This week the City of Selma began a project to add a little color to city streets and help drivers figure out exactly where they are when navigating through neighborhoods.

New street signs have been placed in and around Selma’s Old Town district, with plans to expand the project

to the Riverfront and Icehouse districts later on.

Patty Sexton, with the Office of Community Development, said project was a joint effort between the city and Selma and Dallas County Historic Preservation Society.

“We are getting these signs up just in time for Pilgrimage,” Sexton said.

The new street signs in Old Town are larger and more reflective than previous signs, making them easily visible even at night.

The blue color of the signs, Sexton said, will be used later on when the city creates a color-coded driving tour through the city.

“The street signs in each district will be a different color, for example the Riverview district would be yellow and the Icehouse district would be green, and we will have color-coded maps,” Sexton said. “This will help tourists know where they are in the city.”

Sexton said Selma’s historic homes are a big tourist draw for the city.

“These signs will help people know where the houses are in the district,” Sexton said.

Sexton said the new street signs were custom designed based on ideas from the Preservation Society and Office of Community Development.

“We had a few meetings and put some ideas together to create unique signs for Selma,” Sextons said.

Preservation Society members say they are pleases with the end result.

“In the historic district, it’s nice to have historic-looking signs,” said Preservation Society member George Needham.

Tim Bjelke, another Preservation Society member, and the new signs look “wonderful.”

“The letters are big and easy to read,” Bjelke said. “I’ve heard many compliments from people.”

Fellow Preservation Society member Candi Duncan agreed.

“I certainly like having distinctive signs in the historic district,” she said.

City workers began placing the new signs along the historic district on Monday and will have the Old Town area completed just in time for Pilgrimage.