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Photo by Steve Johnson Many agree Medford's street-name signs are inadequate. Are city streets clearly marked? By JIM DAVIS Dan Danzik noticed it soon after moving to Medford from Florida: motorists honking their horns as drivers craned their necks looking for street-name signs. As a newcomer, the 67-year-old retiree also faced some of the angry honking as he tried learning his way around town. "You know you're getting close, because somebody told you about it," Danzik said. "But somebody is behind you honking their horn or trying to pass you on the left -- it's a rather dangerous situation sometimes." Danzik, who has lived in Medford for about a year, doesn't understand why city streets aren't marked more clearly. And he doesn't understand why there is only a single street-name sign on most of the city's intersections. Wayne Pace, Medford's public works superintendent, said he understands the frustration. The city doesn't have a strict policy on the placement of street-name signs. For years, city workers placed the signs on the easiest available post. If a light pole was on the southwest corner of a street, city workers placed the street sign there. If it was on the northwest corner, city workers would place the sign there. While state and federal guidelines give the city a great deal of leeway in placing street-name signs, Pace said city workers realize how important it is that signs be readily visible. "The reality is that's what both emergency services and the public need in order to find their way around," Pace said. And, with Medford growing, Pace said the public works department is looking at where, when and how it places all of its 20,000 street signs -- not just the 10,000 street-name signs. Setting a standard for where street signs go can be difficult -- especially with streets that have been around for 60 to 80 years. Pace said utilities or sidewalks can be in the way. The city may not have the right of way on certain streets. Another problem is cost: Pace said some people don't realize the sheer money it costs to erect signs. To put up a sign post and a street-name sign is about $150. With 10,000 street-name signs, Pace said the cost of adding one to each intersection could cost more than a million dollars. He does note that the city has more than a single-street name sign on the heavily used streets. One of the factors working against the city is the cost of replacing existing signs. Hundreds need to be replaced each year. "With traffic accidents and vandalism ... those problems take signs down on a daily basis," Pace said. Even so, the city would like to adopt a consistent policy within the next three to five years, Pace said. The policy might specify more than one street-name sign per intersection. It could also look at sizes, descriptions, color scheme and placement. "A lot of this is a wish list," Pace said. "We really haven't talked with all the right people so far." Unfortunately, that doesn't help Danzik too much. Danzik, who moved to Medford about a year ago and who has lived in all sorts of places from Michigan to Ohio to California to Florida, said he has never seen a community with only one street sign at so many intersections. "When you're new in the area, you notice a lot of the things that the old-timers don't," Danzik said. "The problem is so obvious to those who are faced with it." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA