Canton adds welcome signs to major entrances

Kelly Byer, The Repository
·2 min read
A new sign welcoming visitors to Canton along the Interstate 77 south exit ramp to Tuscarawas Street W was installed Friday.
A new sign welcoming visitors to Canton along the Interstate 77 south exit ramp to Tuscarawas Street W was installed Friday.

CANTON − Visitors entering the city from Interstate 77 south onto Tuscarawas Street W will have no doubt about arriving in Canton. A brick, decorative sign there now proclaims, "Canton: Hall of Fame City."

The large sign installed Friday followed the installation of three smaller signs last month along U.S. Route 62. They are at the exit ramps from Route 62 eastbound to Cleveland Avenue NW; eastbound to Market Avenue N; and westbound to 30th Street NW.

Planning Director Donn Angus said the gateway sign initiative began before the NFL's Centennial Celebration but was delayed by the pandemic. The monument sign at I-77 and Tuscarawas Street will be landscaped with flowering deciduous and evergreen trees, ornamental grasses and other groundcover in the spring.

"This ramp here had been for years just a location where ODOT would store construction vehicles, debris, and it just was not a good look for this being a prominent entry into ... downtown and ... the Aultman health care campus," Angus said. "So that's why we chose this as a signature gateway site."

Tim Franta, of Canton Sign Co., said he began working with the Fred Olivieri Construction Co. on the project this past spring.

"I'm very happy that we got it," Franta said, noting that his company has served Canton since 1910.

The city contracted with Fred Olivieri Construction, which worked with Motter & Meadows Architects on the design and Canton Sign on the placards. Angus said the total cost was $250,000 and funded by the city's comprehensive plan fund.

"We do hope to have another round of these gateway signs going in the other locations," he said.

Additional sites for consideration include:

  • I-77 and Fulton Road NW

  • I-77 and Eighth Avenue NW

  • I-77 and Faircrest Street SW

  • U.S. Route 30 and Cherry Avenue SE

  • U.S. Route 30 and Waynesburg Drive SE

  • U.S. Route 30 and Trump Ave SE

Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.comOn Twitter: @kbyerREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton adds welcome signs to major entrances