New parking signs get mixed reviews

Photo: NPR/Sam Sanders

NPR went out to Spring Street to gather some reactions to those newly designed parking signs being tested downtown. The reporter didn't find much good will toward the new color-coded grid approach, which the city is trying out to replace those confusing stacks of parking restriction signs you see all over. The new signs are logical, but not necessarily a quick read as you drive by. They were designed by Brooklyn designer Nikki Sylianteng after she got a parking ticket in Los Angeles.

From Sam Sanders' story:

For years now, every parking restriction on a spot has had its own sign. A sign for loading zone hours. A sign for street cleaning hours. A sign for parking permit details. That meant, sometimes, a single parking spot could have seven or eight parking signs, which can be maddening.

The city is now trying to fix that problem. This weekend, LA rolled out 100 new parking signs in a small section of downtown for a six-month trial run. If it all works out, the new signs would mean only one sign per parking spot….

"It makes sense, but it's not easier, that's for damn sure," said Craig Jenkins. He prefers the old system of multiple signs, saying, "I'd rather just read three signs than look at one graph. I think stick to the classics."

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Sarah Little said, "What fascinates me is that there's a committee of people that sat in a room together, and they were like, 'How are we gonna make this better.' And this is what they come up with," she said. "This just looks like a fantastic waste of funds."