Ill-Conceived Digital Sign to be Relocated; City to Buy Two More

Existing Digital Sign at the Civic Center

The digital sign currently located at the Civic Center on the corner of Torrance and Madrona will be relocated to McMaster Park. According to the staff report, the sign is too small for the existing location as it is partially obscured by telecommunication equipment. The relocation to McMaster Park will end up costing the City $15,726. Staff had explored increasing the height of the sign instead of relocating it, but that option was too expensive.

During the meeting, Councilman Griffiths noted that in addition to being too small that the sign has also been plagued by reliability and resolution issues. City staff acknowledged that the blue and green lights on the sign are currently not functioning, but were uncertain whether the outage is being caused by an electronic or power problem. Unfortunately, staff also noted that the 1 year warranty on the sign has expired meaning any costs associated with fixing it will be borne by the City. The troubled sign was initially approved for purchase by the Council in December 2014 at a cost of $50,000.

At the meeting, the City Council also approved the purchase of two new digital signs. One of them will replace the current sign at the Civic Center and the other will be placed at Wilson Park. The total cost to purchase the two new signs and to relocate the current one to McMaster Park will be $143,101.

The new sign at the Civic Center will be twenty feet tall versus the current one that stands at 13 feet and 6 inches.

2 comments

  • Guest

    Torrance has way too much money on hand for frivolous items while basic city necessities like pot wholes seem to be no ones concern.

  • Arthur J Plourde

    Hello Torrance – Wake UP!! Why spend all this money on old technology, why not upgrade to the newest technology available called fiber optics, which is more reliable than the system that is currently in place. When is this city going to join the REAL World, when is this city going to hire inteligent competent and educated people who will bring Torrance into the 21st Century not just keep patching and repairning or correcting mistakes by paying exhorbitant costs for repairs and relocation. I believe this city needs a more visionary team than it now has in place! A team who is able to see the new technolgies that have breaktrhough advances attached to them which will save this city hundereds of thousands of precious dollars from the city residents in the future. Why keep patching, repairing, and moving, at costs that are astronomical. I think the city should be required to present a pro and con study that is inclusive of cost benefits to the city both Pro and Con and possibilities to consider other than the standards now in place. That is what is expected by the residents of this city and right now we are being short changed by an incompent staff in our city? It is time to move this city into the 21st Century before we start to lose residents, and business more than the city has already suffered. Wake UP! I invite the comments of the community!

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