Citizen complaint of the day: Can't anybody here make a street sign right?

-1 Troll

In England they have a term for this: "anorak".

A close look at these crappy mixed-case signs will show that part of the problem is that the signs are NOT painted - the lettering is adhesive vinyl, and in just about every case I've seen the letters have been applied in a really sloppy manner, with poor spacing.

Also, the smaller font for "St" makes sense when the signs are done in all caps, but looks really awful on the mixed-case signs. (It might help if they spelled "Street" all the way out in smaller type, but in the current format it makes "St" look like an afterthought.)

It's seriously ugly.

The fact is, we wouldn't have to waste money replacing these signs if they would just not put the eyesores up. Yes, it's a small thing, but these new signs look amateurish, at best. We are a world class, beautiful city and we should have signage that reflects that.

most of those sites are about type not signage, different beasts, but the last one of the four has a very convincing series of images of signage-- however to my eyes, in the image at the top of this page, the Boston Street sign is much clearer, especially if I'm driving past it at 25mph. The identifiable parts of the letters in Al Whatever Way (I can't see the image when replying) are just too small.... as one of the people on one of your referenced sites says

Design pundits make a big deal about the differences in legibility and readability of lowercase and all-caps settings, but the differences are measured in fractions of a second. So if you aren’t typesetting long copy, highway signage, or wayfinding systems then the difference is probably irrelevant.

whatever speed may be gained by the person standing close enough and still enough to make out the letters doesn't matter to the person 60' away looking at characters 50% smaller and wondering whether to turn or not

No doubt no one wants to read a paragraph, or even a sentence in all caps. That is clear, a point elaborate on in 99% of the hits on the google search you posted are making. But the same is true of serifs-- are those next?

Give me big, bold letters that take a split second longer to parse out, but that i'll start parsing sooner.

But really, Boston should be worrying about putting street signs at the 75% of intersections in this city that lack them rather than changing the ones that already exist.

It is now a requirement. And per state law (MGL Chapter 85, Section 2), all cities and towns must conform with MUTCD requirements - even if they pay for the signs and signals themselves.

And the problem with the sign is the same as with the Appleton Street one that was replaced - the sign blank isn't tall enough to provide adequate space between the legend and the sign edges.

But in this picture (i.e. on this sign), capitals or no, "Boston St" is by far the easier name to read quickly.

follows the Federal MUTCD standards, which also legally apply to all cities and towns in Massachusetts as well (see MGL Chapter 85, Section 2).

Why even bring up City Hall here?

Besides, the fact is that City Hall is one of the most beautifully made examples of Brutalist architecture outside Brasilia. Some people don't have the correct appreciation of Brutalism and should learn to be quiet.

of a properly fabricated street name sign before it loses its retro-reflectivity and needs to be replaced is eight to ten years.

Not sure about Boston, but my observations in other communities that have added city and town seals when they recently upgraded their street signs has been that these seals often completely fade out in two to three years.

The Ridder

The newer street signs in Brookline don't have the relief in the letters - they're essentially flat. They are still black and white, however. I think that last aspect is actually helpful in letting people know where they are given some of the screwy boundaries with Boston and Newton.

With respect to the lettering, I seem to remember some kind of local push within the last year or two to bring back the signs where the letters had relief, but I can't remember if that push related only to the signs in historic districts. I like the way the old signs look, but they're definitely more expensive - I remember thinking that, while interesting, the whole discussion was a first world problem, and that the funds might be better spent teaching more kids to speak and write Chinese (or for some other educational endeavor).

It's listed in the street index for assessors, at the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds:

Al Zwiercan Way, S. Bos., Public way, from 80 Boston to approximately 42 feet southeasterly. (Formerly Power Street.)

That seems fairly official to me.