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ILLUMINATING THE MESSAGE – Illuminated, larger and for $1,200 a month, the Town of La Conner is committed to keeping its citizens safe. A dozen signs of the old fashioned type: yellow paper taped to highway barricade signs were placed on Morris and First Streets. Most useful were the white tape boxes on the sidewalks outside of takeout eateries. – Photo by Ken Stern
La Conner has gone digital to get the word out on social distancing.
The Town has placed a rented electronic reader-board at the roundabout entrance to La Conner that implores weekend visitors to ‘stay home, stay safe” and maintain six-foot distancing while here to help curb spread of COVID-19.
That’s not all.
The Town Public Works Department last week implemented two other measures which, like the digital reader-board, were advanced during recent talks with the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office designed to stem shoulder-to-shoulder congregating in La Conner.
Public Works crews lined out white boxes six feet apart for customers placing orders at La Conner businesses allowed to operate during the virus crisis and posted social distancing reminders on more than a dozen portable barriers around town.
“I thought it went well,” Mayor Ramon Hayes said of the new three-tiered strategy, employed two weeks after placement of a “Locals Only” sign near the roundabout was faulted for promoting too harsh a tone.
Minus the metal “Locals Only” signage, but with “Limited Access” signs still in place, the weekend before last again drew large crowds to La Conner.
Town officials went back to the drawing board and tapped new signage options intended to reinforce Gov. Jay Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy mandate.
Hayes was pleased with the results.
“I was very comfortable with what I saw this past weekend,” said Hayes, whose Trumpeter Gallery on First Street is among businesses designated as non-essential and not allowed to open during the statewide coronavirus shutdown.
The rented digital sign costs $1,200 per month, said Hayes, who is hopeful its use will be short-term.
“I’m the last one who likes to spend the public dime,” Hayes said, “but in this case we felt it was necessary.”
Hayes said he, Town Administrator Scott Thomas and Sgt. Jeff Willard of the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office La Conner detachment explored various ways to promote social distancing while not further hamstringing businesses able to remain open during the COVID-19 threat.
“The suggestions Sgt. Willard came up with were excellent,” Hayes said. “We all felt that it made sense to communicate the governor’s message and go with the state initiative. The digital reader-board provides a more professional look and is a reminder to folks of the governor’s (COVID-19) order.”
Hayes said most La Conner merchants were okay with the customer separation boxes outside their businesses. There were a couple instances in which Hayes said he had to clarify the intent of the boxes.
“I’m really grateful to those businesses for complying,” he said.
Hayes cited the La Conner Pub & Eatery as a prime example of how to make good use of the boxes, noting that there was a good turnout for its popular Friday night take-out dinner service.
“They did a fabulous job,” he said, “and they seemed to be doing a good business.”
Hayes conceded that no approach will be 100 per cent effective.
“It could be a case,” he said, “where we might have to modify and adjust as we go along.”
But he said last weekend was an improvement over conditions that arose in town earlier this month.
“I saw people using the boxes,” he said. “There was a nice flow of foot traffic. I didn’t see people gathering shoulder-to shoulder.”
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