Oakdale Moves Forward With Sign Upgrade

Some lettering for a notice about the city’s upcoming tree giveaway had fallen off the “Welcome to Oakdale” sign at Highway 36 and Hadley Avenue on Wednesday.

That won’t be a problem in the future.

The Oakdale City Council last week approved plans for a new $19,000 electronic sign, which will be installed this summer, said Dave Schaps, assistant city administrator.

The existing sign is “kind of past its life,” he said.

Hadley Avenue is Oakdale “Signature Street,” and the sign’s visibility from the highway makes it a good spot to relay happenings in the city, Administrator Craig Waldron said.

A new sign would “enhance our ability to communicate,” he told Patch earlier this month. “Revving up the technology would make it even better.”

The sign would be easy to update and give the city a platform to announce everything from Amber Alerts to civic celebrations, Schaps said. The new sign will allow Oakdale to send messages instantly, he said.

Because the sign sits along the Gateway Trail, which is owned by the state Department of Natural Resources, it has be used for non-commercial purposes, Schaps said.

The brick posts will remain in place and the interior will be swapped out for an electronic version, Waldron said. It will be about the same size as the existing sign.

Once started, the project should take 6-8 weeks to complete, Schaps said.

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