New Street Signs Show Up in Mineola

Motorists traveling along Old Country Road in Mineola may have noticed a strange sight when they look for street signs: instead of being entirely in capitals, the names are in both upper and lowercase letters.

The switchover was the result of a change to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Code Devices, of which the Federal government took over control and supersedes local sign standards. The requirements for changes in signage for reflectivity, size of letters and upper and lowercase display.

New York City had filed a suit against the change citing an estimated $27 million price tag to replace all of their 250,000-plus signs at $110 each. Other states had also opposed the switch, but the Highway Administration allowed for the new signs to be phased in over a 15 year period ending in 2018. The Village of Mineola had waiting for the outcome and ruling of the suit, which forced the change in signs to go through.

“A few years back when they come out with a ruling, it was ok to be fully uppercase,” Superintendent of Public Works Tom Rini said at the August 3 meeting of the . “All our signs are a lot older, we kind of waited it out because you could see there was going to be some jockeying for position on it and when they came out with that final ruling that it had to be upper and lowercase, that’s when we began making our signs in that manner.”

The village purchased a new computer system which includes a laser sign cutter to make the new signs in both upper and lower case and in the new font, dubbed “Clearview.” Village crews are currently working on all main corridors and intersecting village roads first. The village is also required to put up the new signs on county and state roads within their municipality. From there the crews will move into the secondary neighborhood streets, taking each section of the village in turn. During rainy days when crews cannot complete outside work, two employees are in the shop printing the new signs.

“There are certain things where we have no choice in doing,” Rini said.

Sufficient funds for the replacement program money is available in the sign repair budgetary lines.

“We’ve been building to this in the last few years,” Rini said.