Getting around Bridgeport’s recreational areas should be a bit easier – especially for those visiting the city. Thanks to a summer project by Bridgeport Parks and Recreation, several new signs – both directional and for identification purposes – are now in place.

 

“We started the sign project about a year ago where we wanted to update our signs, particularly with the changing of the city’s logo and color scheme recently,” said Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Joe Shuttleworth. “We’ve already done signs in other places with the red and black and the new signs complement that look.”

 

Perhaps the most noticeable is the sign near the main entrance to Bridgeport City Park. Roughly three years ago, P&R staff put in a Bridgeport City Park directional sign directly along Johnson Avenue near the road that divides Bridgeport High School and Johnson Elementary.

 

While that worked in getting traffic off the main road into the correct area, another problem existed once cars made the exit. To remedy the situation, the Parks Department put a second directional sign directly near the entrance of City Park once you leave Johnson Avenue.

 

“That sign will direct people to either drive back into the park or walk back there if they’re parking at the high school. There’s occasionally confusion about the park’s location with some visitors to the park or individuals coming into town for a sporting event,” Shuttleworth said. “That directs people out of the high school area and into the park itself.”

 

The sign at City Park isn’t the only sign. Shuttleworth said signs throughout the system have been removed. Some of the signs, he said, were more than 20 years old and still maintained and old tan and green color scheme with some sporting an old city logo.

 

“The new ones are all similar in design and color scheme to the signs at the Bridgeport Recreation Complex,” said Shuttleworth.

 

Other locations, as mentioned, also have had old signs replaced or new signs installed for the first time. The new-look signs can be found at the White Oaks Park near the Holiday Inn Express, Compton Park, the two Parks and Hinkle and Deegan Lakes, Briarwood and Lion’s Point.

 

The cost of the most recent project was between $13,000 and $14,000, Shuttleworth said. City crews handled the installation of the signs.

 

Editor's Note: Top photos shows staff putting in the new City Park directional sign late last month, while the sign that was also recently installed at the new White Oaks Park is shown at the bottom.