Stop the Madness: HOLY Knee Jerk Reaction

This is what I would call an impressive knee jerk reaction to the recently passed and enacted Safe Carry Protections Act here in Georgia.  The new legislation basically says properly licensed gun owners can carry a properly registered gun pretty much anywhere they want.  This includes bars, churches, stores, schools and some government buildings.  I personally am not a fan and from the looks of it, neither is the Zions Baptist Church.  

I'm thinking this is a statement but maybe it's just another sign of our sign culture gone wild.  Either way, the fervor with which they have posted signs on their property is both equally impressive and depressing.  Oversigning for any reason cheapens our public realm and reduces the connection and intimacy that one feels for a place.  I counted no fewer than 20 signs and I snapped pics of most of them.  Have fun with my photo anthology of hideous signs posted in reaction to a ridiculous law.  

I didn't go inside but I wouldn't be surprised to see a sign posted on the cross hanging over the altar.

Stop the Madness: Hey MORONS.. No Turn on Red

I'm not sure if this registers as overkill or as OVERKILL.  Do we really need three freaking signs stating the same thing at the intersection of Mansell Rd and Crossville Rd?

Placemaking 101: Straight Outta Compton

Roswell Parks & Rec.. we love you.. but do you love us??  Your fence tells me you don't.

The fence at Roswell Area Park Pool is definitely meant to keep people out.

Could our parks and rec department, the best in the state, do a better job of placemaking?  I've written before about their obsession with the Security Alert signs.  

Makes me feel so welcome and safe.

On the topic of fences, I truly think we could do better evidenced by the Sunnyside Gus Ryder Pool fence in Toronto.

The fence still exists and a person who climbs this and enters the pool is not the responsibility of the city at that point.Seriously, you would think our parks were straight outta compton with the barbed wire and the Security Alert signs.  

Invasion of the Advisory Signs...

I was walking to the Roswell Farmers and Artisans Market yesterday when I came across a shiny new road sign. Regular readers know that I'm not a fan of frivolous road signs that tell us things that are either plainly obvious or completely unnecessary.  This sign is one of those.

New sign along Norcross St approaching Historic Rowell. I feel safer already.

Here's what that spot looked like last month...

The fact that there is a sign here now isn't going to cause me to drive any slower. I'm going to drive at the speed the road feels safe at.

As a driver on a city street, you know there are curb cuts, you know there are side roads, you know there are intersections and you drive accordingly.  A sign is not going to change driver behavior.  Road design changes driver behavior.  If you follow the logic used for this sign to its eventual conclusion, you will have a sign for every driveway and intersection to alert unsuspecting drivers to the the chance that there are intersecitons or that other cars may be trying to access the road they are on.  

We have an almost perfect illustration of this right here in Historic Roswell.  There are no fewer than 12 road advisory signs in a .4 mile stretch along Alpharetta Hwy right through our Historic District.  Here's a collage courtesey of Google Street View.  This garbage pollutes our historic corridor all the way to the River.

Advisory signs are taking over our pubic realm in Historic Roswell.

The only thing these signs are doing is polluting our public realm with bright shiny objects.  Yes, they give some people a false sense of security that they are somehow now safer from bad drivers.  News flash.. we are all 'bad drivers' at some point and signs aren't going to prevent that fact.  

These types of signs are meant for high speed environments that require advance notice of intersections so drivers can reduce speed and plan accordingly to make turns.  Think Highway 316 to Athens or GA 400 north of the access controlled section.  We don't need this type of Highway engineering in the heart of a city where speeds are 40mph or less.  

Please STOP THE MADNESS!!

Even Seaside isn't Immune to Ridiculous Signage

Bad signs are everywhere..  Even at Seaside, which is one of the design meccas of America.  I stumbled upon this pic while I was walking around yesterday.

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Stop the Madness: Race to the Bottom

I think there' s a little more room at the bottom of this sign pole for another sign but I'm not sure they could get any crappier than the one they added most recently.. 

With Roswell just being named the 13th safest city in Georgia, I'm not sure how to take all these signs that are popping up everywhere around our parks.  Maybe the signs are what keep us safe and if they are.. we will no doubt the the safest city in Georgia in no time as evidenced below...

Maybe we're not as safe as we think if our city feels the need to plaster the landscape of our parks with bright yellow signs warning that your valuables aren't safe in your car.  

At this point, I think we need a new sign that will pretty much cover everything for the city..

STOP THE MADNESS!!!  Stop cheapening our public realm with wholly unnecessary signs.

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NO MOTOR VEHICLES

I noticed this sign heading west from Riverside Park along the walking and biking trail.  We must have a massive problem with motorized vehicles on the mixed-use path because this is a pretty big sign.  It's 2' by 2' and you can't miss it.  Does it really need to be that big?

The problem I have with it is twofold.. first, is it really necesary?  I'm not sure there's a motorized vehicle problem on the riverside trail and I doubt the problem is absent because of the signs.  It's absent because people inherently know that motorized vehicles don't belong on a riverside trail.  

If the sign is necessary, why not make it the same size as the truly unnecessary 'CAUTION BOARDWALK AHEAD' sign that's about 100 yards up the path.  This one is one quarter the size of the NO MOTOR VEHICLES sign and fits better into a park setting.

We really need to stop polluting our city with pointless signs, and if we must scar the scenery with metal signage, we should make an effort to reduce the impact on the visual landscape.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  Proceed with caution, there's a boardwalk ahead and this park closes at dark for YOUR safety. 

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The Most Dangerous Ditch in Roswell

I was headed out to eat in Milton this weekend and passed what must be the most dangerous ditch in all of Roswell or maybe even all of North Fulton for that matter.  The site is on Crabapple Rd just south of the intersection of Houze Rd on the east side of the road.  Here's a picture from Google images from last year.  

I would tell you to beware and to keep your hands at 10 & 2 when passing this perilous ditch.  However, there is no longer any need as we now have 6.. count 'em.. SIX road hazard signs along this ~100 yard stretch of road to protect those drivers who can't seem to stay on the road.  (do you really think drivers who are having trouble staying on the road are really paying attention to road signs?) 

Here's a shot of two of the freshly minted hazard preventers.  Just take notice how much better the streetscape looks and feels with these beauties now assaulting your optics.  

You can almost hit your side view mirrors on these stupid things they're so close to the road.  There must have been a rash of incidents where cars plowed off the road.  Do we really need these signs?  Are drivers going to pay more attention here because of these signs?  These liability signs are popping up everywhere and they are ruining our landscape.  They are insidious and sneak up on you... beware.  (but don't forget about that ditch. Its a doozie).

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Watch Out for Those Perilous Turns on the Greenway!!

I was out on the Alpharetta section of th Big Creek Greenway recently and was glad to see this left turn advisory arrow.  Had it not been there, I might have careened out of control into those woods at 3 miles per hour.  Seriously, do we think that a sign is going to prevent a cyclist from running off the path?  Get Real Folks!

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Stop the Madness: Don't Hit This Median

Here are two medians at the gate as you exit Liberty in Historic Roswell. I've been completely puzzled (annoyed) at the presence of the median sign on the second of the two medians. I'm not sure why one of these has the median warning sign and the other doesn't. However, there's one thing I'm absolutely sure of and that is that the one there is WHOLLY UNNECESSARY. The only people that would ever hit that median are people turning around at the entrance gate and they wouldn't see it anyway.

These signs are suited for medians in environments where cars are going 45mph+ or where there is a visibility problem. NOT in a spot where the posted speed limit is 13 mph and certainly not where it is virtually impossible for a driver to hit the median. Stop putting up ridiculously unnecessary signs and pull the pointless ones down already!!!