Mixed Case Street Signs Easier To Read

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Sep 30, 4:40 PM EDT

NYC replacing street signs to meet new mandate

NEW YORK (AP) -- Apparently, "This" is easier to read than "THIS."

New York City is in the process of replacing 250,000 street signs to comply with federal regulations that require signs to better reflect light and be written in a combination of upper- and lowercase letters to make them easier for drivers to read.

Street signs are changed every several years anyway, as part of regular maintenance. Now, as they're taken down, they will be replaced with the more reflective, mixed-case signs, as the city works to meet a 2018 deadline for better-reflecting signs, said Seth Solomonow, spokesman for the city's Department of Transportation.

"In eight years, we would have normally replaced them as part of normal activity," he said. "All these signs would have definitely come down."

The city plans to have the first 11,000 signs replaced by the end of the fiscal year, starting with those signs in the Bronx. Each sign costs about $110 to replace, and the budget to replace all of them is $27.5 million. They're in a font called Clearview, a typeface developed for road signs.

The Federal Highway Administration put the change in place, saying that mixed case signs are easier for drivers to read.

"Signs that use both upper- and lowercase letters are easier to recognize, particularly when a driver is farther away, according to research conducted before this requirement was included," said Cathy St. Denis, a spokeswoman for the FHWA.

Not everyone was convinced.

Alex Stojanov, a 37-year-old employee at a maintenance company, didn't see the point.

"I don't think changing the signs is going to do much," he said.