Recently, I made a Mysore Darshan covering about 30 kilometers of
various localities of Mysore to study street signboards. I found that
about 70% of the streets in Mysore do not have any signboards for
identification. Many important and major roads also do not have
signboards.
Among the one third of the streets which do have signboards, the
existing signboards are in such bad condition that they are useless.
Some of them are so faded that one can not read anything (but the names
of the sponsors are still clear and legible!), some are positioned at
such an angle that one can not say if the signboard refers to the main
road or the cross road and a few signboards are totally blank!
I have lived in Yadavagiri for the last 5 years and even now I
do not know many streets in my neighbourhood for want of proper
signboards. Many times I am embarrassed to guide people looking for an
address because I am not aware of its exact location despite residing
close by.
Mysore being a heritage city, hundreds of thousands of tourists
visit the city throughout the year and proper signboards are a MUST. MCC
must immediately plan and take action for installing new signboards in
the entire city. It would be better if there are signboards which
directions as well as distances to various important landmarks,
monuments and other tourist attractions.
The present design of the street name boards (cement boards)
does not seem to be suitable. Vandals and advertisers deface them within
no time. One design that may be considered is a painted metal plate,
(say, 1'x3') which can accommodate both Kannada and English signs and
which is positioned several feet above the ground.
Dwarkanath Narayan, Mysore Grahakara Parishat
