Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Custom Street Signs: Three Reasons to Invest



It would be quite difficult to live in a world without signs. Driving would be nearly impossible—in fact, almost all of us would have tickets for not following speed limits or other rules and regulations. Signs deliver us quite a bit of important information in our daily lives. For example, if you were driving over to a friend’s house but didn’t see a sign for their street or complex, you would most likely become lost so custom street signs have become essential and provide us with plenty of benefits. Here are a few reasons why you might want to consider investing in custom street signs for the future: 

1) They’re great for business.
If you have a business, you might be surprised by how well signs do in the world of marketing. Signs can introduce potential customers to your business, as well as help them to receive a clearer idea of what you sell, produce, or service. You can also use signs to inform others that you are hiring, which is a simple way to find new employees.

2) They make excellent guides.
Our world would be incomplete without the guidance of signs. Custom street signs provide us with the names of apartment complexes, businesses, neighborhoods, and shopping centers. The next time you go out for a random drive, remember how helpful your street signs are in directing you from one place to another. 

3) They regulate traffic.
The rules of the road are best known for the street signs that direct traffic. If it weren’t for these signs, traffic would not be as organized. In fact, driving would be a nightmare altogether. There would be a huge increase in accidents. Driving would most likely be impossible. Stop signs tell us when and where to stop, while detour signs assist us in finding a new route. 

Remember, never set up a street sign without your state’s approval. Recently, an artist in California named Stephen Whisler installed self-made street signs throughout the North Bay highway, which is a violation of the state’s code.
               

Monday, July 29, 2013

No more mailman at the door under U.S. Postal Service plan.

By Elvina Nawaguna
WASHINGTON, July 23
| Tue Jul 23, 2013

(Reuters) - Under a cost-saving plan by the U.S. Postal Service, millions of Americans accustomed to getting their mail delivered to their doors will have to trek to the curb and residents of new homes will use neighborhood mailbox clusters, the agency said Tuesday.

The Postal Service has been quietly phasing in the change with some aspects starting in April, and it has given no timeline for the shift. It's unclear if delivery to the door will be eliminated entirely.
"Converting delivery away from door delivery to either curb line or centralized delivery would enable the Postal Service to provide service to more customers in less time," Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Brennan said Tuesday.

More than 30 million American homes get door-to-door delivery and another 50 million get their mail dropped at their curbside mailboxes. But the Post Service, which is buckling under massive financial losses, sees savings in centralized mail delivery. Door-to-door delivery costs the Postal Service about $353 per address each year. Curbside delivery costs $224, and cluster boxes cost $160 per address. With cluster boxes, mailboxes for individual addresses are grouped together at a central neighborhood location.

Click here to view the entire Reuters story.

 

Wayfinding sign project featured in article shows the importance of
good wayfinding signs throughout a community.

Forsite recently completed phase one of the Mt. Washington, PA wayfinding project that consists of decorative signs pointing to local points of interest.  Phase II will begin later this fall.  

Article from triblive.com
Read complete article here.

On most summer afternoons, dozens of tourists seek out Mt. Washington to snap photos of Downtown. People gaze at the vista, capturing it on digital cameras or smartphones, then ride the Monongahela Incline down to Station Square, unaware that dozens of neighborhood shops are located within walking distance of the scenic overlooks.

“The tourists don't know where to go,” said Joe Young, 51, of Mt. Washington. The Mt. Washington Community Development Corp. is trying to increase business among the 1.5 million tourists who ride the Duquesne and Monongahela inclines every year. The nonprofit organization added signs to three storefronts on Shiloh Street and plans to start an iPhone app business directory in the fall. “They can find something easily — a library, a church or a place to go to lunch,” said Christina Howell, outreach coordinator for the CDC.


The Local Initiatives Support Corp. and Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development awarded the CDC a $25,000 grant, financed by PNC Bank, to promote local businesses.


The CDC will collect data on how many people go to Mt. Washington on weekends, giving store owners an idea of prime opportunities for sales. Another goal is to attract business owners, Howell said.


“Those neighborhoods can only be strong if their business districts are also strong,” said Anika Goss-Foster, vice president of sustainable communities for Local Initiatives' Midwestern and Pennsylvania region.
Vickie Pisowicz, owner of Grandview Bakery & Sweet Shop on Shiloh Street, hopes her purple cupcake sign boosts sales. The signs contain images — such as cutlery, a cupcake, a ring — so tourists who can't read English know what the shops offer.

Monday, July 15, 2013


Forsite provides you with the quality and value you’ve been looking for in your outdoor light fixtures.  From commercial grade to residential wall and post mount our light fixtures are rust free and maintenance free designs, that increase property values and bring a decorative, uniform appearance to both established and new communities.

Residential Lighting:
View our residential lighting products and browse a large selection of post mount, wall mount, chain mount and tri-light fixtures.  All our residential light fixtures are made of rust fee cast aluminum and have a durable powder coated base finish to provide you years beauty.  Unique antique finishes are available at no additional charge and provide an upscale look to your lighting.

Commercial Acorn and Sphere Globe Lighting:
Our commercial lighting section consists of high-quality post lights with a variety of globes and bases available.  We offer aluminum light posts in 3" and 4" outer diameter in either smooth or fluted designs.

Improve community safety with outdoor lighting.
Studies have shown that adding street lighting improves vehicular safety and dissuades potential criminals from lurking around neighborhoods and homes.

A strategic lighting plan along using high quality lighting will make your residents feel safer in their community.  Also, by using LED bulbs in your commercial light fixtures will help a community save money on bulb replacement.

LED is the greenest light source available because of their tremendous energy savings and the fact that they contain no hazardous materials, such as mercury.  LED bulbs last up to 50,000 hours which is twice as long as standard High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide bulbs.  View more information regarding LED lighting.

Friday, July 12, 2013

A Simple Solution for Accessibility and Appearance


Around this time last year, residents of a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood in Florida received an interesting letter in the mail. 

Seemingly from the post office, the letter told the residents to invest in curbside mailboxes and abandon the mailboxes that they currently owned that were located by the door. The letter also stated that this had to be accomplished within the next 30 days—but the letter was undated.  

Some of the neighborhood residents followed the information on this letter, while others were skeptical. The letter had no official letterhead and contained misspellings. 

Although this letter turned out to be junk mail, it serves a good point: curbside mailboxes truly help to make the lives of mailmen and mailwomen a little easier. It doesn’t hurt the community, either.

The letter was sent during Mailbox Improvement Week, which encourages residents to repair any mailbox defects. Mailbox Improvement Week occurs during the third full week of May and is a way to inspire a bit of spring cleaning. Because of the winter season, mailboxes can experience a lot of wear and tear, such as rusting and peeling paint. Additionally, mailboxes can experience loose hinges or lost house numbers. This can be a potential risk for homeowners and for anyone who delivers the mail. 

Strangely enough, a letter of this sort was recently sent to residents in an Omaha, Nebraska neighborhood as well. Much like the residents in Fort Lauderdale, some people rebelled against this while others obeyed the law in order to avoid a penalty or fine. However, residents were informed that these letters were just a suggestion and not an order. 

Curbside mailboxes not only improve the appearance of a community, but they make it easier for postal workers to deliver mail. During inclement weather, mailmen and mailwomen don’t have to risk the chance of slipping on ice or injuring themselves by walking up to a household’s installed mailbox.