Bigger and brighter road signs apparently will have to yield the right of way to economic hardship.
As The Detroit News reports, the Obama administration is scrapping a rule that would have required hundreds of thousands of street and traffic signs to be replaced by 2018 — and instead will allow communities to upgrade them as they wear out.
The move is meant to ease financial demands on states and localities that would have needed to pay for the installation of new signs with larger lettering and better “retroreflectivity” to make them easier to read at night. The requirements were aimed at street name signs, as well as warning signs bearing messages such as “Pass With Care” and “One Way” as well as “Low Clearance” and “Advance Grade Crossing.”
“A specific deadline for replacing street signs makes no sense and would have cost communities across America millions of dollars in unnecessary expenses,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a news release. “After speaking with local and state officials across the country, we are proposing to eliminate these burdensome regulations. It’s just plain common sense.”
Even though the delay is delighting many officials around the country, it is certain to raise concerns among safety advocates. They wanted to make signs easier to read, particularly at night, to cut down on traffic fatalities.
As The New York Times reports, half of all traffic fatalties occur at night even though only one-quarter of travel takes place then.
However, Transportation Department officials are seeking to keep in place deadlines to install signs they consider critical to public safety. That includes “One Way” signs at intersections with divided highways or one-way streets, and “Stop” or “Yield” signs at railroad crossings without automatic gates or flashing lights.
TIMOTHY BELLA
