New-York tribune., 1901-08-11
MR.. KEARNYs STREET SIGNS.

There is a pleasant bit of the irony Of fate
in the Tammany governments belated effort to
provid the city with street signs. 1t will be
remembered that under the preceding admins
tration of Mayor Strong a hopeful start was
made toward providing such signs. and num-
ber of streets were actually provided with signs
which, If not altogether perfect had some admi-
rable features. and were by far the best ever
known in New-York As soon, however, as
Tammany Hall got control of the city. and Mr..
Kearny became Commissioner of Street Light
ing and other things the erection of those signs
was stopped, and even those which had been
erected were denounced as too costly and
what not else that was bad; and many of them
were taken down and destroyed, and the places
which once knew them were left without a sign.
So year after year the city went from bad to
worse, until it is no exaggeration to say that
in respect to street signs 1t became and is to-day
worse off than any other considerable city in
any civilized country of the world.
And now at the eleventh hour on the eve Of
the election which is TO determine its further
tenure Of power. and under the vigorous urg-
ngs Of the public. led by The Tribune, the
Tammany administration makes a show at
atoning for its neglect and worse by putting up
experimentally a few street signs upon which
10 invite the judgment OF the people. And
here is the supreme irony of it-in the best and
indeed only tolerable one of these Mr.. Kearny
almost slavishly follows and readopts the
design Of those very signs Of the Strong admin
istration which he denounced and destroyed!
The experimental sign which he has put up
in front of the Tribune Building differs essen
TALLY in no respect from those former ones,
save that it is probably not quite as large
or as legible and vet is little more expensive.
Beyond doubt such signs would be a great
improvement upon the present absence of signs,
and would on the whole serve the purpose fairly
well But they would not serve the purpose in
the best possible way, and 1t is the best possible
way that New-York wants, and ought to have,
and can have If only the commissioner goes
about the task in the proper manner.
Mr.. Kearny's sample sign consists of a square
lantern, with the street name and house num-
Der on each side OF it, Instead Of being upon
the top of post of its own it is built around
tall electric light pole which runs through it
and high above it. Now. that big pole passing
through the lantern forms a mixed background
for the lettering in the daytime and makes the
sign less legible than il should be and would
otherwise be, while at night 1t renders necessary
the iIlumining of the sign with four separate
incandescent lights instead of the one which
would be sufficient if the pole were not there.
Again, the sign is not as conspicuous thus
placed on pole as ii would be at the top of a
pole Of its own. There are many corners, TOO,
where there should be signs where there are no
electric light poles. In such places the signs
would have 20 be put upon special posts OF
their own. and thus the highly desirable rule of
uniformity would be violated. Moreover. while
the name of the parallel street is placed upon
each side of the lantern. the name Of the inter
secting street Is not, and 1t is desirable that 1t
should be. AS to the other experimental signs
which Mr.. Kearny has erected. at Broadway