From Wired: A Redesigned Parking Sign So Simple That You’ll Never Get Towed

[Hoss6884]

Give this girl credit for taking the initiative to come up with something better than the current sign, even if it's a work-in-progress.
http://www.wired.com/2014/07/a-redesigned-parking-sign-so-simple-youll-never-get-towed-again/?mbid=social_fb

[jakeroot]

Anything that makes our signs more symbolic and less wordy gets my vote.

[sipes23]

This communicates the information quickly and unambiguously. It's small, which is a pitfall, but it conveys a lot of information. The only pitfall I can imagine is showing when parking is free or not for places with meters.

[wytout]

This communicates the information quickly and unambiguously. It's small, which is a pitfall, but it conveys a lot of information. The only pitfall I can imagine is showing when parking is free or not for places with meters.

a third color for pay to park (times) perhaps (yellow?)

[JoePCool14]

This communicates the information quickly and unambiguously. It's small, which is a pitfall, but it conveys a lot of information. The only pitfall I can imagine is showing when parking is free or not for places with meters.

a third color for pay to park (times) perhaps (yellow?)

Not ideal in chaotic situations in the cities.

POST 500!

[Billy F 1988]

Too wordy. The simplest of parking signs speak better than this pile of fail.

[mgk920]

One could easily add sidebars denoting meter enforcement times on each 'day' bar.  Also, these signs could be made wider or narrower as needed.

Overall, IMHO, an excellent start.

Mike

[Brandon]

Give this girl credit for taking the initiative to come up with something better than the current sign, even if it's a work-in-progress:
http://www.wired.com/2014/07/a-redesigned-parking-sign-so-simple-youll-never-get-towed-again/?mbid=social_fb

Is it any better than these in Chicago?

[Pete from Boston]

Signs must convey meaning as close to immediately as possible to people glancing away from operating potentially deadly moving machinery. 

These are great diagrams for a pedestrian, but for a motorist to size up a calendar while parking-space hunting?  Doesn't quite cut it.   

[roadfro]

Signs must convey meaning as close to immediately as possible to people glancing away from operating potentially deadly moving machinery. 

These are great diagrams for a pedestrian, but for a motorist to size up a calendar while parking-space hunting?  Doesn't quite cut it.

Agreed. Or, you'd have to have oversized signs much larger than current parking signs in order to display the information large enough to be conveyed to someone driving a vehicle while space-hunting.

I think a better solution is to get the cities to simplify parking restrictions. Why are different restrictions needed for different days and times of the week?

[kj3400]

Why can't they just have signs similar to VMSes but programmed to just say P for parking or the standard no parking sign?
Granted that's prolly expensive, but certainly much simpler than what they have now.

[mrsman]

I saw this article linked somewhere else a while ago.  I tried to give her the following feedback, it might have gotten posted on her website:


1) I'd like to commend your efforts on making a sign that highlights when you can and when you can't park.  This is certainly needed.

2) Would 2 separate colors solve the colorblindness issue?  How about orange and blue in place of red and green?

3) Another issue is that your signs may not necessarily convey all the information that the regulatory signs are trying to convey.

Let's look first at your example on a preferential residential street in LA:

No Parking Anytime Except 2 HOUR PARKING 8 AM to 6 PM Mon-Fri, Vehicles with Permit #12 Exempted.  THICK SIGN.
No Parking 12-2 Friday Street Cleaning.  THIN SIGN.

Your sign had a continuous red bar on Sat/Sun, Red bar before 8 and after 6 on Mon-Thurs.  Red bar before 8, between 12-1, and after 6 on Friday.  Green bars at the other times.  And then an EXCEPT PERMIT #12.  The problem with this is that the street cleaning restriction applies to all vehicles, even Permit #12.  [The way the sign reads, I would assume that Permit 12 would be exempt from all restrictions.]

4) One idea that may resolve this problem is to have separate designations for restrictions that apply to everyone vs. restrictions that apply to most people except for a certain class (permit holders, handicapped, commercial vehicles, taxis, etc.).  Some times there are time limits and some times there are not.  Some times there are requirements to pay and sometimes there are not.

I would designate the zones as follows:

White (Uncolored)— anyone can park for as long as they want for free during those times
Red — "No Parking"  or "No Stopping"  or "No Standing"  or "Loading Zone"  (for times 10 minutes or less) for the general public
Orange — Parking is limited by time for more than 10 minutes, but less than the entire block of time.  Parking is free for the general public.  Time restriction should be written in.
Blue — Parking is allowed.  It may be limited or unlimited in time.  But in all cases, the general public must pay a fee either through a meter or some similar device.  If there is a time restriction it should be written in.  The word "PAY"  should also be written in the bar.

Then, you can add in @, #, $, *, and other punctuation symbols to exempt certain classes from certain restrictions.  On some streets you may have a daytime restriction where commercial vehicles are exempt and a nighttime restriction where residential permit holders are exempt, and other restrictions where nobody is exempt (street cleaning, rush hour).

5) Another idea would be to simply write it in terms of day by day:

Mon-Thur: No Parking 12 Midnight to 8 AM, 2 HR Parking 8 AM to 6 PM, No Parking 6 PM to 12 Midnight. Permit 12 Exempted.
Friday: No Parking 12 Midnight to 8 AM, 2 HR Parking 8 AM to 12 NOON, 2 HR Parking 2PM to 6 PM, No Parking 6 PM to 12 Midnight. Permit 12 Exempted.
Thursday: No Parking 10 AM to 12 NOON.  Street Cleaning - NO EXCEPTIONS
Saturday and Sunday: No Parking Anytime.  Permit 12 Exempted.

6) Another idea would have very little changes to the existing signs, but change some of the wording to remove potential double negatives, like "No parking anytime except".

The thin sign should be largely left alone.  Since it is thin, it is clear that it is separate than the wide sign and its limited street cleaning restrictions apply to all.  To make it more clear, you can add the language "No Exemptions".

The wide sign can be rewritten as follows:

2 HR Parking 8 AM to 6 PM Mon thru Fri - Permit 12 Exempt.
No Parking All Other Times - Permit 12 Exempt.

7) I also agree that School Days (when it appears) is a bit vague.  It's better to turn that restriction into Mon-Fri, even if there are some weekdays when parking won't interfere with the school's operations.

[Pete from Boston]

Signs must convey meaning as close to immediately as possible to people glancing away from operating potentially deadly moving machinery. 

These are great diagrams for a pedestrian, but for a motorist to size up a calendar while parking-space hunting?  Doesn't quite cut it.

Agreed. Or, you'd have to have oversized signs much larger than current parking signs in order to display the information large enough to be conveyed to someone driving a vehicle while space-hunting.

I think a better solution is to get the cities to simplify parking restrictions. Why are different restrictions needed for different days and times of the week?

- Street cleaning
- Loading zones not needed after retail hours
- Meters whose turnover-inducing function isn't needed at night
- Bus stops only stopped at on weekdays
- Lanes used for through rush hour traffic but parking in off hours

I'm sure I'm forgetting plenty more.

[1995hoo]

Signs must convey meaning as close to immediately as possible to people glancing away from operating potentially deadly moving machinery. 

These are great diagrams for a pedestrian, but for a motorist to size up a calendar while parking-space hunting?  Doesn't quite cut it.

Agreed. Or, you'd have to have oversized signs much larger than current parking signs in order to display the information large enough to be conveyed to someone driving a vehicle while space-hunting.

I think a better solution is to get the cities to simplify parking restrictions. Why are different restrictions needed for different days and times of the week?

- Street cleaning
- Loading zones not needed after retail hours
- Meters whose turnover-inducing function isn't needed at night
- Bus stops only stopped at on weekdays
- Lanes used for through rush hour traffic but parking in off hours

I'm sure I'm forgetting plenty more.

Another possibility (though less common) might be reversible streets. It's a hazard if you try to leave a parallel parking space but all lanes on the street are going in the other direction.

[jeffandnicole]

Why can't they just have signs similar to VMSes but programmed to just say P for parking or the standard no parking sign?
Granted that's prolly expensive, but certainly much simpler than what they have now.

When does the Parking period end?  And how long can one park?

[vdeane]

Too wordy. The simplest of parking signs speak better than this pile of fail.

Well, the idea uses a lot fewer words than the current signage...

[empirestate]

While I'd be happy with any effort to improve the readability of parking signs, I disagree with the idea that the current ones are confusing. They're complicated, yes, but they should all make sense provided you actually stop and do the thinking. (I'm ignoring occasional cases where parking signs are genuinely conflicting, contradictory or erroneous.)

I think it comes down more to differences in processing information for different people. Some will always do better with graphics, while others may still find the textual signs more informative. If new graphic signs were to replace old textual ones, I'd want to be assured that they improve the system for everybody (or most people), not just for those who prefer graphic representation.

Ultimately, I think we'd want dynamic signs that clearly display that 1) parking is or isn't allowed right now, and 2) for how long that's the case. Your car could then uplink to the mainframe, or whatever the devil it is that kids do nowadays, and show you additional information about parking regulations at other times, and what nearby areas do have available parking.

[kj3400]

Why can't they just have signs similar to VMSes but programmed to just say P for parking or the standard no parking sign?
Granted that's prolly expensive, but certainly much simpler than what they have now.

When does the Parking period end?  And how long can one park?

Add the time you can park and a timer under it. Boom.