Napa County supervisors poised to OK move of iconic Napa Valley welcome sign

The Napa County Board of Supervisors is poised to endorse a safety-related effort to move the iconic southern Napa County sign near Oakville that welcomes visitors to the “world famous wine growing region.”

Specifically, the supervisors are set to support a push from the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition to move the sign — currently on Robert Mondavi Winery property — farther south, with the support of Visit Napa Valley, the town of Yountville and the Napa Valley Vintners, the organization that owns the sign. The item was originally scheduled for the Jan. 9 supervisors meeting, but it was pushed off the agenda and will be taken up at a future meeting, according to a county spokesperson.

The organizations would like the southern sign to be installed at Markham Vineyards property, in an area next to a small turnout used by the California Department of Transportation. It would be used as a staging area, located across from the northern end of Washington Street.

That move would improve the safety of those visiting the sign — who often cross the two-lane Highway 29 to take pictures with it — while maintaining “a beautiful background vista that reflects our world class wine growing region,” according to a staff report.

An identical sign is located to the north, just south of Calistoga and off Highway 29.

The move was proposed as part of the Vine Trail organization’s design effort for the Yountville-to-St. Helena segment of the trail, which is planned to eventually span 47 miles from Calistoga to the Vallejo Ferry Terminal.

“The sign at this location will also be a valued amenity to the Vine Trail, making it a photo-destination for bicyclists and pedestrians along the Vine Trail,” the staff report says.

The Napa supervisors’ support would come in the form of a letter to Dina El-Tawansy, director of Caltrans District 4, expressing the board’s endorsement of the plan.

The staff report notes that though Caltrans is not required to approve the move — given the sign would be on private property — “all parties desire to work together to improve the parking, traffic flow, and sharing of the site.”

The parties pushing to have the sign moved have met with Caltrans several times to discuss the proposal, and Caltrans staff have suggested other locations. But county analysis indicates the proposed area is the best location for the move, the report says.

You can reach Staff Writer Edward Booth at 707-521-5281 or edward.booth@pressdemocrat.com.