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Roadway Typography
Posted by matteson in
17 Oct 2003 — 5:13pm
17 Oct 2003 — 5:13pm
Just a general question:
I was in a pub the other night sitting next to an old photograph of Chicago's Lake Shore Drive from the late 1920s. The words on the roadway (not the signage) read from top-to-bottom. It seems these days it always reads from bottom-to-top (at least in the States). Anybody know when/why* this changed occurred?
*I'm assuming it's because bottom-to-top is how you encounter the words while driving, but was there some sort of research, government committee, etc.
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17 Oct 2003 — 7:27pm
Maybe it has to do with how fast you're going over the stuff?
hhp
17 Oct 2003 — 8:43pm
I don't think I've ever seen a highway sign reading from bottom to top.
17 Oct 2003 — 9:38pm
>(not the signage)
18 Oct 2003 — 11:46am
Yeah, not the signage. The words on the actual road. Like:
LANE
BIKE
or
PED-X
DOWN
SLOW
3 Aug 2012 — 10:37am
...
18 Oct 2003 — 1:08pm
>how fast you're going over the stuff
Because it's also in bike lanes, I don't think that's it. I mean, I ride pretty fast some mornings when I'm running late, but not that fast ;-)
>It works either way.
It does work 'functionally' both ways, but grammatically it only works the one way.
Anyhow, I just found it curious. I had assumed that it had always been bottom-to-top.
18 Oct 2003 — 4:23pm
Nevermind, I'm blind.
I don't think I've ever seen signs on the road like that either, but I never really pay attention. The only ones I can actually remember right now are the ones that say SCHOOL, but they're only one line.
19 Oct 2003 — 7:36am
The signs in Manhattan that are on the road do read Lane Bike, and Xing Ped. I think its because of the speed the cars go. A side note I can ride my bike faster across town than a car can go, but what the cars do is go as fast as they can between red lights. Why, I have no idea.