Magnifisyncopathological

I live in Austin, Texas and the overwhelming majority of the roads in the city are socialized and therefore "public." This means they are supported by taxpayer money in some way. I don't have any federal budget figures for the interregional highways and other national highways, but they are irrelevant to my rant.

Those roads don't need to have street signs on them.

Austin's budget for the Transportation, Planning, & Sustainability Department is $10 million. That's a lot of money. But, apparently, not enough to ensure Austin has clear, legible street signs at each intersection.

It's bad enough we have socialized roads, but when the city can't even effectively fulfuill even the most basic duties of an entity that owns a road (identify what the hell it is), it pisses me off. I can't count how many times I've encountered street intersections and one (or both!!!) streets are unmarked. These aren't all piddly-wink bullshit half roads, either. I've gone through intersections on roads with two lanes going each way (four in total) and sometimes there aren't any fucking signs on them. This is fivefold more grating at night when you strain your sight to make sure you aren't missing a sign.

But deep, deep down, you know that the damn thouroughfare isn't marked.

I'm aware people like to steal signs and I'm aware they sometimes need to be replaced due to wear and tear. But it isn't as if replacing or repairing a piece of metal with 'Tuscany Way' painted securely on it is some week-long marathon session of human output. Don't they have backups or extras? Is it impossible for a contractor to make one in less than two months? What the fuck?

I'm thinking of driving around Austin for a few weekends and note which intersections aren't identified. I'm curious how many I'll find. I wouldn't be surprised if the number is larger than thirty.

That is just the most egregious irritation. The other (and far more pervasive) jackassery comes from signs faded to a pale unreflective green which blends in with the rest of the green sign, vegetation so ungawdly overgrown the observer is unaware there's even dry land beyond the dark forbidding corner, signs or their supporting poles bent so only curious upward-gazing children at the base can read the words, and an otherwise perfectly servicable sign left in the inky vision-impairing blackness of night with no illumination, artificial or natural.

Not being able to read the shitty signs in this city is the primary reason I have a prescription for driving glasses, for fuck's sake!

Yeah, I think I'll examine parts of Austin and see what turns up. At the very least, I'll know what areas to avoid.