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Mobilities JournalMain MenuCourse ProjectPublic TransportationBuses, Trains, SubwaysWalkabilityBikeabilityAutomobilityAccessibilityBorders and MigrationsParks, Outdoors and GreenspaceClimate ChangeVirtual Worlds and Digital MobilitiesAlternate Mobilitiesdavid kim87de7bc2484fc682d989967c7b88823ef2ab67e3
The Sun Doesn't Stop
12024-05-14T15:19:31-07:00Soryn Sundleafdd640d4c28dc61495d649e0085b18c26ef402098445453A brief look at the need for active maintenence of seemingly static infrastructure through the lens of stop signs being bleached white by the sun.plain2024-05-14T15:26:26-07:00Soryn Sundleafdd640d4c28dc61495d649e0085b18c26ef402098Stop 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.
1media/Soryn-1-StopSignFar-compressed(1)_thumb.jpg2024-05-14T14:52:51-07:00Soryn 1 Stop Sign Far1A photo of a side street intersecting with a 4 lane road, with a sunbleached stop sign on the corner (to the point it appears as a blank white octagon)A photo of a side street intersecting with a 4 lane road, with a sunbleached stop sign on the corner (to the point it appears as a blank white octagon)media/Soryn-1-StopSignFar-compressed(1).jpgplain2024-05-14T14:52:51-07:00
1media/Soryn-1-StopSignClose-compressed(1)_thumb.jpg2024-05-14T14:53:49-07:00Soryn 1 Stop Sign Close1A close up photo of a sunbleached stop sign, with the word "stop" barely visible against the white backgroundA close up photo of a sunbleached stop sign, with the word "stop" barely visible against the white backgroundmedia/Soryn-1-StopSignClose-compressed(1).jpgplain2024-05-14T14:53:49-07:00
1media/Soryn-1-UDStopSignClose-compressed(1)_thumb.jpg2024-05-14T14:55:01-07:00Soryn 1 UD Stop Sign Close1A close up photo of a stop sign, sunbleached to the point of little red remaining, with a pedestrian crossing sign beneath itA close up photo of a stop sign, sunbleached to the point of little red remaining, with a pedestrian crossing sign beneath itmedia/Soryn-1-UDStopSignClose-compressed(1).jpgplain2024-05-14T14:55:01-07:00
12024-05-14T15:26:04-07:00Soryn Photo Credit1All Photos Taken by Soryn Sundleafplain2024-05-14T15:26:04-07:00