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The Sun Doesn't Stop

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Stop signs are very useful for safety and transportation, in no small part due to their high recognizability. The unique octagonal shape and bright red tone immediately signals to drivers that they will be moving into a high-traffic street. Unless, of course, the red hue is bleached away by the sun. That is the case for these two signs, the first being located at the intersection of Ice Cream Drive and Silverside Road in Wilmington, DE. This sign is coming from a small road in the center of the Barclay triangle of mostly retail locations (including one ice cream shop), but the road it exits onto is a major thoroughfare in these suburbs. With a totally blank sign like this, nothing but the shape indicates that one should stop, and the text is nearly unreadable! It could easily be mistaken for a custom advertisement of a business owner, or worse, the back side of a standard stop sign, indicating to a driver that they have right-of-way when they do not. A similar issue exists at the exit from the University Courtyard Apartments onto Delaware Avenue in Newark, DE. The pedestrian sign at least indicates that one needs to exercise caution, but this example showcases the need for infrastructure to be maintained once it is established, less it no longer serve the purpose it is intended to.

Contents of this tag:

  1. Automobility

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