Dunwoody’s long-awaited gateway signage plan had its first installations, with mixed reviews about the one at Georgetown regarding its size and location.
The granite and forged steel “Dunwoody” sign at the corner of Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Cotillion Drive is one of 16 signs of various sizes to be installed at city borders and is getting most of the attention from observers.
While several people said they have taken pictures in front of the Georgetown sign and say they support an emphatic message that welcomes people to the city, others decry that it draws attention to a less-than-classy section of the city, in front of a Shell USA Gas Station and near a McDonald’s.
Still others say that the $1 million price tag for the entire project could have been better used for paving, parks, or pickleball courts.
The other recently installed sign is located on Perimeter Center Parkway NE near the bridge at I-285, but it hasn’t gotten as much attention.
According to city officials, the signs represent five guiding principles for the city:
- improve amenity awareness within the Perimeter market
- create a unified Dunwoody
- create a sign package that is unique to Dunwoody and timeless
- create a sense of place, and focus on pedestrians as well as vehicles.
City officials have been discussing gateway signs since 2010. The current plan dates back to 2019.
“Discover Dunwoody spearheaded the effort after finding in two separate surveys that visitors didn’t know they were in our city, making signage a priority,” the city’s gateway project website said.
The sign designs were approved by city council in January 2020 and signed off on the Gateway & Wayfinding plan in December of that year, and the construction contract was approved in August 2023. The plan is funded through a combination of federal funding, hotel/motel funds, and general capital project funds.
Conceptual drawings of the Georgetown signs include extensive landscaping, which will partially block the direct line of sight into the Shell station.
