After adopting the Clearview font in 2004, ending the Highway Gothic in use since the 1960s, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration reversed course in January and will again require the older font. This small change matter a great deal.
"In a notice posted in the Federal Register on Monday, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration announced a small change that has huge implications for the nation," according to an article by Kriston Capps.
The matter of national interest, in this case, is the question of the typeface used on highway signs. "By ending its 'Interim Approval for Use of Clearview Font for Positive Contrast Legends on Guide Signs,' the FHWA reversed its position on Clearview, a font developed to improve highway-sign legibility on the roads," explains Capps. Clearview was adopted in 2004, "based on studies that appeared to demonstrate its superiority, especially in nighttime driving tests."
In 2016, however, the FHWA has decided to return to Highway Gothic as the font required for U.S. highways.
Capps's coverage of the big change includes the unhappy response of Donald Meeker, one of the designers who created Clearview, as well as an explanation of the thinking behind the FHWA's decision to reverse course on the two fonts in question.
FULL STORY: America's Sudden U-Turn on Highway Fonts
Clearview Is Back as the Font of Choice for Highway Signs
An overlooked feature of the federal omnibus bill approved earlier this year: a return to the Clearview font for highway traffic signs.
Highway Sign Typefaces, Explained
The latest Vox explainer video tackles the eminently fascinating topic of highway sign fonts.
Witty Highway Safety Messages Fall Flat with US DOT
Feds are concerned that overly creative digital billboard messages could confuse drivers, but state transportation officials disagree.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.
BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.
Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service