Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sign of the Times: Murray Run Upside-Down

Dan Wright, who helped build Murray Run, was honored on this sign, which wood bores are eating as we speak^

The new Murray Run sign where top is bottom^

The Murray Run Greenway in Roanoke has a new sign and it's a dandy ... with a small flaw: the map is upside down. But, hey, we can't always be perfect.

The big, honkin' sign, mounted in concrete and bearing what I'd guess to be a significant expense, replaces the small wooden sign that wood bores got hold of. These little guys invented the auger, I hear.

The new greenway sign is quite a nice little stopoff, but it takes a minute to understand that you're at the top going down, not the other way around, which has a lot more logic on its side, considering where you walk the minute you leave the sign. But if you orient yourself a little bit, the photo with the red mark through it gives you a picture of where you're going and it's pretty interesting, frankly.

2 comments:

  1. Since I had a hand in getting the sign installed, I have to weigh in. The map is not upside down. It's upside up. That is, North is up, as it is on every fixed map I've ever seen.

    I do see your point. It's a little disorienting that the trail immediately takes off to the South. Fortunately, Roanoke is full of smart, savvy, wilderness-abled folks.

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  2. Chad: I'm not one of those smart, savvy wilderness-abled folks, so I had to mull on this before I took off. When you start where you start here and end where you end, it still looks to me like bottom to top, whether or not south to north or ... whatever. Dan

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