Municipal infrastructures, such as street signs, are usually taken for granted. Most residents know where they are going and how to get there, so they just drive to their destinations without reading the street signs. The drivers who do read them are from some place else. Street signs are the first things visitors pay attention to when entering a city. Missing or defective signs do not reflect well on a municipality. Here in the City of Norwich, drivers are frequently stopping to ask me where some place is, usually because of the occasional absence of some signs or the peculiar policy of having only one street labeled at many intersections.
Some signs look old and others look new, so I was under the impression that the replacement of street signs simply followed economic cycles of boom and bust and the capricious interests of the Common Council. But Police Chief Joe Angelino explained that street signs are mandated to comply with specifications in the State of New York Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which change over time. This means that street signs can be classified by their appearance and the dates of their erection can be determined. That is, street signs reveal their history. To us infrastructure fans, this is a startling breakthrough.
In the photo, Joe is showing me the Adelaide Street sign on the northwest corner of the intersection with Sheldon Street. This is the oldest street sign in the City that is still in service. It was erected before 1955. It has white letters on a black background with no border.
Street signs were the responsibility of the Police Department until about 1988-89. Then the Department of Public Works (DPW) took over. Joe has kept up with the history of these signs. He shares with us the key to deciphering them. White letters on a black background and no border are the oldest. White letters on a black background with a white border come next. These are stamped steel, like license plates. Only three remain: Sheldon and Silver, Gold and River, and the entry to Willard Court. Signs in the downtown business district also have raised white letters on a black background with a white border, but have a distinctive old-fashioned design. They were erected in 2005.
Black letters on a white background stem from the urban renewal era (1960 - 1970s). Only one remains, at Hale Street and Midland Drive.
White letters stamped on a green background appeared in the early 1970s. They were reserved for streets that intersected state highways. The letters contain tiny glass particles to reflect headlights, possibly a state requirement. An example stands at the northeast corner of Mitchell and North Broad streets but others can also be found along Route 12 (North and South Broad streets), Route 23 (Plymouth, Pleasant, and Rexford streets), former Route 319 (West Main Street), and Arterial Route 990L (East Main Street).
White letters on a light green background are from the 1980s. These are the ones with their letters peeling off. Their letters are 4 inch tall, 1 inch wide, decals. Some replacement letters were hand-stenciled by the DPW. In fact, some signs have all their letters stenciled. An example is on the southeast corner of peeling Silver and stenciled Gold streets.
White letters on a dark green background are not peeling. These signs replaced the decaled ones that peeled. An example stands on the southeast corner of Birdsall and Clinton streets. Across the street on the southwest corner of Birdsall and Front are white on light green, providing an opportunity for comparison.
My favorite signs are the newest, which is a departure for me because I usually prefer things that are the oldest. These new green signs have white letters 6 inches tall and 1 inch wide, so I can easily read them. I am sure that other senior citizens appreciate the larger size as well.
Our longest street sign is for Frederick B. Mirabito Street at the Plymouth Street bridge. It requires two sign posts to support it. This is our only sign erected by the state Department of Transportation..
We have several different types of city streets. Joe explained that they are defined in the City Planning Book. Street, Avenue, and Road are for major streets several blocks long. Drive is for streets which curve or wind. Lane is for narrow streets. Court and Place designate cul-de-sacs. Square is for streets that form a square. We have only one road, Ridgeland Road. However, a glance at a map of the city reveals that these definitions seem not to apply. For example, Academy Street is so short and narrow that it would seem to qualify as a lane. Should these streets be renamed? No! Preserving our heritage is more important.
Street signs are a ubiquitous reminder of our history. My fear is that the city will get a grant to replace them and every sign on every street corner will be the same age. Urban areas everywhere are being swept up in a homogeneity wave, an attempt to make every place look like every other place. We must push back and resist this. Chronological diversity is what gives a municipality its character, its unique personality.
So, as you drive around Norwich, glance at our street signs, preferably when your vehicle is stopped. Better yet, park your gas-eating machine and walk around observing our signs. You might also want to check out our personalized NORWICH manhole covers. In my November 21, 2006 article, I reported 53. My latest count is 86. Studying street signs and counting manhole covers -- who says there is nothing to do in Norwich?