An overlooked feature of the federal omnibus bill approved earlier this year: a return to the Clearview font for highway traffic signs.
Joy Powell reports: "A font designed for easy reading on state highway traffic signs has been reinstated following the passage of the federal omnibus bill, according to the American Traffic Safety Services Association."
The bill effectively directs the Federal Highway Administration to "issue interim approval for the Clearview font." The rule change effectively rescinds a change announced in 2016, which Planetizen reported at the time had "ruffled feathers."
While this article was reported in early April, the news about Clearview's comeback made traction this week thanks to a tweet from 2016 that has been recirculating on social media and also helpfully illustrates the differences between Clearview and the short-lived Highway Gothic.
I LOVE A GOOD FONT WAR.
"Feds killing off Clearview, going back to Highway Gothic" https://t.co/pjJ5rvSPOX pic.twitter.com/9skAAnqPxb— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) February 5, 2016
Read the full story: Font designed for easier readability on roadway signs is reinstated, two years after FHWA prohibited it
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After adopting the Clearview font in 2004, ending the Highway Gothic in use since the 1960s, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration reversed course in January and will again require the older font. This small change matter a great deal.
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