Bedford Adds Seven Stop Signs and Approves Signage Exception for Market at Gateway

The Bedford City Council amended its municipal code at its October 13 meeting to add seven stop signs. Six sit on side streets feeding into Harwood Terrace, and the seventh is at the Oak Cove Lane and Edgewater Drive intersection. Staff said they reviewed every stop-controlled intersection in the city before proposing the change and already have the sign materials in stock, so there is no added cost. The ordinance also restores a stop sign at Phyllis Street and Ravenswood Drive that went missing, likely during nearby construction, and was never replaced. Staff do not plan to notify residents by door hangers and expect to review the sign inventory about once a year. The item passed unanimously on the consent agenda.

In a separate action, council approved a special signage program for Market at Gateway, a new commercial development on North Industrial Boulevard just north of State Highway 183. The package allows four deviations from city sign standards, including larger effective and total sign areas and a maximum height of 25 feet instead of 16. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the request at its September 24 meeting. The mayor supported the exception, citing the project's scale along a five-lane road.

For developers, the takeaway is that Bedford will grant negotiated sign exceptions for large commercial projects, so early coordination with the planning commission can affect signage plans and budgets.