Chapel Hill Signs

The Southern Part of Heaven, better known to Carolinians far and wide as Chapel Hill, is home to just as many unusual signs as its next-door neighbor Carrboro. This menagerie of signage all over town proves there's more to this place than the highly-revered Tar Heels and what's going on over at Franklin Street.

Also of note, I am now including links to maps to each of the sites I have visited and taken pictures. If you're interested in forming a little "sign hunting trip" of your own, these maps will come quite handy. One thing to keep in mind is that the maps represent the approximate locations, so please make sure to be careful if you are driving and wish to partake in this. Same goes for riding your bike, taking the bus, or even going on a nice little walk, considering how much this place highly favors more alternative forms of transport.

Sign listings that have a BLACK background and WHITE text are pictures taken in black & white.

Due to the high number of pictures listings, I have subdivided this page into two listings, one for signs located north of Franklin Street and one for signs located south of Franklin Street. Please click on a link to view a particular listing.
[NORTH] -- [SOUTH]



Signs located North of Franklin Street
Sign Location Description
Bike Lane Ahead Ends sign Weaver Dairy Rd. Ext. @ Palafox Dr. [Map] My first impression of this sign suggested that this road has some pretty short bike lanes. Turns out they were mere placeholders until a much longer one could be set up in this newly built neighborhood.
Drive 25 sign Hillsborough St. @ Bolinwood Dr. [Map] Clever attempt by residents of that neighborhood to get motorists passing by to slow down. In this case, the law is in effect.
Red Caution Diamond sign Village Gate Dr. @ Elliott Rd., off Franklin St. next to BB&T [Map] I noticed this particular oddity one day after I paid a visit to this branch. The new development going on next door has changed things to the point where they get a new street put in where the parking lot entrance used to be. Looks like you'll have to deal with traffic the moment you leave the drive-thru, instead on making that tricky turn onto Elliott.
Give Us a Brake sign Dixie Dr. @ Grainger Ln. [Map] A nice little tongue-in-cheek reference to get motorists to slow down in this peaceful neighborhood. Greg Fishel would be proud.
Christian Science Church sign Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (NC Hwy. 86) @ Dixie Ln. [Map] Even with the signage, the building in question is still very hard to spot. Not only is the sign waaayy off (about 15-20 feet from the curb), but the building is tucked in a thick patch of woods next to an open field. This error was more likely an unintended result of the Airport Road widening from a few years back.
New Town Operations site sign Mill House Rd. @ Clyde Rd. [Map] A huge tract of land nearby is slated to be the new home for the town's municipal operations site. Currently, they're located just off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (Historic Airport Road) near the Horace Williams Airport.
Equipment Crossing sign Eubanks Rd. @ Millhouse Rd., adjacent to Orange County landfill [Map] The county landfill occupies land on both sides of the road. Because of that, the warning sign alerts the driver to look out for rather large and heavy machinery that cross the road often to get from one side to the other.
Windsor Circle sign Windsor Circle @ Critz Dr., just off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. [Map] The street name change actually occurs once you turn left here. From there, it forms a loop road that goes all the way around and meets back about 100 feet from the bend whence you came in earlier.
Dual Outlet Bend sign
[View 1] [View 2]		 Estes Dr. @ Library Dr., just off Franklin St. [Map] This sign was put up shortly after the new location of the town library opened during the mid-90s. The additional traffic that it generated shortly thereafter necessitated the sign for this rather unusual intersection.
Left Turn Yield sign Sunrise Road @ Oak Hill Road [Map] This intersection has a rather interesting setup. In order to stay on Sunrise, you need to make a left turn here. However, motorists on Oak Hill have the right of way and don't have to come to a complete stop. Therefore, this sign is needed.
Construction Entrance sign Franklin Street @ Milton Ave., across from Staples [Map] These signs were put up to keep construction-related traffic from clogging this section of Franklin Street once leaving the work site. Traffic here is bad enough as it is with all the other commercial development nearby.
Watch for Children sign Silo Drive @ Cedar Hills Drive [Map] Very nicely done sign put up to keep motorist on the lookout for kids frolicking about on this stretch of road which has a rather sharp curve.
Please Drive Slowly sign Timberlyne Drive, just off Weaver Dairy Road [Map] Another clever way residents of this neighborhood convinced those passing through to ease off the accelerator.
Parking Notice sign Entrance to Cedar Falls Park, off Weaver Dairy Road, across from East Chapel Hill High School [Map] This sign was put up in an effort to curb parking problems during the day. That way, park-goers can be able to enjoy the wonderful facilites that the park has to offer without competing with high school kids for the few parking spaces available on-site.
Child Crossing sign S. Lake Shore Dr. @ Curtis Rd. [Map] Even those little tikes have to cross the street every now and then. Of course, there has to be an adult present.


Signs located South of Franklin Street
Sign Location Description
Yield to Bikes sign Cameron Ave. @ Kenan St. [Map] This sign uses a plain upper/lowercase combo type to alert motorists when making a turn at the stoplight up ahead. Those bicyclists always seem to be around, no matter where you go.
Bikes Wait for Green sign Ransom St. @ Cameron Ave. [Map] This sign applies exclusively to those who choose to travel on two wheels. They're the ones who need to wait on the broad white line marked clearly on the road before they're allowed to let loose.
Golf Cart Crossing sign Burning Tree Dr. @ Oak Tree Dr. [Map] Somehow it was only a matter of time when we'd see a sign depicting an image of a golf cart around here. Pretty clever, I might add.
Brake Prohibition sign Fordham Blvd. (US 15-501) @ Oteys Rd. [Map] The Chapel Hill Town Council passed a resolution in October 2004 banning the use of compression-release braking systems, or "jake brakes", by those who drive large trucks within the town limits. Most of these signs can be found along streets that traverse steep inclines, including Columbia Street and Franklin Street.
High Voltage sign Price Creek Rd. @ Damascus Church Rd. [Map] These pseudo road signs are actually warning markers that mark the location of underground high voltage power cables. If you look carefully, you'll notice that Hillsborough, the home base for Piedmont EMC, is spelled without the "ugh" suffix.
Be Alert sign Bayberry Dr. @ Arboretum Dr. [Map] Even though it doesn't state it eloquently, the fact that motorists need to watch out for children playing is implied.
Bike Yield sign Raleigh Rd. @ Greenwood Rd., across from UNC Administration [Map] Amazingly enough, the bicycle image on this sign looks realistic. Guess this is what you'll most likely see those college kids riding on all over campus.
Traffic Ahead with arrow sign Old Durham Rd. @ Cooper St., behind Performance Auto Mall [Map] The upcoming intersection with 15-501 is awfully tricky, with two side roads crossing through and the constant crowds that frequent a nearby Wendy's. Slapping a traffic signal symbol on a normal "Stop Ahead" sign may not solve the consistently awful problem, but it does help in a way.
No Left Turn on Bypass sign Oteys Rd. @ Mason Farm Rd. [Map] This sign was intended to discourage the dangerous act of motorists attempting to make a left turn on the busy 15-501/54 Bypass. Now that the bypass has four-lanes with a median, doing so would undoubtedly border on insanity.
No Church Parking sign Whitehead Rd. @ Mason Farm Rd. [Map] Boy, does this one ever take me back. Apparently, when my church used to meet nearby, the simple task of finding a parking space proved to be a challenge in and of itself. It was even harder when nearby residents made sure they didn't want their streets to serve as overflow parking. Even though another church moved in when we moved out, the people here still remain somewhat vigilant.
Glen Lennox sign Fordham Blvd. @ Brandon Rd., next to Church of the Holy Family [Map] This neatly spiffed-up sign leads to the Glen Lennox apartments complex, a rather quaint and charming community that dates back to the late 1940s. Very nice font being used here.
Raised Crosswalk sign Cleland Dr. @ Hamilton Rd. [Map] Here we see quite a double whammy. Not only do motorists have to worry about managing a speed hump, but also pedestrians who use the crosswalk conveniently placed on top.
Roundabout sign Pinehurst Drive @ Lancaster Drive [Map] Alerts motorists to a roundabout of a rather unusual design.
Unwin Place street sign Unwin Pl. @ Highgrove Dr., Southern Village [Map] This particular sign raised a major stink among residents in this cul-de-sac a few years back. The name sort of unintentionally lended itself to the UNC Men's Basketball squad, who finished the 2002 campaign with an 8-20 record - the worst in school history. The fact that Southern Village is located within a stone's throw of UNC didn't really help matters much. Fortunately, the Heels won the NCAA Championship three years later, making the street name controversy a moot point.


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