City staff is replacing about 60 signs around downtown Denton
that incorrectly include "parking lots" as a place where
vehicles or toy devices are prohibited.
Christian McPhate/DRC
City staff is replacing about 60 signs around downtown Denton that incorrectly include “parking lots” as a place where vehicles or toy devices are prohibited.
A red circle with a red line crosses over images of a bicycle, a rollerblade and roller skate and a person on a skateboard on what appear to be fairly new signs on street corners around the downtown Square in Denton.
Underneath, the signs read, “Vehicle and toy devices prohibited on sidewalks and parking lots — City Ordinance 2004 187.”
Yet, city ordinance 2004-187 applies to sidewalks, not parking lots. The city code reads “Vehicles and toy devices prohibited on sidewalks in designated areas.”
It continues: “When signs are erected giving notice thereof, no person shall operate a bicycle, motor assisted scooter, neighborhood electric device, skateboard, roller skates, roller blades, or other similar device at any time on any sidewalks running adjacent to the streets listed below.”
Those streets include Pecan, Cedar, Oak, Hickory, Walnut, Austin, Elm and Locust and where they intersect.
Now city staff has to replace them. Only it’s not just a few signs, but approximately 60 signs around downtown, said Justin Harmon, a city spokesperson.
“We are not aware of the cause of the error,” Harmon wrote in Tuesday afternoon email to the Denton Record-Chronicle.
It’s also unclear how long the signs have been up before the error was noticed, but Harmon mentioned they were in the process of updating signs. He didn’t respond to requests for additional information by Wednesday afternoon.
Prompting some review, Mayor Gerard Hudspeth requested information about the signs in the June 2 report from city staff.
City staff responded with information from the ordinance, mentioned that the signs are located in an area around the Square and stressed that it “does not apply to any mobility impaired individual using a motorized device.”
“Staff is currently reviewing the ordinance and will update signage to remove references to parking lots,” city staff wrote in response to the mayor’s request.
The city expects it will take two to three weeks to manufacture and replace the signs, totaling $6,000, according to Harmon.
CHRISTIAN McPHATE can be reached at 940-220-4299 and via Twitter at @writerontheedge.
Visitors stroll through the Chairy Orchard on Wednesday
afternoon following an announcement that the famous neighborhood
attraction would close on June 18. The orchard, located at 1426
Churchill Road, was established by two neighbors in 2015.
Brooke Colombo / Brooke Colombo/DRC
One of the Chairy Orchard founders, Ann Pearson, pictured left
in her "I pick chairies" shirt speaks with visitors about
the orchard on Wednesday. While Pearson and her neighbor Judy Smith
are saddened by the closure, they felt the upkeep was too much to
sustain.
Brooke Colombo / Brooke Colombo/DRC
Anne Pearson and Judy Smith under the Chairy Arch in the Chairy
Orchard on Churchill Drive in Denton on April 10, 2016.
Kim Phillips/Denton Convention & Visitors Bureau
What became one of Denton’s staple artistic displays beloved by locals and visitors from across the world, the Chairy Orchard announced Wednesday its closure as its founders sadly take their seats.
Neighbors Judy Smith and Ann Pearson established the Chairy Orchard, located at 1426 Churchill Drive in the space between their adjoined yards, in 2015. The free destination offered whimsically fashioned arrays of secondhand chairs, reading materials for those looking to relax with a good book, and a spot for lovers to immortalize their affection on the Locks of Love Chairish Wall.
Ann Pearson sits in a Chairy Orchard chair on Wednesday after
announcing the orchard will close. Pearson and her neighbor, Judy
Smith, are now in their 80s and want to step back from maintaining
the orchard.
Brooke Colombo / Brooke Colombo/DRC
A place to share a passion for puns and affinity for thrifting, the orchard was seen as a labor of love by Smith and Pearson. But the chairy tale will come to a close June 18 as maintaining the orchard has lost its charm for the neighbors, who are now in their 80s.
“We’ve always said, ‘When it’s not fun, we’re going to close it up,’” Smith said. “It had become not fun.”
The Chairy Orchard has seen increased instances of vandalism, which included stolen items, smashed chairs and broken windows in the Little Free Libraries. But Smith said they never reported the damages, feeling it was too minor of an issue to bother the police with.
“What good would it do, you know?” Smith said. “Somebody would come in the middle of the night and rip off the chairs we had screwed to Anne’s wall and things like that. I mean, the Police Department has bigger problems.”
Starting Friday, residents can come chairy-picking at the orchard and take their favorite chair home to commemorate their visits. After June 18, most of the remaining items will be disposed of. The Chairy Orchard is taking donations via its Venmo to help pay for debris-removal fees.
In the hundreds of comments on the orchard’s Facebook post, many people called the closure “heartbreaking” and shared fond memories of visits to the Chairy Orchard.
City Council member Brian Beck asked on Facebook that the founders consider documenting or preserving elements of the orchard. The orchard’s Facebook post stated that they are looking for unique spots to house some of their “more iconic pieces.” Denton Plant Factory inquired about housing a chair at its business.
But preserving the orchard as a whole or handing it off to a new owner weren’t really options for Smith and Pearson. Given the efforts the pair have put into maintaining it, Smith said she can’t imagine it would be viable for anyone else to preserve the orchard.
“We take out chairs that are falling apart and every Saturday, we go garage sale-ing and find more chairs. Who’s going to do to that?” Smith said. “It has to be kept on top of because of the chairs start falling apart. It’s dangerous. You don’t just find these at a store. You have to go curb and dumpster shopping. We wanted it to end neatly — not somebody else takes it over and then not do what we were proud of.”
Smith said people have been respectful of their decision. Overall, she’s glad to have lived in a city and neighborhood where creating the Chairy Orchard was possible.
“Two little old ladies could do something like this totally out of the blue and make it successful because we loved what we were doing,” Smith said. “We were going to sales every Saturday buying more chairs and books. It took that kind of love to make it happen. We’re proud of that.”
BROOKE COLOMBO can be reached at 940-566-6882 and via Twitter at @brookecolombo.
The Denton Record-Chronicle is excited to announce the launch of Denton U — a brand-new section dedicated to news and resources for Denton’s university students and parents. Denton U will be home to a variety of helpful content such as resources on college culture, things to do, how to stay safe and guides on life away from campus, such as living off campus and transportation.
Denton’s college population is vital to the city’s culture, and we at the DRC saw a need to fulfill this community’s needs and help them get the most out of everything Denton has to offer. Denton U is a passion project put together by some of DRC’s Denton university alumni, as well as parents with young adult children attending college in Denton, so readers can rest assured that both perspectives and needs are considered.
Do you have questions or suggestions about how we can help your students thrive? Let us know here!
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