On a recent Saturday, CUNA members gathered at the State Street Drive home of Donna Davis and her husband to tackle an annoying and potentially dangerous problem: Missing street signs. The problem has been apparent the first several weeks after Hurricane Katrina. The signs went missing when they were uprooted after the flooding, and were most likely swept away with the removal of debris in the area.

When residents returned home to rebuild, they soon found out how big a problem this would be. Contractors could not find homes, causing headaches and delays. A missing stop sign, meanwhile, was said to have caused a recent traffic accident on Vincennes Place.

To address this issue, CUNA members met at Davis’ home recently, and, armed with acrylic paints, brushes, plastic and wooden signs, got to work. The end result was a variety of funky, folk-art style – but visible — street signs that were placed along Nashville Avenue and throughout the neighborhood.

When CUNA members set out to place the signs, they were greeted with drivers in cars blowing their horns in appreciation, and thank yous from residents on the street. The do-it-yourself approach also seemed to catch on in other parts of the city. The day after the signs were installed and when an article about it appeared in the Times Picayune, a man was spotted placing a temporary sign for a missing Perrier Street sign off of Jefferson Avenue.

Until the city is able to put permanent street signs in the area, the organization will continue to create and place the temporary signs where they are needed.