Photo du Jour: The New New Orleans Streetname Sign

Many intersections throughout both previously flooded and high-ground neighborhoods within the City of New Orleans are currently unidentifiable because the iconic New Orleans-blue streetname signs no longer mark them post-KTMB. I can imagine the lack of signage makes it difficult for the army of carpetbaggers (y los ejarcitos de aventureros) to find their way around the field of dreams that is their New Orleans. No doubt some of the signs were legitimately lost because of the flooding and general destruction such as falling trees from the storm (and hauled off with debris), but I've noticed in the past six months (since October) that more and more of them have simply disappeared from the utility poles, stand-alone sign poles, or traffic light poles they were affixed to. Is it that our street signs have become like our water meter covers or our statues and religious artifacts from our cemeteries? Bastards.

Last weekend's Times-Picayune had an article entitled "Signs of the Times" about an Uptown group "taking matters into their own hands" regarding the street signage problem. They took to making their own signs as the city could give no timetable for issuing new official signs. The sign up above is in Carrollton (not done by the group in the article). Nice fleur-di-lis . . . .