Street Blade Signs Changing (All Uppercase > Mixed Case)?

[mjb2002]

This new style is rolling out now in Jacksonville, TX.  Apparently there was a popularity contest among 4 choices that locals got to vote on, and the style in the pic was the winner (this came from the local newspaper's website); I didn't get to see a pic of the other 3 choices, so I'm not sure whether Clearview was ever a consideration on any of them.  I'm not sure what font this is, but I don't remember ever seeing it on a guide sign or blade before.  This is the first instance of Jacksonville using a a city logo/image on their street blades and also the first to use any block numbering on them.  This is also the first use of blue on street blades since the days when the city had the old concrete posts and dark blue coated metal signs.  I have a pic somewhere in my stuff of one of the city's last known instances of that kind of sign; I'll try to post it later if I find it.

EDIT:::: Forgot, it's also the first local use of upper/lowercase.  All known previous versions used uppercase.

They could have made it less cluttered by abbreviating Highway.

[Takumi]

In the past few months my city has started to transition over from all caps, which they've used as long as I can remember, to mixed case on their new street blades, although the only new blades put up have been in a small area of the city, as most of the rest of the blades were replaced within the past five years. Here's an example of a surviving old (1990s) assembly...


...a newer all-caps assembly (used from about 2005-spring 2011)...


...a small mixed-case assembly (used at intersections between side streets)...


...a large mixed-case assembly at a main-road intersection (across the street from the 1990s one)...


...and a very large mixed-case assembly at a side-street intersection.


Chesterfield County started to use mixed-case blades in the 1990s. Here's a surviving older assembly, complete with white rectangles which the county no longer uses...


...and the two generations of mixed-case blades. The River Rd one is the older of the two and was bent for some reason when this picture was taken (2008). These are unusual in that Chesterfield County now places the route number on the bottom right corner of the blade (instead of using a white rectangle), but did not for these.


Interestingly, Petersburg is doing the opposite as their newer blades are all caps while the older ones are pseudo-mixed (all caps, but the first letter is larger). I don't have any pictures of the new ones but I'll go get one and post the comparison later.

[mjb2002]

Do you know the height of the very large street name sign?

[agentsteel53]

Do you know the height of the very large street name sign?

Gills/Conduit are 8" tall each (using the 1" spacing of the holes in the square post as a guide).  Perthshire/Wilkshire, which you had asked about, is a bit less resolution in the photo to be absolutely sure of, but it also looks to be 8" tall each.

[Takumi]

Looking at them again, I think they are the same height, but the length of Wilkshire/Perthshire vs. Gills/Conduit made them seem larger overall.

[Central Avenue]

Here's a nice comparison of the styles used in Columbus, Ohio:

The previous all-caps style:


The new mixed-case style:


(Yes, the newer one is smaller, but that's simply because the older one is at a major intersection and the newer one is not)

[mjb2002]

When I went to buy something in Santee, I saw overhead street name signs in Orangeburg - along CANNON BRIDGE RD and JOHN C CALHOUN DR. I also noticed that the Orangeburg DOT has replaced the city limit signs AND the signs at the South Fork Edisto River - ALL with mixed-case signage, as well.

However, the g's look terrible on the non-street name signs that Orangeburg DOT has posted.

[Brian556]

Highland Village, TX

First Pic:If you're gonna use UPPER/lower case, at least leave enough space at the bottom for the bottom portions of the lower case letters. The g's look horrible.
Second Pic:On the post-mounted blades, if any letters have a lower portion, they scoot the entire word up so that the bottoms of the letters are all level. That also looks bad, but it's better than the signal mounted example above.

[ftballfan]

Grand Rapids has used mixed case for years, but there are still quite a few all-caps blades on the west side of Grand Rapids (even some on major streets at side streets).

[mgk920]

Also, the City of Madison, WI has used mixed-case for as long as I can remember (at least since the early 1980s).

Mike

[mjb2002]

Those two signs are precisely why one foot is the FHWA-recommended minimum height of street name sign blades.

Highland Village, TX

First Pic:If you're gonna use UPPER/lower case, at least leave enough space at the bottom for the bottom portions of the lower case letters. The g's look horrible.
Second Pic:On the post-mounted blades, if any letters have a lower portion, they scoot the entire word up so that the bottoms of the letters are all level. That also looks bad, but it's better than the signal mounted example above.

[apeman33]

The placement of block numbering and cardinal direction makes it feel really cluttered, and the font doesn't help.

I have always thought that Springfield, Missouri has among the most attractive layout for sign blades. The only bad thing is that it doesn't take to numbered streets too well.


Kansas City, KS has a fairly spartan, yet attractive design, though it's in all caps. (Sadly I don't seem to have any photos handy.) It will be interesting to see how it translates to mixed-case–I didn't see any mixed-case signage the last time I was there, which was in July.

I have always liked the way Springfield's street signs look. It's that font. Clean, well-spaced. I find it quite easy to see.

[route56]

You know, Lawrence, Kansas, has had mixed-case street blades since 1969 (that is NOT a typo).

Can't post a pic attm... website recovering from a hack.

[mjb2002]

You know, Lawrence, Kansas, has had mixed-case street blades since 1969 (that is NOT a typo).

Can't post a pic attm... website recovering from a hack.

42 years? WOW! I'll bet that Aiken County, S.C. has had mixed case street name signs for even longer than that!

[route56]

You know, Lawrence, Kansas, has had mixed-case street blades since 1969 (that is NOT a typo).

42 years? WOW! I'll bet that Aiken County, S.C. has had mixed case street name signs for even longer than that!

Yeah, but were/are they 9" signs?

Original style - this sign is circa lat 80s to early 90s


Current style - As adopted c. 2001

[apeman33]

You know, Lawrence, Kansas, has had mixed-case street blades since 1969 (that is NOT a typo).

Can't post a pic attm... website recovering from a hack.

Didn't know it has been that long, though I have seen some of the older ones. Lawrence's design is another favorite and it might also be the first place that I saw the highway shields on the blades on the traffic signals.

There are K-126 shelds on the blades on the signals at 4th and Walnut, 4th and Locust and 4th and Rouse in Pittsburg.

[US71]

Fayetteville, AR is slowly changing to mixed-case Clearview though there are still plenty of old-style signage. One intersection has mixed old/new signage.

Fort Smith has yet to change. Newer signs still appear to be all caps, but leaning towards Clearview.

[mjb2002]

You know, Lawrence, Kansas, has had mixed-case street blades since 1969 (that is NOT a typo).

42 years? WOW! I'll bet that Aiken County, S.C. has had mixed case street name signs for even longer than that!

Yeah, but were/are they 9" signs?

Original style - this sign is circa lat 80s to early 90s


Current style - As adopted c. 2001

Whoops. They were half a foot until last fall in Aiken County, when they started installing 8-9 inch blades.

[Scott5114]

Fayetteville, AR is slowly changing to mixed-case Clearview though there are still plenty of old-style signage. One intersection has mixed old/new signage.

Fort Smith has yet to change. Newer signs still appear to be all caps, but leaning towards Clearview.

Mena looks to be mostly switched over to mixed case Clearview, at least from what I saw on US 71 and AR 88 last Wednesday.

[surferdude]

Clearview letters have been used in PA for a couple of years now.  Looks like that is what is going to happen to NYC. 

[mjb2002]

Clearview letters have been used in PA for a couple of years now.  Looks like that is what is going to happen to NYC. 

Most states have Clearview ready for use, but very few municipalities in the states are using it.

[surferdude]

Clearview letters have been used in PA for a couple of years now.  Looks like that is what is going to happen to NYC. 

Most states have Clearview ready for use, but very few municipalities in the states are using it.

MUTCD 2009 states

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) has revised its recommendations to improve the legibility of street sign names.

According to the MUTCD....

"Lettering on street name signs should be at least 6 inches high. If upper case and lower case letters are used, then the upper case letters would be 6 inches with 4-1/2-inch lower case letters.

Abbreviated lettering to indicate the type of street or section of city may be in smaller lettering, at least 3 inches high. However, for local roads with less than 25 mph speed limits, the lettering may be a minimum of 4 inches with 2-inch letters for street abbreviations or city sections.

The street name sign shall be retroreflectorized to show the same shape and color day and night. The legend and background shall be of contrasting colors."
  2. Reflectivity
Signs with reflective background sheeting are brighter and easier to read for all drivers. Give your street signs maximum visibility with high intensity reflective sheeting.

3. Contrast

White letters on a green background provide good contrast day or night.

4. Width

Street name signs typically use Series B or C letters. Using upper and lower case letters is usually more readable than upper case letters alone.

5. Letter-to-letter spacing

Studies have shown that legibility improves with increased spacing between letters.

6. Border

White borders make street name signs easier to locate and increases visibility as well.

[mjb2002]

Saw new signs.

In Aiken, new overhead street name signs at WHISKEY and DOUGHERTY RD. That sign is in all uppercase.

The other signs are in mixed case - and almost all of them look downright awful.

TYLER ST actually looks like TVLER ST in Aiken.

There is a mixed-case sign of the Montmorenci Town Limits going east towards Williston.  That is the only mixed case sign of place names that look decent.

The others -- all in Bamberg County -- look downright awful.

One at the intersection of CAROLINA HY and BARNWELL RD looks like it is bolded.

And you can hardly see the g's on the other mixed-case signs of places in Denmark - those signs look just as bad as the Orangeburg City Limit and Bamberg City Limit signs.

I really am not looking forward to seeing the Wagener Town Limit sign in mixed case after what I saw.

[Brian556]

Frisco, TX. Too much space between letters if you ask me.


Little Elm, TX. The "Eldorado" text is too narrow, and the font isn't very good. These are hard to read

[mjb2002]

Frisco, TX. Too much space between letters if you ask me.


Little Elm, TX. The "Eldorado" text is too narrow, and the font isn't very good. These are hard to read

I can tell that Frisco didn't use Clearview Blend, because of the how the numbers look.  Also, I am not a fan of rounded numbering, either.  I prefer exact numbering of address when put on a sign.  That is the only thing positive I can say about Barnwell County's signs.