Panels at Odds Over Road Warning Signs

The best way to soothe the savage motorist--big, bright “Welcome Home” signs or a Burma Shave-like series of good thoughts--was debated by two community advisory committees at a City Council meeting last week, ending with the council ordering both sides to iron out their differences.

Representatives of the Community Policing Advisory Committee and the Traffic Transportation Commission told the council Wednesday that nothing beats law enforcement when it comes to erratic drivers.

But the advisory committee thought that signs placed on heavily trafficked streets might help remind motorists to be courteous, with messages such as, “This is your community, these are your children, drive safely,” and “Be a good neighbor.”

Committee chairman Lee Harris said, “The placing of certain warning signs would serve to remind all of us that the roads belong to us all, not just one person at one moment in time.”

But members of the traffic commission said signs placed all over the city would create blight and be ineffective. They suggested one large sign, incorporating the city seal placed at the entrances to the city.

“Drivers ignore signs,” said Robert Lia, commission vice chairman. “What they do not ignore is enforcement.

The council ordered both sides to come up with a solution and report back within 30 days.