doesn’t have an official list.
Members
of the Fenway Civic Association (FCA) have been asking for a welcome
sign for at least a decade. Officials in the public works department
said in 2016 that they were looking into it, but ultimately nothing came
of the proposal.
“We've
been asking for this for quite some time, are excited to think of
creative ways to take advantage of the Mayor's initiative,” said Marie
Fukuda, an FCA board member. “We’ll be having some discussions with area
stakeholders.
The
South End is notably absent from the list of potential recipients.
Despite being overlooked, South End Forum head Steve Fox says getting a
welcome sign is far from the neighborhood’s top concern.
“If
we can’t get the level of attention needed on Mass and Cass and
neighborhood voices heard on development issues, welcome signs are
relatively low in our priority list,” he said. “We have bigger fish to
fry.”
There’s also the
question of existing signs that need repairs. Some, like the Back Bay’s
welcome sign, have serious wear that has started to obscure their text.
Still others are out of date, like the Seaport’s welcome sign that
still labels it as a part of South Boston.
The
mayor’s office declined to speak about the existing neighborhood signs,
saying only that more information will be available “in the coming
weeks.”