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!!

America.. One Big Aesthetic Crime Scene

Roswell and North Fulton have beautiful, spacious parks.  We rave about the river, playgrounds and the trails.  Several cities are working on new parks and squares around their city centers.  It’s evident that we care about our public space.  But.. we are forgetting something.

We are neglecting the most abundant public space we own.  We are neglecting our streets.  By sheer area, our streets and roads dwarf our parks and greenspace.  Some may say that our roads and streets are fantastic.  They are wide, well maintained and orderly.  I agree, when I have my driving blinders on but when you take a look around, you realize that once you get out of your neighborhood, you are driving on an enormous automobile sewer system.  

The Swiss would probably marvel at how focused our DOTs are on ensuring the streets are functional.  The hierarchy of local, collector and arterial is beautiful in its logic.  The potholes are usually fixed quickly and the streets are generally clean.  They get paved on schedule.  That said, order and proper maintenance does not build character and foster a sense of place.  Our lanes are too wide, our setbacks are too far and our street trees have become glorified weeds.  All of this has been done in the name of safety and standards.  

The roads and streets all around this country have become one gigantic aesthetic crime scene and they are only getting worse.  Road signs seemingly multiply like gremlins.  For goodness sake look at the number of signs adorning the historic square in Roswell.  We have Tree City USA signs, Yield ahead signs, road intersection approaching signs, duplicate no left or no right turn signs and they just seem to keep coming.  Cross into East Cobb from Roswell on 120 and the signs are like a heavyweight uppercut.  Power lines are everywhere but at least they aren’t proliferating.  Pay attention to all this incoherence and it will blow your mind.

Even policies that are supposed to be a good thing have become victims of over engineering and an inflexible focus on ensuring standards are upheld rather than ensuring that the design is contextually appropriate.  Who hasn’t seen a bike lane that abuts a 45 mph road? How about the fact that every turn lane off a state highway will now have at least one and usually two no parking signs.  I love the two no parking signs on the southbound on ramp to 400 from Haynes Bridge.  What about the fact that just before almost EVERY intersection you now see a big yellow sign telling you that that intersection is approaching.  EVEN WHEN IT IS IN PLAIN SIGHT!

Worst of all, we have no idea what the difference between a road and a street is anymore.  Streets capture value and roads get you from place to place quickly but what we have created across much of suburbia is a nasty STROAD hybrid that does neither well.  

We need to start capturing value with our streets again.  The people who built Canton Street knew how to do exactly that and they did it before zoning codes and red tape.  It’s the most well known street in North Fulton and the great part of it isn’t even a half mile.  Canton St didn’t become great because of wide lanes, road signs or bike lanes.  It’s great for many reasons but the narrow lanes, sidewalks and shorter building setbacks create a sense of place like an outdoor room that people in cars, on bikes or on foot just feel comfortable in.

Our focus on wide lanes, road signs, and tiny street trees is a crime committed against our places and ultimately against ourselves.  Our streets should be places, not sewers.  Our streets should have an overabundance of art, not an overabundance of signs.  Our streets should make us want to get out of our cars and enjoy the place that they shape.

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!!!

Stop the Madness: This Time I'm Serious

I'm not sure which one came first here but someone obviously wasn't reading the sign.  The Double Sign is definitely one of the most anoying sign types.

Stop the Madness: No Right Turn(s)

Hey, no right turn here...  

Don't make me repeat myself...  

Now you've really gone and done it..

NO RIGHT TURNS HERE..

Seriously guys, this is unnecessary.. there isn't a vantage point where you can't see either one of these signs.  Take down the first one and leave the one next to the light...

But wait.  There's more.  Why can't you make a right turn? Because it's a ONE WAY Street.  So, if you could make the One Way sign more visible, you could negate the need for the two No Right Turn signs.  Hmm..

Stop the Madness: Pedestrian Xing Ahead

Now, I'm all for pedestrian safety.  But this is just overkill!  About 50 feet ahead of the crosswalk there is a sign indicating that there is a pedestrian crossing ahead.  Then, there are two signs at at the pedestrian crossing with little arrows to indicate that the pedestrians actually cross on the ground.  Not sure what to think if the arrows were aimed up.  Presumably, the 'ahead' sign is there because it is at the crest of a hill coming up Oak St to warn approaching cars that there is a pedestrian crossing under the assumption that cars wouldn't be able to see the two signs at the actual crosswalk.  

But, there is NO WAY a driver would miss the TWO signs that are actually at the crossing as evidenced by the second image which is a Google Street View from roughly 300 feet away.

Serously folks!  We need to chill with the unnecessary signs.  It's going to kill the charm we have in our public places.

Stop the Madness: Two Unnecessary Signs

This one is driving me nuts.  Last year, the one way on Plum Street was reversed so that traffic could more easily flow off of Canton St.  That made sense to me.  But these signs don't.  First up, why do you need a one way sign where traffic enters a one way street?  There should be a one way sign at the end where cars exit to alert drivers that you can't turn into that street but putting one where you enter is just adding to the littany of signs cluttering our landscape. Hmmm...  So, the one way sign in this picture is completely unnecessary.  

Second, why in the world would you need a Do Not Enter sign here?  IF, in the off event a car did make it's way to that spot by going the wrong way down Plum St, they certainly SHOULD enter Canton St to get off of Plum St.  If there is an appropriate place for a Do Not Enter sign on a one way street, it would be at the point of entry,  not at the point of exit.  But, there would be no reason for a DNE sign at the entrance if there is already a one way street sign.  That would be redundant... but as we all know... there is no shortage of redundant signs on our roads.

Take these two signs down.  They are completly unnecessary.  

Stop the Madness: This Sums Up My Feelings...

This video pretty much sums up my feelings on road signs...