SUNBURY – Motorists coming off the Veterans Memorial Bridge into Sunbury will no longer see the ‘Welcome to Sunbury’ sign, at least for now. Sunbury City Administrator Jody Ocker tells WKOK the sign is being taken down today (Thursday.) The announcement about taking down the sign came in January, at the request of PennDOT. The department says the sign and its surrounding raised garden bed is within the 125-foot wide right-of-way perimeter, which is a hazard for drivers.
City officials tell us both the sign and the garden bed are coming out. Ocker says the sign will be placed in the city’s warehouse until city officials can find a new, safer location to put it. In January, Mayor Kurt Karlovich said PennDOT is being stricter regarding different signage along the roadway and their right-of-way. Ocker says the city worked with PennDOT to keep the sign in its current spot, but were unable to come up with a solution.
The sign and garden was installed as part of a partially grant funded effort of the city, and SPARC (Sunbury Pride and Renaissance Coalition). Karlovich told us in January the other two city welcome signs at the Hamilton Underpass and by Packer Island are okay.
