Feds Order NYC To Change Every Single Street Sign

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

New Yorkers outraged as bureaucrats order city to change lettering on every single street sign

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I'm so glad we have a centralized federal government with ingenuous bureaucrats to save us from the horrors of upper-case street signs.

Personally I think the ALL CAPS signs are clearer to read anyway.

[Brittain33]

The article says that the lifespan of a sign is a decade and they have until 2018 to replace them all. What's the problem? If they're giving them almost 10 years to do it, that indicates it means no extra cost, and the new signs are more readable.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I'll be sad to see the all-caps street signs go.

[minionofmidas]

Uh, why should the lifespan of a roadsign be only ten years? Unless they're really, really shoddily manufactured?

[Brittain33]

Uh, why should the lifespan of a roadsign be only ten years? Unless they're really, really shoddily manufactured?

It could be that the printing of the name on the background takes a beating and the letters either darken or peel off.

[tpfkaw]

Why the hell does it cost $27 million to replace them all?

[SvenssonRS]

This is quite possibly the most pointless executive order I've ever seen.

[Alcon]

Uh, why should the lifespan of a roadsign be only ten years? Unless they're really, really shoddily manufactured?

It could be that the printing of the name on the background takes a beating and the letters either darken or peel off.

Their deadline is two years less (20%) than the average longevity of a street sign.  That hardly makes it a case of replacing the signs as would be normal.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Why the hell does it cost $27 million to replace them all?

From the article:  "The city has about 250,000 signs, and it costs about $110 to replace one, the DOT says."

[tpfkaw]

Who wants to bet that this will end up costing over $50 million and will not be finished until 2023?

[Eraserhead]

Yeah, this is pretty dumb.

[Linus Van Pelt]

Their deadline is two years less (20%) than the average longevity of a street sign.  That hardly makes it a case of replacing the signs as would be normal.

The mixed upper- and lowercase rule was adopted in 2003, but municipalities were given until 2018 to comply completely

It seems the media just picked this out randomly now.

Still, the whole thing is a giant . Of all the infrastructure improvements that would reduce road deaths...

[Zarn]

All uppercase is better. Waste of money...

I guess they will come up with the idea about two decades later that signs should be all caps again.

[Brittain33]

This is quite possibly the most pointless executive order I've ever seen.

It's an executive order? Did President Bush issue it?

Anyway, readability like this is the kind of issue that a layman may not be able to properly assess, but can be a serious issue for people with visual impairments (like some pedestrians) or normal drivers looking at a distance.

Or maybe a sign manufacturer donated heavily to the Bush campaign in 2000.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

This is quite possibly the most pointless executive order I've ever seen.

It's an executive order? Did President Bush issue it?

Anyway, readability like this is the kind of issue that a layman may not be able to properly assess, but can be a serious issue for people with visual impairments (like some pedestrians) or normal drivers looking at a distance.

Or maybe a sign manufacturer donated heavily to the Bush campaign in 2000.

Dude where did I miss that it was an executive order signed by Bush?  I wouldn't be shocked, just curious.

[Frink]

This is pretty much the stupidest thing I've read all day. Both for the over-dramatic article and the unbelievable stupidity of the FHA.

[??????????]

They did something similar here in FL. We had colored US route signs and the feds threatened to cut off highway funds if we didn't switch back to B&W.

[??????????]

Oh, but in our case the DOT allowed them to stay up for their useful life. You still see one or two here.

[WillK]

Uh, why should the lifespan of a roadsign be only ten years? Unless they're really, really shoddily manufactured?

It could be that the printing of the name on the background takes a beating and the letters either darken or peel off.

Their deadline is two years less (20%) than the average longevity of a street sign.  That hardly makes it a case of replacing the signs as would be normal.

The rule wass adopted in 2003, meaning cities and states were given 15 years to change signs with lifespans  of 10 years.

[bullmoose88]

They did something similar here in FL. We had colored US route signs and the feds threatened to cut off highway funds if we didn't switch back to B&W.

Those signs were cool.  Wouldn't have liked them here, but definitely liked them existing somewhere else.

[© tweed]

how do we know this is stupid? if the more-easily-recognizable line is actually true.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

They should be replaced as needed.

Althought it's not as pointless as when they replaced the street signs at my university.  My freshman year, they changed them so they could be school colors!  Yay school spirit! ... morons.

[Smash255]

Saw this on the news last night.  The actual reason for the change is to make the street signs more reflective.   That is the main reason for the change, but while they are doing that they are also going to change the font.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Saw this on the news last night.  The actual reason for the change is to make the street signs more reflective.   That is the main reason for the change, but while they are doing that they are also going to change the font.

Still seems like something they could phase in over time... it's more a convenience issue.

[jimrtex]

It will probably reduce road rage.  ALL CAPS means shouting, and stressed out drivers perceive that even the street signs are shouting at them.  A lot of time someone will be standing on a street corner, and they will think that someone is shooting them a finger, when it was really someone who had just seen a street sign for LANGER which gave them a subliminal clue to become ANGRY.  If it were Langer, it wouldn't have happened.