page_title: Traffic sign
section_title: Uses of non-FHWA typefaces
hierarchical_section_title: Traffic sign / Northern America and Oceania / Typefaces / Uses of non-FHWA typefaces
caption_attribution_description: English: Moose crossing warning sign, Kalifornsky Beach Road, Kenai Alaska
context_page_description: Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduced, for example the fingerposts in the United Kingdom and their wooden counterparts in Saxony.
  With traffic volumes increasing since the 1930s, many countries have adopted pictorial signs or otherwise simplified and standardized their signs to overcome language barriers, and enhance traffic safety. Such pictorial signs use symbols in place of words and are usually based on international protocols. Such signs were first developed in Europe, and have been adopted by most countries to varying degrees.
context_section_description: The US National Park Service uses NPS Rawlinson Roadway, a serif typeface, for guide signage; it typically appears on a brown background. Rawlinson has replaced Clarendon as the official NPS typeface, but some states still use Clarendon for recreational signage.
  Georgia, in the past, used uppercase Series D with a custom lowercase alphabet on its freeway guide signs; the most distinctive feature of this typeface is the lack of a dot on lowercase i and j. More recent installations appear to include the dots.
  The Clearview typeface, developed by US researchers to provide improved legibility, is permitted for light legend on dark backgrounds under FHWA interim approval. Clearview has seen widespread use by state departments of transportation in Arkansas, Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. The Kansas Turnpike Authority has also introduced Clearview typeface to some of its newer guide signs along the Kansas Turnpike, but the state of Kansas continues to use the FHWA typefaces for signage on its non-tolled Interstates and freeways.
  In Canada, the Ministry of Transportation for the Province of British Columbia specifies Clearview for use on its highway guide signs, and its usage has shown up in Ontario on the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway in Toronto and on new 400-series highway installations in Hamilton, Halton and Niagara, as well as street signs in various parts of the province. The font is also being used on newer signs in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec.
  It is common for local governments, airport authorities, and contractors to fabricate traffic signs using typefaces other than the FHWA series; Helvetica, Futura and Arial are common choices.
caption: Moose crossing warning with kill-counter, Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. Prior to widespread human settlement, this area was part of the Kenai National Moose Range.
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