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City Spending $27.5 Million On Lowercase Letters
By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 30, 2010
Modified Sep 30, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 30, 2010
Modified Sep 30, 2010
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Citizens of the city, the powers that be are going to be spending $27.5MM on changing all of the capital letters on our signs to lower case letters. The change is being made thanks to a federal regulation change in the new Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, reports the Daily News, who lambasted the idea on their cover today.
The paper notes that the lowercase letters will be in place by 2018, and all fonts will be changed to Clearview. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the switch is to improve safety, because allegedly drivers can identify with the words more quickly when in this format. But as one Manhattan man told the paper, "If it's such a pressing safety issue, why won't it be done until 2018?" (Some signs have already been replaced, however.)
The Department of Transportation says that any additional cost to the city will be "marginal" because it receives state funding for routine sign repairs and replacement, and with the typical life of a sign lasting about 10 years, many would have to be replaced soon anyway. According to the NY Post, however, the Highway Administration acknowledged that New York "opposed the change [because] the amount of improvement in legibility did not justify the cost."
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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