Downers Grove Officials to Conduct Street Sign Inventory

Downers Grove officials are taking stock of road signs throughout the village to determine which ones meet new federal regulations recently passed by the Federal Highway Administration.

Under new FHA regulations, communities have until 2015 to improve the nighttime visibility of roadside signs, including stop signs, yield signs and railroad crossing signs. The regulations also are forcing municipalities to change street signs.

Current street signs around town are written in capital letters while the new regulations stipulate only the first letter can be capitalized. The lettering also would increase in size by an inch to six inches.

Those changes will make the signs easier to read, according to the government's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. In addition to the lettering change, the new signs also will need to include a reflective paint that will redirect an automobile's headlights back to the driver.

While he appreciates the safety intentions of the federal regulations, Mayor Ron Sandack said the new guidelines are an unfunded mandate that is "unhelpful."

"I know it's well intended and has some decent policy components, but the village finances are strained," Sandack said. "We went through a tough budget process last year and we just went through another one this year. We eliminated a lot of expenses and services that are not primary and core driven services, but this mandate adds on new expenses. The sign mandate really isn't helpful, but we'll soldier on."

To help cash-strapped municipalities, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced Nov. 30 there will be a new 45-day public comment period about the regulations. In a press release, LaHood said his department wants to ensure the new regulations are fair and cost-effective for municipalities.

Because of the tough financial situation many municipalities are experiencing, there has been continued talk of pushing the federal deadline back, said Public Works Director Nan Newlon. Although she has been aware of the new regulations for several months, "the timing of these regulations is catching some villages unaware due to the state of the economy," she said.

Newlon said her department will continue to monitor potential changes to the mandate, but will continue to focus on meeting the original deadline. The village's first priority is to conduct an inventory of existing signs within the village boundaries, she said. The survey has a deadline of 2012.

"We have budgeted funds for the survey and will identify all the signs in the village we have and we will measure the reflectivity of those signs," Newlon said. "From that inventory we will be able to complete a cost estimate of what signs need to be replaced."

Sandack said the village allocated $50,000 to conduct the survey.

Nelwon said she doesn't know what the final costs of replacing the signs will be. It depends upon the total number of signs in the village, which a 2007 survey placed at approximately 4,000, she said. Replacing a street sign costs between $100 and $200 on average.

The village has replaced some street signs in high traffic areas. "Those were of the highest priority, located in areas where drivers were traveling at higher rates of speed," Newlon said.

When it comes to replacing the thousands of other signs in the village, Newlon said the inventory will include an action plan of how to implement the changes. It's currently unclear whether it will be more efficient to replace all the road signs in a specific area, or concentrate on changing out all types of a particular sign, such as a stop sign, in one swoop, she said.

In 2005, the village placed large decorative street signs along Ogden Avenue. Newlon said she doesn't know if those signs will meet the new federal mandates. She said she believes those signs meet the requirements regarding font size, but not reflectivity.

"Those signs would be more expensive to replace, but we'll have to see what our findings are when our inventory is completed," she said.