They’re hoping to vote on the signs at Thursday’s Crozet Community Association meeting, so vote fast!
If you’d like, you can see the larger PDF here.
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Vote for your Favorite Crozet Entrance Signs
Hmm… The state puts up boundary signs and they are free…
Or, is this some type of animal marking their turf type thing??
I’m sorry, I just do not see the point. Do people have a problem finding
Crozet?
It is ironic that the red sign celebrates the railroad heritage, as the railroad present threatens downtown Crozet.
Have to agree with you on the railroad point…however, I think it is a better sign. The green is too confusing to me graphically at this size, and this size is indicative of what the eye will see from a distance. (Letters fighting for signage space with mountain lines behind….)
Would have been nice to have had a little more notice on this vote but maybe I missed the first call out?
I much prefer the red one. Crozet may be many things, but on the bleeding edge of the future, it is not. We are a quaint, small town that resonates history. I believe we should embrace our identity, and our sign should reflect that. Considering that we are named for Claudius Crozet, the train reference seems appropriate.
i think the red is a far superior sign visually. The others look dated, busy and hard to read. My question is who did this? And was it an open submission? Frankly, I’d bet that with all the artists, the arts and crafts festival, and designers who live in the area we could do something much stronger that represents us better.
Local artist did the signs at the request of two Crozet Community Association (CCA) members. At the March meeting of the CCA,
they asked about getting some designs, then went and did so. They were emailed out to the CCA maillist in April, and I just thought about sending them to Jim when I sent him the CCA agenda.
The CCA meets second Thursday of every odd numbered month except July (so Jan., Mar., May., Sep., Nov.)
The two folks working on this will spend this summer figuring out what
official approvals are needed to post these (VDOT, ARB, etc) and will return to the CCA meeting in September with what they’ve learned.
We’ll have to do fund raising to get them created and put up.
Hope you’ll consider signing up on the CCA email list at
listserv.bnsi.net/mailman/listinfo/crozetcommunity
Tim
I have to agree with Peter.
Definitely the red one! The green ones don’t “fit” Crozet and are not very legible either.
There were ways the green/blue one could have been fixed to be more readable/legible/polished, but when these were first floated I couldn’t figure out who designed them to provide some helpful feedback.
It could be worse. When I lived in Loudoun County, some mid-level bureaucrat designed had installed big expensive super-ugly Welcome to Loudoun signs that make these look like Picassos. The Board of Supervisors had a cow when they learned about them … by driving past one.
These designs are each worthy of consideration. They were designed by one of western Albemarle County’s premiere artists in partnership with one of Crozet’s finest and most knowledgeable boosters.
Had this blog’s “art critics” been regular attenders at the Crozet Community Association’s meetings, they might have been more careful with such hasty judgments. — Become ACTIVE, SUPPORTIVE participants in your community. This area already has more than enough armchair chiefs.
That’s a fair criticism – for me at least, Joe Crozet. I haven’t attended those meetings (I usually have a conflict when they’re scheduled, and can’t attend), so when I tried to find more information to provide feedback about the signs, I went to the wrong sources (the County) who didn’t know anything about the signs. I did ask some folks in Crozet whom I thought would know, but they couldn’t point me in the right direction either.
I apologize if I offended anyone; I had hoped that some of my design experience might have been useful, particularly in regards to the blue/green design which I thought needed one more iteration (to reduce the need for a second or third look to clearly read the message; a potentially dangerous distraction for someone driving an car!).
Julen, no offense taken by me – sorry you didn’t hear about it.
The CCA is going to work over the summer on developing a web site and figure out ways to communicate more and better about goings on.
The Crozet Gazette and this site are both great sources and we’ll coordinate with them too.
I apologize for not thinking to send the designs to Jim to post sooner, it wasn’t until I was sending him the CCA agenda, that I thought about the signs.
There’s still lots of work to be done over the summer to make the signs reality- figuring out official permissions, fund raising, etc. So when the CCA meets again (Sept 9) it’ll be on the agenda again for input.
Send me your email and I’ll be happy to send it along to the two primary folks working on this.
I’m not willing to name them or their email addresses in this forum without their permission.
Thanks for your interest and willingness to help.
Joe,
It is clear that you have found someone whose knowledge and brilliance has inspired you greatly.
If I might respectfully ask: Who is of “one of Crozet’s finest and most knowledgeable boosters”?
Could it be that by asking for people’s opinions, then relegating those opinions “armchair chiefs”, that you undermine the idea that the residents opinions are truly desired?
After all, it matters little whether leaders have inspired your deepest reverence for how they have positioned the region, if at the end of the day those requested opinions of residents are so easily dismissed by their most active and zealous followers.
Personally, I believe both signs are fine, with a slight preference for the sign on the left. The artist did a fine job.
A sign, which is a temporary thing, is not worth a zealous battle. Most Crozet residents, no matter their feelings about the larger issue of how local advocacy groups/leaders performed or the urbanization program, would agree there are much larger, lasting structures and plans are now being erected in the region than signs. In the words of Cannasatego: “The land is forever”.
And for Julen and Crozet Mom, from a long-time resident, welcome to Crozet! Long-time residents can be deeply saddened and disappointed by the changes in the area, yet still welcome new neighbors with open arms (most do…).
Much has been said about what must be done by residents or what they must accept as “inevitable”. According to those who make these declarations, residents have few options in what/who they must support to be a good resident. This is not true. All residents, and every community, have choices.
Residents may choose to join long-running efforts of current leaders who work on the urbanization/infrastructure/development program, to spend time developing a new, yet-to-be-determined, conservation effort in Crozet, or to give their time to their families (perhaps the best choice of all). Our past never must prescribe our future, our priorities, or what policies advocacy groups/leaders we must support.
After all, every conservationist leader moved to their area at some point, found a new direction was needed, and started something new. Anyway Julen, you were asked for your opinion and you extended it –no offense in that, unless one is a bureaucrat in Loudon. Welcome to Crozet.
Compromise: How about the red sign, but put a fence around it…
Crozet Leaders? Have we gone tribal? In Community all voices and
opinions are heard. Why do we need a sign???
Ed, my friend. Some folks were interested in this sign idea, so they took the initiative to get some designs and ask for feedback. My understanding is they think it reflects and enhances our perceived friendliness, lets visitors know where they’ve arrived and I guess, just ‘cuz. It’s really a grassroots efforts, not started or promoted for political or personal reasons, but for the sense of community and neighborliness.
Hope you can make the next Crozet Community Association meeting, which will be September 9. (We take the summer off.)
Best, Tim
I really appreciate this site to get feed-back from folks who can’t get to the meetings for one reason or another, as a place to communicate. I do like the idea of a sign to welcome new visitors and to show our own “personality”. I do think it will be a challenge to decide on location, both with the county and ARB, and to raise the funds to get them made and installed. Please give any suggestions for collecting donations. I thought with a donation jar at Maupin’s video to start, if it is OK with them. Any other ideas?
Tim, I understand your point. The business owners that I know either
did not know about this or were not surprised about how this was being
done. The issue of who would be responsible for the cost and upkeep
of the signs came up. I still feel that a majority of the voices that are in the
Crozet Community are not being heard. I, myself keep hearing these old
song lines:
Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign
Affordable housing would be a far more noble cause…