spoke too soon…I decided simply to first submit a comment to CT Transit asking whether or not they are the ones responsible for the signs; I think there’s a possibility that it might be the City’s responsibility…or some sort of cooperative agreement. We shall see.

I just received an interesting response from CTTransit on the issue:

"We do have a newer CTTRANSIT bus stop sign that we are providing to all
towns in the State that are within the CTTRANSIT service area. Many
towns have adopted them. I believe we offered the sign to New Haven in
the past but they were not too receptive. Policy may have changed since
we last reached out to the Traffic and Parking Authority, so we will ask
again to see if there is any interest in replacing their signs with our
new bus stops signs.

That you for your suggestion."

Well, I hope the city will adapt to them soon.

Acknowledged By the Transportation, Traffic and Parking Department.

Please post images of the signs you are referring to. Thank you.

Thank you for acknowledging this. Pictures will be taken and posted tomorrow. Hopefully we can get some new signs on the streets sometime soon. Also, has there been any word on gathering the funds to paint the new blue paint onto the older paint-scheme buses?

The buses with the older paint scheme (white with yellow, blue and green stripes) will be replaced later this year or early in 2011. Thus, they will not be repainted to the blue color scheme.

I'm glad to hear that the Novas will be replaced, hopefully with some clean air buses. Has CTTransit also looked into extended buses (two connected together to make one bus with extra seating capacity) for more crowded bus lines?

Here are three pictures of the current bus signs in New Haven. The first is a sample of a sign at the green (I believe that is one of the only locations in New Haven that has a sign that actually looks like it serves a Mass Transit system).

The other two pictures are just signs with a picture of a bus on them. That doesn't look like it serves a modern commuter transit system. We need an a better identity here!

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z191/milkyoreo27/SDC12190.jpg?t=1262722631

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z191/milkyoreo27/SDC12195.jpg?t=1262722634

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z191/milkyoreo27/SDC12194.jpg?t=1262722633

Yes, the buses that CTTRANSIT receives later this year or early in 2011 will be 60 foot articulated (bend in the middle) buses with a seating capacity of 62. Also, the buses will have clean diesel engines that will meet the new and more stringent 2010 EPA emissions requirements.

Sweet! I love new buses.

In response to TT&P's question, I believe the newer signs are being used in Hamden. That's how I used to be able to tell where the town line was on Dixwell Avenue.

Personally, I hope the transportation department warms to the idea of nicer-looking signs. This is a matter of marketing and design, not traffic engineering. The city should adopt whatever sign CT Transit recmmends, unless there is a severe problem with it. Bus stop signs should not come out of the traffic engineering manual.

i agree that better signage would increase ridership-- it should be much easier to figure out the schedule & hop on a bus at any point in the city.

have you followed up with CT transit about the sign idea? have you heard back?

We are currently maintaining the existing signs in place while also discussing other possibilities in the future.