Sign plays peek-a-boo with signal
Which came first, the street sign or the traffic signal? And who is the bright light that hid one behind the other? We were wandering along Queen St. E. recently and stopped at a red light at Lee Ave., in the middle of the Beaches, where we had to wait to cross the street. When the white walking man appeared on the pedestrian crossing signal on the northeast corner, it drew our attention to the street sign right behind it, where we could see only two letters: LE.
The sign was almost totally hidden behind the crossing signal mounted to the same pole, and invisible to anyone in a vehicle driving east on Queen and looking for Lee.
Street signs serve the important purpose of helping people find the street they’re looking for. Drivers not familiar with an area who can’t see the street sign are more likely to miss their turn, a recipe for erratic driving.
If they suddenly hit the brakes in the intersection because they think it’s the right street but aren’t sure, it could cause a rear-end accident.
It had us wondering whether the sign went up before the signal, or if it was the other way around, and how anyone could put one behind – or in front of – the other.
Surely they had to know that if the sign was mounted behind the signal, it couldn’t be seen anyone facing east.
We have a lot of faith in the skill of the city workers who manage the huge inventory of street and traffic signs, and doubt that any are dumb enough to put the sign behind the signal. Most of the signals are erected and maintained by contractors to the city, which may employ people who are good at the technical side of the job, but maybe not so good at seeing the obvious. STATUS: Allen Pinkerton, who’s in charge of street signage, sent us an email saying the sign will be relocated to ensure it is visible to traffic in both directions. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To contact us, go to thestar.com/thefixer and open the SeeClickFix template, or click on the “submit a problem” link. Call us at 416869-4823. To read our blog, click on “blogs” at the top of thestar.com’s, or go to thestar.blogs.com/thefixer. Follow us on Twitter at TOStarFixer.