NYC Might Not Go Ahead With Sign Changes
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- New York City's current street signs are here to stay, at least for now.
The Federal Highway Administration was requiring that all 250,000 New York City street signs be changed to the upper and lower case font called "Clearview." The feds said drivers can identify the words more quickly with the upper and lower case mix, particularly at night.
A spokesman for the Department of Transportation said: "Federal standards already require replacing all street signs by 2018 with new, more reflective signs, and we will comply with the federal lettering requirement at the same time. Since the lifespan of a sign is about 10 years, most signs would be routinely replaced during that period anyway."
However, the U.S. Transportation Secretary said those expensive changes are not necessary.
City officials had complained to the Transportation Department, saying the cost to replace perfectly good traffic signs would cost the City millions of dollars.
For some, it's a matter of aesthetics. The 34th Street Business Improvement District used its own money to change the signs to upper and lower case years ago. To them, it was a question of size. To them, size matters.
The larger blue Midtown signs are much more expensive then the green ones the city will be replacing at a cost of $27 million.
