My in laws reside in the Lake Worth section of Florida. Some of the road signs are lit up in the night -- making it easier for drivers (especially the elderly or those with poor vision) to see the road signage.
Do you think illuminated signs could increase safety on our roads? Drivers would be less likely to hesitate at intersections - trying to read a sign. Illuminated signs are also helpful to those not familiar with our roads. If the town decides to experiment with illuminated road signs where do you think they should be placed?
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This is ridiculous.
What is needed are mandatory road tests for everyone over a certain age. Of course, this will be politically unpopular, but just like teens must take a road test, so should the elderly!!!
This will make the roads safer for us all
Illuminated or retro-reflective signs are increasingly required by federal law for grant purposes. Scarsdale has started an ambitious plan to install such conforming street signs and they look terrific (and are easy to read). Greenburgh's signage is a hodge podge. The millions sent to Valhalla's school district could have paid for a state of the art signmaking program - a true benefit for the entire town.
It's not just for the elderly. Try driving around an area of Westchester that you are unfamiliar with. When you can't see the signs, it's not easy. This is a great idea for the town to consider.
A cute idea, but I couldn't think of a lower priority for the town. Also, I don't think the DPW would be able to handle such a venture if they can't even handle basic leaf pickup.
I think that if you cant see you shouldnt be driving. The truth is as you get older all of your reflexes slow down. Just look at all of these "cars into buildings" especially at the Hartsdale post office. I wonder what the mean age of these drivers was? P.S. Im sure they are still out on the road today. Its going take deaths for laws to change that mandate retesting of elderly drivers.
Do you mean illuminated or retro-reflective? If the latter, just issue a directive to the DPW to implement a changeover. If you really mean illuminated, consider not only the immediate cost of replacing the signs, but also the continuing cost of providing the electricity to light the signs. Think about the environmental impact - what is the effect of the incremental light on local flora and fauna? How many additional kilowatts will need to be generated to provide the electricity? If you succeed in closing Indian Point where will those kilowatts come from? How do you propose to transmit the electricity from the generators to the signs - wires? Should those wires be buried to avoid the risk of failure during storms? How much more expensive are buried wires than overhead wires? If you mandate overhead wires what minimum clearance from the road surface will be required (we already have issues with some large trucks damaging low-hanging wires)?
Clarity of thought and expression are really important skills - why not begin demonstrating them at the outset of a proposal?
some illuminated lights can use solar power
"Clarity of thought and expression are really important skills - why not begin demonstrating them at the outset of a proposal?"
Yes, exactly! This is such a problem with many of town government's ideas. It's like dealing with an eight year old - many fascinating ideas to propose, but not yet developmentally capable to express a clear objective, procedures, pros and cons, etc.
Hopefully the next Supervisor will have appropriate managerial experience and basic business communications skills.
Hear. Hear. Lets hope this is Feiner's last year. Maybe there is a job for him in Florida tending to illuminated road signs?
"Dark Skies" will be coming to a community near you soon, maybe even our own sweet Greenburgh. It means basically that you can't have a floodlight that shines into a neighbor's window, or huge floodlights illumating a commercial venue. It's called "light trespass"
The name to too look for is Susan Harding, who is currently taking on Greenwich Village. She has succeeded elsewhere. Check NY Times Archives, within past month for the info on her work.
Would be very grateful for some illumination of street signs when I am in an unfamiliar area at night. The person on the blog who made the distinction between reflective light and electic powered signage light is to be commended. I frankly don't know which is effective.
I do know that statistics say that one person turns 60 years of age every 8 seconds in this country. (Oh - those baby boomers again, 76 million of them)
Am all for those old folks taking more frequent DMV tests - but they don't test at night, so how will we know what their night vision is?
By the way, a recent study reported on AOL, suggests that it is not quick reflex response that prevents accidents, but rather, good judgement and defensive driving. The latter is the province of OLDER DRIVERS, not young drivers. Just check the insurance rates for the two cohorts.
Over 80 and under 26 males pay the highest rates - deemed the worst drivers!
"Hey, kids, let's put on a show!"
That's what 7/10 of the supervisor's e-mails and blog topics sound like. Yes, clarity of thought and expression is needed around here, particulary when tossing out a new idea.
This is particularly noteworthy at this time since there are still so many leaves to be picked up, roads to be street-cleaned, storm drains to be raked, traffic lights to be repaired/replaced/re-timed ... baseline town services. Show me that the town can handle what it's already required to do before taking on any additional DPW projects.
Please address your DPW complaints to Al Regula, head of the Department. He can be reached c/o the Greenburgh Library which has been his primary concern these past months.
Another good idea! My son lives in Florida. I've seen the illuminated signs. They are fantastic.
I was in Florida visiting my mom. She is 90 years old. These illuminated signs are great for my mom (she still drives, bless her) and for youngsters like me (I'm 66)who still see pretty good.
"Does it make sense in Greenburgh?" Unfortunately this is way beyond the capabilities of the Greenburgh DPW to implement and maintain. Perhaps in a future administration.
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