Missing and Hidden Street Name Signs in Arlington, Massachusetts

	The Wall Street Journal writes about Arlington's street signs! May 6, 1998 Federal standards (MUTCD) for street name signs. Dangerous traffic signs and signals in Arlington.
You are here! But where is here?  Yes, you are somewhere on Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, but what is the name of that side street?
	But wait, Arlington is getting new street signs. Beautiful new signs. With the town seal on the left corner. Look at these nice new signs at the corner of Columbia and Stowecroft Roads.     So what's wrong with this picture?
Nothing... except that the beautiful new signs are hidden behind a fence, a couple of trees, more than just a few feet away from the intersection.   The yellow arrow points to the signs. Note that the yellow arrow only exists in cyberspace, and it useless to lost drivers.
The yellow cyberarrows would also come in handy at the corner of Warren and River Streets. Behind the traffic signal and more trees, just another hidden Arlington sign.
If you approach Brooks Avenue on Orvis Road, you will need to stop, guess where you are, then creep into the intersection to read the sign because of the time honored tradition of tacking the sign BEHIND the utility pole.
Here's a street sign behind a storefront and a sign for a sign shop. Many Arlington signs are tucked neatly behind storefronts. Some are a half block from the intersection.
New sign. Same old placement. Hanging atop a STOP sign at Rawson Road and Broadway. If you can't find a street name sign tacked up on a utility pole, try the stop sign. These mountings tend to bend the stop sign and fall off. Stop signs also tend to be set back from the intersection, making the sign invisible from the major street at the intersection. While the Rawson Road sign is improved, there's still no sign for Broadway. Stop sign mountings almost always have only one sign, for the side street. This upholds the tradition of never posting signs for major streets.

The street name signs are getting better, but a lot of work remains to be done.
Arlington also has problems with traffic signs and signals. Click here for the traffic sign page.

The Word Isn't On the Street
In life, there are good signs and bad signs. In Arlington, Mass., there are just few signs.

By some estimates, fewer than half of the town's main intersections feature street signs. Other signs are hidden behind buildings. One sign is even misprinted, with a backward "n" in Rawson Road.

"It's embarrassing," sighs Paul Schlichtman, who has lived in the town of 45,000 since 1989.

Mr. Schlichtman, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University, has made Arlington's lack of signs his passion for several years. He has compiled a list of signless intersections (about 100, by his count). As the sign gadfly, he has attempted to rouse the rabble at a Town Meeting. He even has setup a Web site pleading with residents to beg their town selectmen for more signs.

Finally, one of the town selectmen, Charles Lyons,  has joined Mr. Schlichtman's cause. But even Mr. Lyons only came to this fork in the road after some pretty unexpected turns.

To begin with, Mr. Lyons lost his raincoat on a flight to New Orleans last month. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that there was no name label in it. But luckily, he did have some business cards in the pocket, and upon returning to Boston, he was contacted by a woman whose husband had grabbed the wrong coat. The couple lived in Cambridge, Mass., and they agreed to meet for breakfast and make the swap.

As they sat down at an Arlington diner, the husband, a visiting professor from the University of Chicago, said he liked Massachusetts, but he couldn't stand the scarcity of street signs. He said he had nearly gotten into several accidents slamming on his brakes while looking for signs.

That was when Mr. Lyons decided to join Mr. Schlichtman's campaign. He says he's coming up with a plan to overhaul Arlington's street markings.

Mr. Schlichtman says he plans to introduce a motion at Town Meeting in the next month to spend the money for new signs. Says he, "Really first-rate towns have nice-looking signs."
-Jon G. Auerbach
 

Federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) regulations pertaining to street name signs:

Section 2D-39 :
Street Name (D3-1) signs (see Figure 2D-8) should be installed in urban areas at all street intersections regardless of other route signs that may be present and should be installed in rural areas to identify important roads that are not otherwise signed.

Lettering on ground-mounted Street Name signs should be at least 150 mm (6 in) high in capital letters, or 150 mm (6 in) upper-case letters with 113 mm (4.5 in) lower-case letters.

On multi-lane streets with speed limits greater than 60 km/h (40 mph), the lettering on ground-mounted Street Name signs should be at least 200 mm (8 in) high in capital letters, or 200 mm (8 in) upper-case letters with 150 mm (6 in) lower-case letters.

Option:
For local roads with speed limits of 40 km/h (25 mph) or less, the lettering height may be a minimum of 100 mm (4 in).

Supplementary lettering to indicate the type of street (such as Street, Avenue, or Road) or the section of the City (such as NW) may be in smaller lettering, at least 75 mm (3 in) high. Conventional abbreviations (see Section 1A.14) may be used except for the street name itself.

A symbol or letter designation may be used on a Street Name sign to identify the governmental jurisdiction, area of jurisdiction, or other government-approved institution.

Standard:
If a symbol or letter designation is used, the height and width of the symbol or letter designation shall not exceed the letter height of the sign.

Guidance:
The symbol or letter designation should be positioned to the left of the street name.

Standard:
The Street Name sign shall be retroreflective or illuminated to show the same shape and similar color both day and night. The legend and background shall be of contrasting colors.

Guidance:
Street Name signs should have a white legend on a green background. A border, if used, should be the same color as the legend.

In business districts and on principal arterials, Street Name signs should be placed at least on diagonally opposite corners. In residential areas, at least one Street Name sign should be mounted at each intersection. Signs naming both streets should be installed at each intersection. They should be mounted with their faces parallel to the streets they name.

Option:
To optimize visibility, Street Name signs may be mounted overhead. Street Name signs may also be placed above a regulatory or STOP or YIELD sign with no required vertical separation.

At intersection crossroads where the same road has two different street names for each direction of travel, both street names may be shown on the same sign along with directional arrows.

Guidance:
In urban or suburban areas, especially where Advance Street Name signs are not used, the use of overhead-mounted Street Name signs should be considered. If overhead Street Name signs are used, the lettering should be at least 300 mm (12 in) high in capital letters, or 300 mm (12 in) upper-case letters with 225 mm (9 in) lower-case letters.

Support:
Information regarding the use of street names on supplemental plaques for use with intersection-related warning signs is contained in Section 2C.49.

Call or write to the Board of Selectmen if you want them to improve the street name signs in Arlington.

Clarissa Rowe, Chair, 54 Brantwood Road, Arlington MA 02476, (781) 643-3156
Kevin F. Greeley, 363 Mystic Street, Arlington MA 02474, (781) 648-1973
John W. Hurd, 28 Colonial Drive, Arlington MA 02474, (781) 648-2169
Annie Lacourt , 48 Chatham Street, Arlington MA 02474, (781) 641-2918
Diane M. Mahon, 23 Howard Street, Arlington MA 02476, (781) 646-9038

Date Last Updated: December 28, 1999.
Paul Schlichtman
e-mail to: paul@schlichtman.org