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The Feds' Freeway Font Flip-Flop (citylab.com)
McGruber writes: Citylab has the news that the U.S. Federal Highway Administration is revoking its 2004 approval of the "Clearview" font for road signs. Clearview was made to improve upon its predecessor, a 1940s font called Highway Gothic. Certain letters appeared to pose visibility problems, especially those with tight interstices (or internal spacing)—namely lowercase e, a, and s. At night, any of these reflective letters might appear to be a lowercase o in the glare of headlights. By opening up these letterforms, and mixing lowercase and uppercase styles, Clearview aimed to improve how these reflective highway signs read.
Now, just 12 years later, the FHWA is reversing itself: "After more than a decade of analysis, we learned—among other things—that Clearview actually compromises the legibility of signs in negative-contrast color orientations, such as those with black letters on white or yellow backgrounds like Speed Limit and Warning signs," said Doug Hecox, a FHWA spokesperson, in an email. The FHWA has not yet provided any research on Clearview that disproves the early claims about the font's benefits. But there is at least one factor that clearly distinguishes it from Highway Gothic: cost. Jurisdictions that adopt Clearview must purchase a standard license for type, a one-time charge of between $175 (for one font) and $795 (for the full 13-font typeface family) and up, depending on the number of workstations.
That doesn't seems like a very good use of tax money, for something that can be nondestructively reused once created.
Now, just 12 years later, the FHWA is reversing itself: "After more than a decade of analysis, we learned—among other things—that Clearview actually compromises the legibility of signs in negative-contrast color orientations, such as those with black letters on white or yellow backgrounds like Speed Limit and Warning signs," said Doug Hecox, a FHWA spokesperson, in an email. The FHWA has not yet provided any research on Clearview that disproves the early claims about the font's benefits. But there is at least one factor that clearly distinguishes it from Highway Gothic: cost. Jurisdictions that adopt Clearview must purchase a standard license for type, a one-time charge of between $175 (for one font) and $795 (for the full 13-font typeface family) and up, depending on the number of workstations.
That doesn't seems like a very good use of tax money, for something that can be nondestructively reused once created.
Open Source highway gothic font created by Red Hat.
http://overpassfont.org/
Problem solved.
Another link: http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fo...
If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
Jurisdictions that adopt Clearview must purchase a standard license for type, a one-time charge of between $175 (for one font) and $795 (for the full 13-font typeface family) and up, depending on the number of workstations.
That doesn't seems like a very good use of tax money, for something that can be nondestructively reused once created.
To install a sign:
All costs listed are for a complete sign assembly in place, including all legend, fabricating, transportation, labor, hardware, and painting of posts.
Sign panels:
Regulatory/Warning/Marker: $15 to 18 / sq.ft.
Large Guide Signs: $20 to 25 / sq.ft.
Electronic Variable Message Sign: $50,000 to $150,000 each.
Sign Posts:
U-Channel: $125 to $200 each
Square Tube (Telespar): $10 to $15 per foot
Large Steel Breakaway Posts: $15 to $30 per foot
Cantilever Sign: $15,000 to $20,000 each
Sign Bridge: $30,000 to $60,000 each
Foundations:
Square Tube: $150 - $250 each
Breakaway Post: $250 to $750 each
Cantilever / Bridge: $6,000 - $7,000 each
STOP signs are considered among the most expensive signs. Due to their critical importance in intersection safety, they must be replaced as soon as is reasonably feasible - even if that means driving 300+ miles round trip at 3 AM, at $1.00 per mile for the truck, and $25-$40 per hour overtime for each sign crewperson. Taking this into account, a simple $75 STOP sign suddenly becomes a $500+ item.
Engineering costs with respect to signing are more difficult to define. If a 3 month study results in installation of only 3 signs, it may not be equitable to charge the whole egineering cost to those installations. Normally, engineering costs are treated separately, but if there is a need to take them into account, then a rule of thumb estimate is engineering cost = 10% to 15% of construction cost.
Costs of Traffic Signs
Why? For purpose? To save $175?
It's $795 for all of the various sign fonts in the family, and that's assuming you have a single computer where they create signs. If your state has between 86 and 90 computers that can do that, then it's over $10,000. That's obviously not a ton of money when you're talking about government, but it still adds up.
A shitty font because people who are good at spending the many long hours of work required to make good fonts DONT FUCKING DO IT FOR FREE.
Overpass isn't a bad font, and there are in fact many skilled people who do in fact donate their time to various things. If you could have your work showcased on road signs all across the country, would you do that for free? These people decided that, yes, they would do it for free, even without a guarantee that it would be used.
Force the graphics artist to deal with some half assed font package in order to get your OSS font
Right, like the little-used and poorly-supported TTF format.
as far as fonts are concerned, OSS is absolute shit.
Bistream Vera is pretty good, the sans mono version is a great one for programming.
Cause if so your cutting off you're nose to spite you're ignorant face.
FTFY
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