Guerrilla public service, an art that supplemented the lack of information on guide signs

There are signs that display various information on the road, but sometimes you may encounter a situation where you would have made a mistake on the road if you wrote a little more information. Actually, an artist who has made a mistake on the road notices that the cause of the mistake was the lack of information on the highway guide signs, and added information to the signboard as `` guerrilla public service ''. It was

freeway signs
http://ankrom.org/freeway_signs.html

Guerrilla Public Service Redux-99% Invisible
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/guerrilla-public-service/

Around 1980, Richard Anchrome, who lived in Orange County in southern California, was driving on the 110 freeway (Arroyo Seco Parkway), which divides Los Angeles into east and west, north of Interstate 5. I was thinking of going in. However, I missed the exit and got lost.

A few years later, Anchrome moved to downtown Los Angeles, looking up at the guide sign why he was lost while traveling on the 110 freeway, and the reason was `` To the interstate highway No. 5 north Was not displayed. ' The artist, Anchrome, decided that he would make up for the lack of information, and decided to make and paste the missing information on the sign himself. This is the 'guerrilla public service'.

The whole story of the plan is published as a movie on YouTube.

Guerrilla Public Service 2011-YouTube


The 110 freeway that Mr. Anchrome was running is a freeway connecting San Pedro in the Los Angeles coastal area and Pasadena in the northeast of Los Angeles.

On the other hand, Interstate Highway 5, which Mr. Anchrome wanted to enter, is a road that passes from the Canadian border in the north to Washington state, Oregon state, California state, and to the Mexican border in the south.

At that time, Anchrome, who was running on the 110 freeway from San Pedro, wanted to enter the north of Interstate 5, but there was a sign for Pasadena on the 110 freeway sign. There was no indication of 'Interstate 5 northbound'.

Anchrome, who thought, 'I need a mark for Line 5 going north.' I decided to add the information myself without leaving it to the Transportation Bureau.

When that happens, the first thing you need is sign design information. Anchrome conducted a preliminary research on what kind of standard is on the Internet.

Then go to the actual signboard ...

Check the color on the color chart.

I am going to another sign with the mark of Route 5 and measuring the actual size.

First, Mr. Anchrome, who created the original design.

With OHP ……

Make a full-scale mold.

Cut the aluminum plate that is the basis of the signboard.

Lettering ...

Coloring.

Remove the masking tape.

Completed after attaching the reflector.

As a finish, I bought a helmet.

Stick a sticker that looks like a construction company on the car.

With this, you can pretend that you are just working in the transportation department.

Anchrome is working. No matter how you look at it, it looks like a real worker.

Display of 'NORTH INTERSTATE 5' added to the indicator.

Installation work is completed within 30 minutes.

The fact that this 'Line 5' display was made by Anchrome and others has been humbled only within the group for a while, but nine months later, one of the colleagues talked to a local newspaper, California You will hear the State Department of Transportation. Anchrome thought that the display part might be removed and sent back by the Department of Transportation, but thanks to strict measurement and work, Anchrome's work met the standards of the Department of Transportation, so It has been used as it is for more than 8 years.

After that, due to regular maintenance, the guide sign that Mr. Anchrome added to the display was removed, and a new guide sign with additional information for North Line 5 was installed again.

The new guide sign looks like this, and the notation of “NORTH INTERSTATE 5” has become larger.


If you go back to February 2009 with the time machine function of Google Street View, you can check the guide sign before the exchange. This is exactly the sign that Mr. Anchrome added.


In the street view at the same time (February 2009) a little north of the above point, whether Anchrom did not work or was removed at some places, only `` To Pasadena '' without Line 5 notation You can also see signs.