Thread: Illuminated street sign names?

Originally Posted by Plutonic Panda

I was just curious why OKC hasn't done this one any of their new streets esp. with Project 180. I think these add character to a city and make it look cooler. I know Dallas has them all over the metro esp. in Frisco. Here are some pics in case you don't know what I'm talking about.



Now I know this isn't a huge deal. I just thought it would be neat if OKC started doing this. I don't know how much these things cost though. I was really disappointed to see they weren't included on the new portion of Covell in Edmond, but the again I wasn't surprised. Edmond isn't exactly the most innovative city. Would anyone else like to see these though?

I really like these lighted signs, big benefit for traveler's. Norman has installed a few of these

I really love the 4th one. Clean lines. Very easy to understand what's going on here and where to get information on it.

We could use a passionate person dedicated to our signage. From what I see around town, there isn't much cohesion at best and at worst, we are thoroughly confused.

See Exhibit A

My not so great at age 7 and rather a slow dull downhill march from there peepers would love for all signs to be like these

Originally Posted by kevinpate

My not so great at age 7 and rather a slow dull downhill march from there peepers would love for all signs to be like these

I didn't quite understand what you mean't by that. :/

It means that the misbehaving tiny frogs he collected as a child and led on walks where signage was present probably would have had a positive reaction to lighted signs.
(that, or he started wearing glasses when he was about 7 and thinks lighted signs are a good idea))

Now . . . back to an old episode of Miss Marple on Netflix . . . =}

While we are on the subject of street signs - what's up with the new ones the city has been putting up? The new ones no longer list the numbered block of the street. Not a big fan of not having the numbers on them.

Also, a +1 for the idea of illuminated street signs. I think they look great!

Originally Posted by Plutonic Panda

I didn't quite understand what you mean't by that. :/

My take on is is peepers = eyes. Maybe he hasn't been blessed with great eyesight and as the years have gone by it has worsened, my wife suffers the same affliction. I didn't wear glasses until I was 19 and my prescription has never been much, it just triggered the glasses/contacts restriction on the Colorado DL I got this year when I had no such restriction on the Texas DL that I received in 2003.

We have the internally lit signs scattered around Aurora and the Tech Center but they are rather inconsistent in use. It would be nice but I understand they are more expensive than the standard signage.

Originally Posted by Plutonic Panda

Very close to my neck of the woods :-)

How are they lit? Could they use solar lighting to illuminate them? I'd be all for that if we could ease them in.

Originally Posted by PennyQuilts

How are they lit? Could they use solar lighting to illuminate them? I'd be all for that if we could ease them in.

I think most of them are not using solar power, but I was thinking somehow they could use solar power to light them.

The Tech Center area has a lot of the type in the picture above, Aurora has a bunch of the types like the ones in Panda's first couple of pictures. Most of the ones around here have been in for many years and are fluorescent lighting, solar wouldn't enough to power them through the night. With newer, more efficient LED technology and better photovoltaic panels I would think it would be possible. I know we are starting to see a lot of parking lot lighting that can be installed as a self-contained solar unit with no electrical connections. We are specifying some of the Inovus Solar Street Lighting products into a project where extending power to the outer reaches of the parking lot was not as desirable.

Or even better the ones in Houston.

Panoramio - Photos of the World

I don't like the ones in The Galleria area, I used to have a meeting twice a month in the area and while they look nice (except for the cables) they can be harder to read in certain sunlight conditions than the white on green box signs on the light standards.

Norman has these on the street name signs in high traffic areas, like along 24th NW. The color of the light makes me think we are probably using LEDs.

I'd imagine that new models offer LED options. If so, that seems like it wouldn't be terribly expensive for the electric bill. Most of the life-cycle cost would probably be in the initial expense to purchase and install them.

Originally Posted by Questor

Norman has these on the street name signs in high traffic areas, like along 24th NW. The color of the light makes me think we are probably using LEDs.

Norman has been putting the lighted street signs in when they put in new traffic lights. For example, the Flood and Robinson intersection has them because that traffic light was replaced as part of the railroad underpass project.

I'm honestly surprised these arent all around Edmond...

I would love to see these around OKC. It would be a very welcome addition.

Illuminated street signs are extremely helpful to pedestrians at night.

Here is an interesting story from New York in 1899. It seems we aren't the first with this problem.

Street Sign Controversy – 1899 » Manhattan Past

Originally Posted by swilki

what's up with the new ones the city has been putting up? The new ones no longer list the numbered block of the street.

Federal mandate: they have to replace them with lower case and reflective backing. As always with a Federal mandate which comes with no actual funding, they're doing it as cheaply as possible. (They don't have to take down existing signs, though.)

Checked with Snopes: snopes.com: Mixed Case Street Name Signs

Maybe OKC is waiting for the OLED tech to catch up.

Originally Posted by windowphobe

Federal mandate: they have to replace them with lower case and reflective backing. As always with a Federal mandate which comes with no actual funding, they're doing it as cheaply as possible. (They don't have to take down existing signs, though.)

Checked with Snopes: snopes.com: Mixed Case Street Name Signs

Federal manadate or not, I am just happy they are finally following the rules of standard English grammar.

Originally Posted by PennyQuilts

How are they lit? Could they use solar lighting to illuminate them? I'd be all for that if we could ease them in.

I think that illuminated signs are GREAT! Perhaps even a good opportunity to start testing next-generation solar cells and batteries so's we don't have to burn so much whale oil or coal or petroleum or natural gas or whatever to make them work. Or better yet . . . forget about the immediate problem of cloudy days, etc. and focus on how to harness wind power, solar wind power and or gravitational tide energy . . . (better street signs are a practical application for new technology since we've given up on the space race . . . and maybe all of this can be accomplished before the Brain Drain Black Hole in Washington (congress and the bureuaristocrisy figure out how to render it undoable. =)

Originally Posted by RadicalModerate

I think that illuminated signs are GREAT! Perhaps even a good opportunity to start testing next-generation solar cells and batteries so's we don't have to burn so much coal or whatever to make them work. Or better yet . . . forget about the immediate problem of cloudy days, etc. and focus on how to harness wind power, solar wind power and or gravitational tide energy . . . (better street signs are a practical application for new technology since we've given up on the space race =)

Where exactly would that be coming from?