Splashy New Electronic Sign for Cerritos Auto Square Approved

The Cerritos Auto Square sign seen from Interstate 605 southbound at the South Street exit. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Brian Hews

Get ready for a new flashy, state of the art, digital sign to light up the Cerritos Auto Square thanks to a vote of the Cerritos City Council recently.

The five member body approved a proposal for a new, upgraded Cerritos Auto Square regional center “identification sign” that will be located adjacent to the 605 Freeway.

The new sign will have 911-square-foot electronic message boards on each side, featuring state-of-the-art video technology.

The freeway intersection of the 605 Freeway and the 91 Freeway is now one of the most used areas in Southern California. It is not known if the new sign will have any impact on traffic along the two freeways.

The new freestanding sign will be the same height (70 feet tall) as the existing Cerritos Auto Square sign. City planners claim that the sign’s base will be “enhanced with silver-colored Alucabond panels.”

The new sign was proposed by YESCO Signs, LLC on behalf of the Cerritos Auto Square Dealers Association and property owner Bargain Rent-A-Car to maintain the Cerritos Auto Square’s position on the leading edge of advertising technology. As required by the Cerritos Municipal Code, the applicant submitted a line-of-sight and glare study for the sign.

City officials also stress that the sign “will remain visible from the 605 Freeway, Los Cerritos Center and arterial streets.”

In a media statement issued by the City of Cerritos Public Information Office on December 27, the new sign “will not be visible from the residential neighborhoods to the south and will remain slightly visible from the residential neighborhoods to the west.”

The cost for the new sign is $927,761 and upon completion of the sign, the City will provide the Cerritos Auto Square Dealer’s Association with funds equaling the cost of the sign.

City officials stress that the dealer’s association will reimburse the City for 50 percent of the sign’s cost ($463,880.50), plus 3 percent interest, through loan payments made over a 60-month term.

“The Cerritos Auto Square Dealer’s Association will be responsible for all costs associated with the ongoing maintenance and operation of the sign. According to the terms of the agreement, the City will be allowed to program the sign’s content for six minutes of each hour to display public artwork as well as promotions for City-sponsored events,” a city press statement claimed.

To pay for the sign’s cost, the City will use $276,950 from the Art in Public Places Fund, in combination with a loan from the General Fund to the Art in Public Places Fund of approximately $650,811. The 50 percent total cost reimbursement from the dealer’s association will be deposited into the General Fund. Any funds derived from the future Art in Public Places contributions from Auto Square projects will be used to fully reimburse any remaining outstanding balance of the General Fund loan to the Art in Public Places Fund.

The new sign is expected to be installed in the spring of 2014.