My Road Sign

More towns are considering No Jake Brake signs. People are a little more interested in having some peace and quiet. Reading up on this in Wikipedia, I learned that Jake Brakes refer to a particular brand of engine brakes. I think someone from the company may have edited this article, given the strong language, but it's interesting nonetheless. If anyone knows of a sign that specifically refers to Jake Brakes, send me a picture and I'll post it here.

Road Sign NewsDumping Illegal Roadway Signs

I like the direction this is going. I have to say that I have personally removed illegally posted signs advertising "we buy houses fast" or "we buy ugly houses". They're objectionable for other reasons, but I don't like cluttering our landscape.

Road Sign NewsCasar Chavez Road Sign a Victory for Junior High Students

This is a great story of children learning and taking action. After learning about what Caesar Chavez did for migrant farm workers, the kids decided to approach the city about renaming a street near their school. After a year the street was renamed and the children were there to witness their success. My guess is that some of the kids from this class will be leaders in their communities. You can't ask for a better civic lesson.

Road Sign NewsBart Starr's Many Street Signs

No, he is not a street sign collector. Apparently, Green bay is littered with roads named for Bart Starr. The latest is judged to be a greater honor since it is near Lambeau field and connects with Lombardi Avenue. Read about Bart Starr to learn why he is such a legend or pick up a book on Vince Lombardi. When Pride Still Mattered is one of my personal favorites.

Road Sign NewsDead End Opportunity

This picture was taken by Allan Llewellyn
in Anthem, AZ on 10/04/2005. Thanks Allan!

Road Sign NewsTakoma Washington Adds Historic Street Names

This hasn't been a big news item of late, but I imagine it will continue to grow in popularity. Having some history associated with your neighborhoods (numbers don't really do that unless your in New York or LA) gives a place like Takoma, Washington a little bit more of a small town feel.

Road Sign NewsCoronation Street

A tourist destination in Spain seeks to up its attraction by renaming its streets and creating a connection to the long running UK soap. Being of the US and not a huge fan of soaps, I'm new to this and may pick up some Coronation Street DVDs to get an idea of why this is so big. If you're unsure what it is, check out "What is Coronation Street?"

Road Sign NewsOy Vey! Highway Sign

You're leaving Brooklyn and they want you to know they're sorry. They also want to recognize the contributions to the local culture by the Jews of Brooklyn.

Road Sign NewsA Second Set of Eyes on Street Signs and More

The story of these driver assistance systems continues to develop. I like the comment in this story that "The traffic-sign surveillance system, also camera-based, will initially evaluate speed information to warn drivers if they are traveling too fast." That will be great. My car and my wife will tell me I'm driving too fast! I wonder if people will shut this off.

More about street sign recognition.

Road Sign NewsRoad Sign Gets Real


Now this is what I'm talking about! A road sign that shocks you. This campaign in Seattle, Washington is meant to grab your attention because federal research shows "that people respond to signs that startle them." As someone who is primarily a pedestrian, I love it!!! Pedestrians are generally ignored no matter how many crosswalk signs the city posts.

Road Sign NewsBeamer Lane - Flight 93 Hero Remembered

In Guilford Township, PA, a street sign was erected in honor of the victims of Flight 93. More than a memorial, however, it celebrates the human spirit as was seen in Todd Beamer and others who didn't let fear stop them from taking action.

Read Todd Beamer's story as written by his wife: Let's Roll: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage

Road Sign NewsHistoric Kennilworth Road Sign

This road marker in Kennilworth, dating from the late 1700's, was removed because it was falling apart. I'm glad there has been some attempt to save it, though it doesn't sound like they're too sure about what they're doing.

Road Sign NewsRude Street Signs

This book goes beyond just rude and crude street names and looks at all places in Britain that have crude sounding names. There are some great examples in the article, New book reveals rudest place names in Britain, but the book, Rude Britain: 100 Rudest Names in Britain is sure to cause a few more belly laughs.

Road Sign NewsImperial v. Metric on UK Road Signs

Some residents of the UK are very serious in their objections to metrication (new word from me) and their adherance an imperial system. I have to say I have never known what to call the system we use in the US. Is it really imperial. Isn't there another word that we were taught when this complicated system was explained to us as wee lads?

This article gives a little more background about the pressures that the UK is facing to fully convert to the metric system, in more than just road signage.

If you need a little help with the metric system, try the Metric Converter or to learn how to teach it try Metric in Minutes.

Road Sign NewsPolitics and Jagger Court

A family that supports American troops and lives on [Mick] Jagger Court is fighting to see the name changed to Pat Tillman Ct. I agree that Tillman is a hero and should have a street named for him. I'm not so sure that one person's political beliefs should dictate the name of the street. I like the reporter's question toward the end of the article. Did this gentleman consider changing his name when Americans were changing the names of beloved foods because of an international dispute. French Mackes, the man in question, did not.

Whether you like him or not, he's prolific. Take a look at All Things Mick Jagger.

Road Sign NewsDon't Forget the 'E' in Jerry Browne Road

There's always an authority when it comes to the true spelling of a road name, the person who was being honored. Since many streets are named after people, the best way to tell how they're spelled (yes, this is a real issue. look at the archives) is to find out who it was named for. It provides a little history lesson in the process.

Road Sign NewsPhotographing Your Vacation: Take more Street Signs!

I like this guys approach. He says that you should avoid the typical pictures that everyone is taking. I know this will be hard to resist when you're standing at the overlook of the Grand Canyon that sits right next to the parking lot, but resist! I disagree slightly with his comment that "what says Haight Ashbury better than the actual street sign?" While this is a very nice picture, I would say there are a lot of things that capture it better, and I'm partial to street signs. I think a lot of people walk through and take the street sign. To get a better feel for photography on your vacation, I recommend checking out a book about vacation photography.

Road Sign NewsRoad Sign Collector Treated like Lepor

This guy in Chelmsford, Mass collects street signs and traffic signals. He displays his collection in his front yard. You can't tell too much from the picture, but it looks like the sign on the tree in the foreground may be a distraction to motorists, but the traffic lights in his yard are not. I would never look to a traffic light planted firmly up against someone's house. If this is disruptive to local drivers then I would ask them to please, please, please not drive through Times Square in NY or anywhere in Vegas. They will most likely leave with involuntary manslaughter charges for running over helpless, drunk pedestrians who understood when to walk.

Collecting signs is a serious hobby. This book on oil sign collecting is one rescource.

Road Sign NewsSign Thieves and Vandals Shoot Up Signs


This report out of Colorado is the first I've heard of signs being "shot up". Are people using signs as target practice? This is new to me, but I imagine its not limited to Colorado. The stop sign at left is from the article. Reading the article I expected to see bullet holes. I guess I know very little about guns and how they're used. I think I'll keep it that way.

Road Sign NewsMilwaukee Street Names Revealed

Carl Baehr of Milwaukee has done some excellent work uncovering the history of street names in Milwaukee. He wrote a book ten years ago that is a street sign historian's dream, Milwaukee Streets: The Stories Behind Their Names.

Road Sign NewsAlabama Road Signs in Easthampton, Mass

I just love that nobody noticed that the state route signs in Easthampton, Mass had the outline of Alabama. If you work for the state putting signs up, would you feel pretty comfortable identifying the shape of your state?

It just shows how oblivious we are to our environment. Maybe we also need a little more time on geography in school too.

Road Sign NewsA Man Who is Serious about his Street Names

I like this guy's moxy. He's willing to create a campaign devoted to correcting the spelling of a street and valley. Good for him.

Road Sign NewsHarry Potter Fans Chase Street Sign

Quidditch Lane in Cambridgeshire Village is attracting hoards of Harry Potter fans. What is it about street signs that is so cool to capture on film? Its just a name printed in a factory to identify a street in a plan, right?

Road Sign NewsStealing a Priest's Road Sign

The theif of Father Shamon's Way street sign should feel a twinge of guilt. Stealing public property is bad. Stealling public property that was dedicated in honor of a priest who gave his life for God. Shame.

If you find an interesting story about a road sign in the news and I haven't posted the story here, email mail@myroadsign.com. I would hate to miss signage current events!

You may also want to check out the stories related specifically to stolen road signs and road sign photos.

Take a look at our archive of road sign and street sign news.

Road Signs that Were in the News

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