New look street signs are being rolled out across Bradford as part of a bid to give the city its own unique identity.
So far the black signs, which include the Bradford civic crest, have been installed on streets including North Parade and Midland Road.
If the signs prove popular they will be rolled out across the District, with ageing signs replaced with the new look models.
Many of the new signs will be in place by next year.
The new design was created by Keighley-born designer Jimmy Smith, of Smiths Workshop design studio, and has been produced in collaboration with the Council’s in-house sign shop team, based on Wakefield Road.
A Bradford Council spokesman said: “The new-style signs, which include Bradford’s civic crest, have been designed to celebrate the district’s heritage and promote its unique identity.
“The new design also aligns with recommendations from a Local Government Association peer review in 2017, which highlighted the use of the crest as a good way of encouraging civic pride.”
“In addition to helping to prepare the Bradford district for UK City of Culture in 2025, it is hoped that many of the new-style signs will be in place for 2024, which marks 50 years of Bradford Council as a local authority.”
Bradford Council has responsibility for street signs across the district and manufactures hundreds of new or replacement street signs every year.
If adopted, the new design will only be used on signs that need routinely replacing or at new sites.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning, and Transport said: “We are always looking for ways to share our deep pride for the Bradford district and its distinctive and diverse neighbourhoods, and introducing these fresh new street signs is a relatively quick and easy way to do this.
“Bradford hasn’t had a consistent street sign design for many years, so it seemed like a great opportunity to help promote our fantastic heritage as we prepare to be the UK City of Culture in 2025.
“I’m delighted at the support for the new design, and we’ll have a look at some of the feedback from our test sites before we seek to roll it out across the district. We’re also in discussions with a third party about a one-off project to replace our city centre street sign plates with a more sympathetic heritage style at the same time as our ambitious Transforming Cities and other regeneration works.”
