Friday, October 1, 2010

Street signs getting an expensive facelift

From the NY Post:

The city will change the lettering on every single street sign - at an estimated cost of about $27.5 million - because the feds don't like the font.

Street names will change from all capital letters to a combination of upper and lower case on roads across the country thanks to the pricey federal regulation, officials said Wednesday.

By 2018, MADISON AVE. will become Madison Ave. and will be printed in a font called Clearview, the city Department of Transportation says.

The Federal Highway Administration says the switch will improve safety because drivers identify the words more quickly when they're displayed that way - and can sooner return their eyes to the road.


For some reason, Bloomberg threw a hissy fit when asked about it.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

the federal highway officials,weiner ,bloomberg and smuck schumer are all nuts and should be impeached,recalled and voted out of our government.

let us pray that the dumbed down new york voters vote out the political crap that is destroying our city and country.....

Anonymous said...

Everyone acts like this is the worst waste of money since government began. If you look at the facts the feds passed this law years ago and it will not go into effect until 2018. There is over a decade for cities to prepare and provide funding for signs that would need to be replaced anyway during that time.

It is beneficial from a public safety issue because replacing some of these signs that are faded beyone legibility or missing all together will benefit the police and fire services that need to find your street quickly and may not know every name or numbered street withiout looking at signs. Not to mention they will be more reflective for night driving.

Anonymous said...

You assume, of course, that this regulation came from this administration, schmuck.

If you're going to use this word, spell it right.

linda said...

tell the feds to wear glasses.. such a waste of tax money..

linda said...

oh and has anyone ever drove in LONG ISLAND you cant see the signs out there, so i guess they have to spend millions too!

Anonymous said...

In reality most of the existing signs would have to be replaced before the 2018 implementation date anyway, and the cost to the city would be marginal because the city routinely gets state money for the improved replacement signs. So, why is this such a bad idea again?

linda said...

why such a bad idea? the state is freaking broke! and the usa is trillions in debt..

Babs said...

I wonder whose brother-in-law got this high paying job?

Anonymous said...

oh and has anyone ever drove in LONG ISLAND you cant see the signs out there, so i guess they have to spend millions too!
------------------------

Yes, but that is intentional. The white-flights out there dont want "urban" people to come to their communities and be able to easily navigate. The only people they want to be able to know where things are out there are themselves.

Anonymous said...

Another windfall for Union Labor!!!!

How much OT is this gonna rack up??? I mean, if you want them to be able to change out at least TWO signs a day, well, thats gonna be a crew of six on a twelve hour shift, minimum.

linda said...

I rather see UNION workers get the job then ILLEGALS...

Anonymous said...

When humans began writing for the first time, there were no lower case letter. Lower case came with the linear movable type printing press. Before that, we used to stack letters into 3D words like the East Asians still do. The only reason upper case "blinds" us like screaming is because we are accustomed to it being that way. The real human factors issue is keeping words under two syllables to increase reading comprehension speed.

Anonymous said...

you got me.....schmuck schumer does sound a little more proper. now do not accuse me of ethnic anti-semitism.

btw schmuck schumer and weiner dissed our war dead when they marched in the little-neck /douglaston MEMORIAL DAY parade,displaying their names banners.
shame,ehame,shame.

this democratic majority federal administration could have stopped this wasteful spending at a time when 9.5 % of our citizens are unemployed. the city workers are getting raises and being hired at the same time . the private sector (with no unions )are getting the shaft.
only higher taxes for the fixed income and unemployed new yorkers, to pay the non-producing city union workers.......

Anonymous said...

you got me.....schmuck schumer does sound a little more proper. now do not accuse me of ethnic anti-semitism.

btw schmuck schumer and weiner dissed our war dead when they marched in the little-neck /douglaston MEMORIAL DAY parade,displaying their names banners.
shame,ehame,shame.

this democratic majority federal administration could have stopped this wasteful spending at a time when 9.5 % of our citizens are unemployed. the city workers are getting raises and being hired at the same time . the private sector (with no unions )are getting the shaft.
only higher taxes for the fixed income and unemployed new yorkers, to pay the non-producing city union workers.......

Anonymous said...

There's no such thing as ethnic anti-semitism, just anti-semitism and no one accused you of that. Not knowing how to spell or use proper grammar, yes, but not anti-semitism.

And as some other people here have pointed out, this might not be wasteful spending. It has been planned for a long time, which might mean that it was a bunch of Republicans who came up with this whole idea.

Velvethead said...

Do you get it?
The signs are physically GREEN!
Keep those Green jobs coming!

Helen said...

Does this mean that the recently installed signs re-naming the Triboro Bridge will also be changed?

Anonymous said...

Your tax dollars at work. Some politician had to pay back someone for a political favor or donation.

Anonymous said...

This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. No reason to spend this kind of money on something this unnecessary. Just plain STUPID!!!!!

Snake Plissskin said...

Lower case came with the linear movable type printing press.

Not true. Lower case existed at least as early as the middle ages.
Take a look at manuscripts.

The upper and lower does look sloppy in signs, but it does work because people drive faster today than decades ago.

Now, how about enforcing the law for house numbers? It is apppaling how difficult is it to find an address.

Anonymous said...

What a waste - who didn't follow the code in the first palce should be jailed for wasting our tax $$.