SAN ANTONIO – Street signs are taken for granted until you really need one.
"Honestly, I haven’t noticed them. I’m pretty familiar with the streets so I’m never really looking. But I see that they are very important. Other people that are visiting that aren’t familiar with this area, they need to find the street," Araceli Garza said.
As you drive around town, you may notice a faded street sign or two. It’s why city employees are hard at work making new ones to replace the old.
“In a month, on average, we manufacture about 800 signs total. We replace about 1,600. The difference is a lot of our stop signs are pre-made and we just buy those in bulk and some other signs as well like a yield sign,” said Art Reinhardt, San Antonio Assistant Director of Transportation and Capital Improvements.
Each sign costs between $25 and $100 to make depending on the size and lettering. They start with a sheet of metal, cover it with reflective material, and then they add the graphics which they also design and cut in-house. The signs on average last about five years, which can also depend on their placement. The more sun a sign gets, the more likely it will fade. Reinhardt said having a sign shop is a big asset for the city.
"We can make it quicker than waiting on someone to make it. A lot of times we have emergencies, say overnight, there’s a storm that moves in and a traffic pole gets knocked down. We need to rush out there and put up temporary stop signs. So it’s good to have the capability of doing that in-house," Reinhardt said.
The quicker the signs are made, the faster they go up. If a street sign needs replacing, the job can typically be done in a couple of days. In an emergency situation, response is immediate.
"It depends on the size of the sign. If it’s one that’s hanging on the intersection, we'll have to go out there with our bucket truck -- someone in the bucket, someone in the street making sure it’s safe. If it’s a simple sign replacement -- just bolting a new sign on -- it could be a one person-person job. Or if it’s a new pole mounted system -- dig a hole, put the concrete in, -- it could take a couple people," Reinhardt said.
The city is looking to expand its budget this year for street maintenance, which would include upkeep for street signs.
If you see a faded sign or a street sign that needs replacing, please notify the city of San Antonio by placing a request with 311.