Lower Merion Township is in no hurry to replace its historic street signs for massive, federally mandated alternatives, according to Public Works Director Don Cannon.

Cannon gave a director's report on the subject to the Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, Jan. 5, updating the board on the township's actions in relation to a controversial federal plan.

By 2018, all street signs—from major intersections to small neighborhoods—must meet federal regulations passed by the Federal Highway Administration or face the potential loss of federal funds for transportation projects, an amount Lower Merion Township Manager Doug Cleland said is millions of dollars. The regulations require six inch lettering on green and white signs, with specific reflective properties.

Cannon brought a sample sign that would meet the regulations to the Board of Commissioners meeting (see accompanying photo). When standing end-to-end, the sign was more than half as tall as he was.

The township currently uses the large signs for all major intersections, Cleland said, and also must meet requirements for guide signs—such as stop signs and speed limits—by 2015.

The street signs have perplexed township officials and residents who fear losing the traditional cast-iron look in Lower Merion.

Kathleen Abplanalp, Vice-Chair of Lower Merion's Historical Architectural Review Board, brought the matter to the board's attention in public comment at a Dec. 1 budget hearing. Abplanalp commented on the $300,000 including in the 2011-16 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) approved by the Board of Commissioners, which is budgeted to be spent starting in 2014. She urged the board to seek alternatives in order to preserve the historic look of the current street signs.

Cannon said that the money has been included in the CIP budgets for years, but the township currently is not working toward replacing the street signs as mandated. On the contrary, the township has been active in obtaining exemption information and challenging the new mandates.

Cannon said that the reflexivity standards were set based on a federal study involving 3M Co, which is a large manufacturer of the reflective material that meets the new requirements.

"We're trying to question the legitimacy of the actual regulations," Cannon said.

The Lower Merion Police Department is also investigating whether there are safety concerns with the township's current signage. Police and fire safety vehicles use computer aided dispatch (CAD) navigation systems that give the vehicles directions that do not depend on street sign visibility, Cannon said.

Regardless of whether or not the federal regulations are altered or pushed back in the next eight years, the threat has presented the township with a difficult situation, Cannon and Cleland agreed.

Over three summers beginning in 2002, the township hired workers to repaint its existing signs with a highly reflective coating, Cannon said. But weather and sunlight tend to wear out the sign's readability over time, and any significant investments in repainting or replacing with look-a-like signs could be a financial sinkhole if the federal regulations are not altered.

Any large-scale changes to the sign infrastructure in town have been handicapped until concerns over the impending mandate can be addressed, Cannon said. And, of course, a wide-scale replacement of all township street signs would be even more costly than maintenance. Cannon said that the total cost could come out to $500,000 or more.

The commissioners at the public works committee encouraged the township staff to continue looking into alternatives, and asked residents to contact their federal legislators about the issue.

"What's important is our comments make plain to the Federal Highway Administration that there needs to be some flexibility for municipalities," Board President Bruce Reed said. 

Editor's Note: A previous version of this article included a statement made at the Board of Commissioner's meeting that 3M Co. manufacturers the only material that meets the Federal Highway Administration standards. That statement could not be verified for its accuracy and has been removed.