Street sign theft occurs when street signs are stolen, often to be used as decorations, but also sometimes to avoid obeying the law by claiming later the sign was not there. Although the theft often seems arbitrary, signs that are unusual or amusing tend to be stolen more frequently. Sometimes considered to be a prank by the perpetrators, the theft is often costly and inconveniencing for the municipality or agency that owns the sign. In the United States, each street sign generally costs between $100 and $500 to replace.
Popular culture can act as a catalyst to street sign theft. Bands such as The Beatles and Lynyrd Skynyrd have exacerbated street sign theft as their songs and albums include real place names including Penny Lane, Blue Jay Way, Abbey Road, and Brickyard Road.
A provocative street name or other name on the sign can also trigger thefts. Well-known examples include Ragged Ass Road in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Butt Hole Road in Conisbrough, Doncaster, England.
Read more about this topic: Signposts
Famous quotes containing the words street sign, street, sign and/or theft:
“He has given me six hundred street signs.
The time I was dancing he built a museum.
He built ten blocks when I moved on the bed.
He constructed an overpass when I left.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“He has given me six hundred street signs.
The time I was dancing he built a museum.
He built ten blocks when I moved on the bed.
He constructed an overpass when I left.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means.”
—Georges Bernanos (1888–1948)
“The childless experts on child raising also bring tears of laughter to my eyes when they say, “I love children because they’re so honest.” There is not an agent in the CIA or the KGB who knows how to conceal the theft of food, how to fake being asleep, or how to forge a parent’s signature like a child.”
—Bill Cosby (20th century)