Street Name Sign Design Guidelines

City Guidelines Regarding the Installation of “Street Name” (D3-1) Signs
Traffic Services Division of the Department of Public Works

Governing Document Reference:

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD), 2009 or latest edition and the Overland Park Municipal Code (OPMC), Title 12 – Traffic, Chapter 12.04.

MUTCD Requirements:

“Street Name” (D3-1) signs should be installed in urban areas at all street intersections regardless of other route signs that might be present and should be installed in rural areas to identify important roads that are not otherwise signed.

In business or commercial areas and on principal arterials, “Street Name” (D3-1) signs should be placed at least on diagonally opposite corners. In residential areas, at least one “Street Name” (D3-1) sign should be mounted at each intersection. Signs naming both streets should be installed at each intersection. They should be mounted with their faces parallel to the streets they name.

To optimize visibility, “Street Name” (D3-1) signs may be mounted overhead. “Street Name” (D3-1) signs may also be placed above a regulatory or “Stop” or “Yield” sign with no required vertical separation. At intersection crossroads where the same road has two different street names for each direction of travel, both street names may be displayed on the same sign along with directional arrows.

City of Overland Park Guidelines for Installation:

The following two tables are the Standard List of Abbreviations for street name sign legends in the City of Overland Park:

ABBREVIATIONS FOR STREET NAME DESIGNATIONS

Designation	Abbreviation	Designation	Abbreviation
AVENUE	AVE	PARKWAY	PKY
BOULEVARD	BLVD	PLACE	PL
CIRCLE	CIR	PLAZA	PLZ
COURT	CT	ROAD	RD
CREEK	CR	STREET	ST
DRIVE	DR	TERRACE	TER
HIGHWAY	HWY	TRAIL	TR
LANE	LN	WAY	WAY

ABBREVIATIONS FOR NUMERICAL DESIGNATIONS

Designation	Abbreviation
FIRST	ST
SECOND	ND
THIRD	RD
FOURTH TO NINTH	TH

There are two separate guidelines for Street Name signs depending if they are post-mounted or overhead mounted.

Overhead Street Name Signs:

General Guidelines:

The Street Name sign will consist of the name of the street, the designation of the street and where physically practical, the block number. It is understood that certain situations preclude the installation of the block number. These situations are not listed specifically, but will be addressed as the specific circumstances arise. It is the general intent that whenever possible, the block number should be included on the Street Name sign.

The standard aluminum sign blank shall be 18” high by 60”, 72” or 84” in length depending on the length of the legend. In some cases, sign blanks ranging from 96” to 120” or longer will have to be used to accommodate longer street names. In cases where the sign length is too long to fit on the mast arm, the sign length will be adjusted accordingly by reducing the letter spacing. The lettering style shall conform to Highway Series E-modified 2000 uppercase and lowercase lettering with 100% recommended letter spacing according to the Standard Highway Sign Manual. The letter height of the street name shall be 8” for uppercase and 6” for lowercase. The letter height of the street designation shall be 5” for uppercase and 3 ¾” for lowercase. The letter height for the block number shall be 5”. The letter height of the numeral extension such as “th” in “127th” shall also be 6” high lowercase.

The street designation and the block number should be located at the right hand side of the blank and centered above each other as indicated in the standard details. If there is not a street designation, the block number should be centered vertically in the sign blank. Any arrow designations should be centered vertically in the sign blank and be 7 ½” high by 9 ½” long.

Refer to the City of Overland Park Overhead Street Name Sign Standard Details for guidance in sign layout.

Practical Guidelines and Design Options for Overhead Mounted Street Name Signs:

There are practical guidelines that should be observed during the design or fabrication of street name signs. If a sign legend is such that the design length of the sign is slightly longer than the next smallest sign blank, judgment may be exercised with letter spacing to achieve the most cost effective solution. In specific instances, the sign length may have to be reduced due to physical limitations, i.e. so it fits between signal heads on the mast arm. The following options are presented in order of preference to assist the fabricator in selecting the correct length of sign blank.

For 60”, 72” and 84” long sign blanks

Standard

Highway Series Emod 2000 letters with 100% recommended letter spacing is the preferred design. If the lettering does not fit on the smaller sign blank, use the next size larger sign size.

For 96” and 108” long sign blanks for use with longer street names

Standard

Highway Series Emod 2000 letters with 100% recommended letter spacing is the preferred design.

Option 1

In order to avoid using the next larger sign blank, Highway Series Emod 2000 letter spacing may be reduced by a maximum of 20% (80% of the recommended spacing).

For 120” long or greater sign blanks for use with longer street names

Standard

Highway Series Emod 2000 letters with 100% recommended letter spacing is the preferred design.

Option 1

Highway Series Emod 2000 letter spacing reduced by a percentage such that the legend will not exceed the available space on the mast arm. These cases should be reviewed individually prior to fabrication.

Locations of Overhead Street Name Signs:

Overhead Street Name signs will be installed on the mast arms of traffic signals. The Overhead Street Name sign will generally be installed between the vertical pole shaft and the first traffic signal head and centered as much as possible on the lane.

Overhead Street Name signs will not be installed at locations designating private commercial drive entrances nor private streets. They also will not be installed for interstate ramp designations at interchanges with thoroughfare streets.

Streets with Multiple Names:

At intersection crossroads where the same road has two different street names for each direction of travel, both street names should be shown on the same sign along with directional arrows. The street name with the left arrow should be placed on top of the street name with the right arrow. The sign height should be increased to 24”.

Post-Mounted Street Name Signs:

General Guidelines:

The Street Name sign will consist of the name of the street, the designation of the street and where physically practical, the block number. It is understood that certain situations preclude the installation of the block number. These situations are not listed specifically, but will be addressed as the specific circumstances arise. It is the general intent that whenever possible, the block numbers should be included on the Street Name sign.

The standard sized aluminum sign blanks shall be 12” high by 24”, 30”, 36" or 42” in length depending on the length of the legend. In some cases, 48” long sign blanks will have to be used to accommodate longer street names. In no case will the sign length be longer than 48”. The standard lettering style shall conform to Highway Series C 2000 with a leading uppercase letter and trailing lowercase letters with 100% recommended letter spacing according to the Standard Highway Sign Manual. The letter height of the uppercase letter in the street name shall be 6”. The lowercase letters in the street name shall be 4 ½”. The uppercase letter height of the street designation and the block number shall be 3”. The lowercase letter height of the street designation shall be 2 ¼”. The letter height of the numeral extension such as “th” in “127th” shall also be 3” high composed of all lowercase letters. A minimum of 1 ¼” spacing is required between the edge of the sign blank and the edge of the first and last letter in the legend.

The street designation and the block number should be located at the right hand side of the blank and centered above each other as indicated in the standard details. If there is not a street designation, the block number should be centered vertically in the sign blank. Any arrow designations should be centered vertically in the sign blank and be 3” high by 4” long.

Refer to the City of Overland Park Street Name Sign Standard Details for guidance in sign layout.

Practical Guidelines and Design Options for Post Mounted Street Name Signs:

There are practical guidelines that should be observed during the design or fabrication of street name signs. If a sign legend is such that the design length of the sign is slightly longer than the next smallest sign blank, judgment may be exercised with letter spacing to achieve the most cost effective solution. The following guidelines are presented in order of preference to assist the fabricator in selecting the correct length of sign blank.

For 24” and 30” long sign blanks

Standard

Highway Series C 2000 letters with 100% recommended letter spacing is the preferred design. If the lettering does not fit on the smaller sign blank, use the next size larger sign size.

For 36” long sign blanks

Standard

Highway Series C 2000 letters with 100% recommended letter spacing is the preferred design.

Option 1

In order to avoid using the next larger sign blank, Highway Series C2000 letter spacing may be reduced by a maximum of 20% (80% of the recommended spacing).

Option 2

Highway Series B 2000 lettering with 100% recommended letter spacing may also be used to avoid exceeding a 36” sign blank.

For 42” long sign blanks which are necessary for longer street names

Standard

Highway Series C 2000 letters with 100% recommended letter spacing is the preferred design.

Option 1

Highway Series C 2000 letters with up to 80% recommended letter spacing is acceptable.

Option 2

Highway Series B 2000 letters with 100% recommended letter spacing is acceptable.

Option 3

In order to avoid using the next larger sign blank, Highway Series B 2000 letter spacing may be reduced by a maximum of 20% (80% of the recommended spacing).

For 48” long sign blanks which are necessary for longer street names

Standard

Highway Series C 2000 letters with 100% recommended letter spacing is the preferred design.

Option 1

Highway Series C 2000 letters with 80% recommended letter spacing is acceptable.

Option 2

Highway Series B 2000 letters with 100% recommended letter spacing is acceptable.

Option 3

Highway Series B 2000 letter spacing may be reduced by a maximum of 20% (80% of the recommended spacing).

Option 4

Highway Series B 2000 letter spacing reduced by a percentage such that the legend will not exceed a 48” sign. These cases should be reviewed individually prior to fabrication.

Locations of Post-Mounted Street Name Signs at Four or More Legged Intersections:

If the major street is at least 36’ wide from back of curb to back of curb, two sign installations are required. One post-mounted Street Name sign should be placed on each diagonally opposite corner so that they will be on the far right side of the intersection for traffic on the major street. Traffic Engineering staff should determine the major street. In most cases, other than residential-residential street intersections, it should be evident. In general, the street that does not have any type of control would be declared the major street. Where the intersection is still an uncontrolled 4-way intersection, City practice would require that we install stop signs on the minor legs and the street name signs would be mounted above the stop sign. The final decision in this example would be made by Traffic Engineering staff.

Only one Street Name sign should be mounted at each intersection where the major street is less than 36’ wide from back of curb to back of curb. The street name sign should be located at the far right side of the intersection for traffic on the major street unless otherwise approved due to field restrictions.

Signs naming both streets should be installed at each intersection. They should be mounted with their faces parallel to the streets they name. They may be installed above a regulatory sign such as a yield sign or stop sign and may be installed with the W14-2a “No Outlet” sign.

Locations of Post-Mounted Street Name Signs at Tee Intersections on Roadways Wider Than 36 Feet:

Two Street Name signs are required and should be placed on the far right side of the intersection for traffic on the major street and the diagonally opposite corner unless otherwise approved due to field restrictions. This places one sign at the side of the minor road at the top of the tee. In that case, only one of the major street sign faces is required since it is visible only from one direction.

Streets with Multiple Names:

At intersection crossroads where the same road has two different street names for each direction of travel, one 12” high Street Name sign with directional arrows shall be used for each street. They should be mounted on top of each other with the left arrow sign to be placed above the right arrow sign.

Signing Standards:

The “Street Name” (D3-1) sign for both overhead mounted and post mounted installations shall be retro-reflective to show the same shape and similar color both day and night. The legend and background shall be of contrasting colors. “Street Name” (D3-1) signs should have a white legend on a green background. A border, if used, should be the same color as the legend. The City of Overland Park currently only uses a border on overhead street name signs but not on ground mounted street name signs.