Logo sign

Logo signs (also known as specific service signs or Logo service signs, or colloquially as Big Blue Signs) are blue road signs used on freeways, that display the logos or trademarks of businesses before travelers reach an exit or interchange. Typically, a business pays a small fee to a transportation department (or to a subcontractor of a transportation department such as Lamar Advertising subsidiary Interstate Logos) to have their logos displayed on a large panel alongside other businesses. Depending on the jurisdiction, businesses may have to meet certain criteria such as hours of service and distance from the sign.[1]

An example of a typical American logo sign

History

In the United States

In the United States, logo signs were permitted on rural Interstates beginning in 1965 as part of the Highway Beautification Act, though the signs did not come into general use, especially in the western states, until the mid 1970s. Originally, such signs were limited to gas, food, lodging, etc.. The 1976 amendments to the Highway Beautification Act expanded the program to federal-aid primary rural highways. In 2000, provisions for allowing logo signs on urban highways (as long as adequate sign spacing can be maintained) were added to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices; however, as of 2018 not all states have adopted these provisions, with some states (such as California and New York) continuing to restrict the installation of logo signs to rural highways only. As of 2018, logo signs are permitted on urban highways in 18 states (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin), with Tennessee being the most recent state (as of 2015) to repeal the restriction for installing logo signs on rural highways only. The 2000 MUTCD also added the attractions category, followed by the 2003 MUTCD which added the 24-hour pharmacies category.[2] Logo signs in the United States are limited to six logos per sign, and additional signs may be used up to a total of four in each direction per interchange.[3] In 2006, the Federal Highway Administration issued an interim approval to allow more than six logo panels per service type on up to two signs per direction,[4] which was eventually incorporated into the 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

In California, as well as on the Pennsylvania Turnpike the label "GAS" is replaced by "FUEL".

In 2019, Metropistas announced it will launch a logo sign program for Puerto Rico highways PR-5 and PR-22, the first U.S. logo sign program outside the continental United States and the first in a United States territory.[5]

In Canada

Logo signs are found along major highways in Ontario, namely 400-series highways 400 and 401. A separate signage is used for ONroute rest areas.

In Hong Kong

Logo signs are found all across the country, primarily in Kowloon and The New Territories.

References
  1. Kohlstedt, Kurt (September 11, 2017). "Tricky Business: Appearing on Blue Highway Exit Signs is Harder than it Looks". 99% Invisible. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  2. Staff (2004) [2003]. "Chapter 2F: Specific Service Signs" (PDF). Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (Revision 1, 2003 ed.). Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. pp. 2F-1–2F-6. ISBN 9780935403817.
  3. Staff (2009). "Chapter 2J: Specific Service Signs" (PDF). Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (2009 ed.). Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. pp. 312–19. ISBN 9781615835171.
  4. "Interim Approvals Issued by FHWA". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  5. "SunColors Highway Logo Signs". SunColors. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
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