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I don't necessarily have a sense of whether it's a waste of money or not, but I have to disagree with those who say that it makes no difference.
There have been plenty of usability studies that show that readability is worse for ALL CAPS than for mixed-case lettering. And we have to remember that the signage may seem unimportant or insignificant for us who live here and probably could navigate through 90% of our lives, even if there were no signs at all, but it could be all-important for the millions of people who don't live here and don't navigate by landmarks and storefronts and really need to be able to see and comprehend the street names quickly and efficiently, particularly if they're driving.
I don't necessarily have a sense of whether it's a waste of money or not, but I have to disagree with those who say that it makes no difference.
There have been plenty of usability studies that show that readability is worse for ALL CAPS than for mixed-case lettering. And we have to remember that the signage may seem unimportant or insignificant for us who live here and probably could navigate through 90% of our lives, even if there were no signs at all, but it could be all-important for the millions of people who don't live here and don't navigate by landmarks and storefronts and really need to be able to see and comprehend the street names quickly and efficiently, particularly if they're driving.
That also explains why we have the LA-style overhanging street signs in some spots around the city.
Another nice transplanted upgrade that I'm seeing more frequently now are the countdown crosswalk signs. Now, I don't have to run mid-way across a wide avenue.
I'm not sure if this is happening in other boroughs - but there are some new style street signs that are popping up in the Bronx. Instead of the traditional all-caps lettering, the new signs have lower-case lettering on it. (I/E - old: "WESTCHESTER AV" new: "Westchester Av") I've seen these new signs along Westchester Avenue on the 2/5 line and they've showed up just yesterday in my neighborhood.
Another nice transplanted upgrade that I'm seeing more frequently now are the countdown crosswalk signs. Now, I don't have to run mid-way across a wide avenue.
That's another outstanding waste of money. Nobody ever needed a counter to tell them when the light was about to turn red before. Just another example of a declining educational system, I suspect.
Unfortunately, the same thing is happening in Philly. IMHO, the lower case signs are harder to read than the capital ones. The only reason why the overhead signs on intersections and on the expressways are lower case letters is because the signs are big enough to be read. The regular corner street signs are too small and a huge waste of money!!!!! Hopefully something can be done about it cause it's just plain stupid!!!!!
Actually I do like the overhanging signs, they are bigger more viseable and you can then know what street you are approaching instead of looking for a small street sign.
The is a Federal law signed into existence in 2003 that stated it needed to be finished by 2018 across the whole country. So send a thank you note to Bush for this one.
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