Ironic References Not Just for T-Shirts Anymore

By Alicia Dorr in Miscellaneous on Oct 1, 2007 6:30PM

Where drivers in Oak Lawn once ignored octagonal red signs demanding they halt, they will now encounter little addendums to make them take notice and, well, stop. At least, that’s what mayor Dave Heilmann is hoping since he went balls-out with ironic nerdery by implementing a new plan to install signs with wacky messages underneath official stop signs.

Cute one-liners and pop culture references such as "Stop ... and smell the roses” and “Stop … in the naaaaaame of love” have been tacked onto the traffic signs at 50 intersections in the Chicago suburb. Heilmann believes the signs will divert drivers from real distractions, such as cell phones, and get them to actually pay attention to the road. Our favorites are “Billion dollar fine” and “Stop … means stop.” If you’ve got any suggestions, Heilmann is apparently all ears.

AP photo, via the Village of Oak Lawn.