Monday, January 7, 2013

New parking signs more readable

From the NY Observer:

This morning, the Department of Transportation unveiled new parking signs that greatly simplify and clarify on-street parking regulations. As Tranportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan joked, “We used to have signs with 250 character on four different signs in three different colors. Now we can say it in about 140 characters on a much clearer sign.”

The new signs, common throughout the city’s business districts, now feature two separate but similar sections, one for commercial vehicles (in red font) and one for passenger vehicles (in green). There will be 6,300 new signs deployed in the coming months in Midtown, roughly between 14th and 60th streets and Second and Ninth avenues. Similar signs will come to the Financial District at a later period, and then on to the outer boroughs’ main commercial areas. The city began rolling out the new signs in October, and 450 have already been installed.

Unlike the old signs, which were in a mishmash of colors, fonts and styles, the new ones are in a unified format, putting the length of time for parking first, then the days and times. And no longer are they the creative work of the Department of Transportation’s sign shop, but instead a collaboration with Michael Bierut and a team at Pentagram. Among the small but important innovation are the formatting of the signs and the location of the font (justified left, rather than centered, which is considered more legible).

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Didn't they try this several times before?

Jerry Rotondi said...

Very "nice"!

What will these cost the taxpayers?
What about downtown Flushing?
Will they be multi-language?
Will DOT or the 109th PCT
fine lawbreakers (like on 39th Ave.)?

Maybe a few cars need to be towed away,
to set an example.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like the sign makers and aluminum industry will get sales boost!

Anonymous said...

Try replacing Jeanette Sadik-Khan.

AND RIP UP HER F-----G BIKE LANES!

Anonymous said...

What about those 3rd worlders who can't read!

Anonymous said...

Somebody's little darling got a sign contract.

NYC taxpayer said...

NYC is always trying to "improve" things.
They usually wind up with failure at great expense.

We wind up with a tax increase.

georgetheatheist said...

Signs will be in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Urdu and Creole?

What?!?! Only in English?!?! In this day and age?!?!

Anonymous said...

Long overdue.

Anonymous said...

They can start with signs that are in bad shape, were stolen, or that cars have run over.

Anonymous said...

They will replace all the signs in manhattan that are in perfect shape, but will never get around to replacting the ones in the outer boros that are faded and unreadable or missing.

Same thing with the new street name signs they came out with, the ones a few years back they said needed to all be replaced in uppercase and lowercase and are reflective for night driving. Haven't seen one in Queens, we still have the old and faded out ones, or they are missing all together.

I don't think DOT realizes that they have to take care of 4 other boros besides manhattan.

Anonymous said...

You assume those for whom they are intended can read.

Anonymous said...

Maybe CB#7's "follow the buck" Chuck Apelian has expanded his "Prestone" company's printing business into sign printing.

You can't make enough money just printing Paul Vallone's campaign literature or his bus shelter posters.


Jerry Rotondi said...

Maybe Flushing should take an example from those small town Georgia speed traps.

Is it TICKET BLITZ time?

Think of the all the summonses that could be issued for illegal parking, etc. around here.

With or without new signage, violations will abound.
There are piles of money to be made in Flushing, without any major investment.

These revenues then could be put to very good use, towards improving conditions round our town.

We are passing up a very good opportunity here.

What are your thoughts on this Councilman Koo, CB 7 Chairman Kelty, BID Director Yu?

Anonymous said...

Try saying it in 25 characters, you arrognant, long winded buffoons who only succeed in impressing yourselves when you show off.