Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2006 • Barrier to go up, city of Susanville sign will wait

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, Feb. 8. 2006 edition of the Lassen County Times.

At a special meeting on Thursday, Feb. 23, the Highway 36 Town Hill Safety Task Force discussed the design concept of the barrier wall, which is to be constructed by Uptown Cinemas.

After discussions regarding the design, the task force decided that for right now, safety is more important than the placement of the Welcome to Susanville sign.

Task force member and cinema owner Mike Smith was in attendance along with his wife, Carolyn.

Police Chief Chris Gallagher said the main reason the meeting was called was to discuss the barrier.

The concrete barrier will be constructed on the curb between Main Street and the sidewalk heading to the theater from the upper parking lot.

The purpose of the barrier is to prevent big rigs from crashing into the theater.

Gallagher reported to the task force the proposal for the barrier was taken before the City Council in January.

The city approved the project and Gallagher was able to obtain an encroachment permit from Caltrans.

The item was then brought back to the city to discuss the design of the barrier wall.

Gallagher said in the city meeting, Mayor pro-tem Rocky Joy suggested making the barrier visually appealing for people driving in, rather than just having a wall along the sidewalk.

Gallagher said several design concepts were discussed.

The first idea was a barrier wall with a “Welcome to Susanville” sign either recessed into it, or with raised brass letters

Gallagher said the problem with this design is big rigs may crash into it and the wording will have to be repaired.

“The barrier is designed to stop a truck from hitting the theater,” said Gallagher. “With the number of accidents we’ve had in that particular location, it’s going to be hit often.”

Mike Smith said it costs about $75,000 to repair the building when it’s hit.

“It wouldn’t cost as much to replace a barrier,” he said.

The second design option would be to place Welcome to Susanville on the theater itself.

“We are trying to find an idea that is aesthetically pleasing and not an eyesore,” said Gallagher.

Carolyn Smith said she was concerned the length of the sign would take up too much space on the building and it will run into the movie poster frames or it would have to be put above the posters.

The cinemas’ roof is low at the top of the hill and gets higher farther down the sidewalk and Carolyn said because of the length of the lettering, teenagers could just reach up and take the letters off.

Mike Smith said he didn’t like the idea of having something on the building.

“I’m afraid it’s going to take away from people driving by and looking at the posters,” said Mike. “I don’t like the idea of drilling holes in the brick. You can’t putty brick.”

California Highway Patrol Captain Todd Chadd suggested going back to the original design idea.

“Anytime it gets hit, these trucks have insurance to get the barrier fixed,” said Chadd.

Joy agreed, “We can move forward with the barrier because it’s a safety issue and then further discuss where to put Welcome to Susanville.

Carolyn asked if painting Welcome to Susanville on the barrier could be considered, but Gallagher said he would have to take the idea back to the City Council.

Carolyn said, “It seems to me the cost of getting the Welcome to Susanville letters and attaching them to the building would cost more than having them put in the barrier.”

Gallagher said the idea of putting the lettering in the barrier was researched and a contractor said putting the letters in the wall would be an expensive project, because of the type of construction that goes along with it.

Joy made a motion to put the barrier wall up with no lettering and to later discuss the placement of the sign.

The board unanimously approved the motion.