Street artist saved lives and cut traffic after vandalizing notorious Los Angeles highway sign
Sometimes the experts need to be humbled.
Vandalism for a good cause.
Los Angeles’ notoriously bad traffic is the result of myriad factors, but certainly one of the biggest contributors are the freeways…which often seem like they were designed by a toddler who hadn’t quite learned how to draw in a straight line yet.
Of course, these imperfections aren’t just aggravating, they're downright dangerous. But the amount of planning and funding it takes to actually make improvements is a Herculean effort.
And yet, one street artist was able to do the impossible…on one of the most precarious freeways in the entire city, no less.
As you enter downtown Los Angeles (or DTLA), you’ll likely cross the Arroyo Seco Parkway, known best to Californians as the 110. Opened in 1940 by The California Department of Transportation, aka Caltrans, it is one of the oldest freeways in the US.
Keep in mind that the words “parkway” and “freeway” are used here. The 110 was initially designed for cars moving at a leisurely 40mph taking in the scenery. Since it ran through the heart of an ever growing DTLA, Caltrans added on-ramps and exits to it throughout the years.
Now, flash back to a time without GPS guiding our every move, and it becomes obvious how essential clear signage would be for the 110. Only, during the Y2K era…it wasn’t.
It was this lack of signage that in 2001 caused artist and sign painter Richard Ankrom to miss a tiny, two lane left turn exit onto the I-5 North, which abruptly pops up right after a tunnel. Basically, if you’re not already aware that you need to make this exit, you’ll miss it. Or worse, you’ll cut across several lanes to try to make it.
Ankrom decided to take matters into his own (very skilled) hands, and in what he called an act of “guerilla public service,” made his own exit sign. Of course, he made sure to do the job right, meticulously studying Caltrans’ colors, fonts, sizes, type of reflectors etc. In three months, he had a perfect copy made.
He secretly changed this freeway sign, helped millions of driverswww.youtube.com
Ankrom was equally thorough while putting up the sign as well, purchasing a vest and hard hat to look like a bonafide city worker. He even stuck a fake logo onto his truck to avoid suspicion. As Ankrom's team filmed him doing his thing, it really looked like just an everyday guy doing his everyday job. Banksy would be proud.
Ankrom would come clean about his guerilla public service eight months later, which ignited a media frenzy. Still, the artist received high praise, even from Caltrans, which shared plans of instituting his ideas officially. That would take eight more years to fulfill, but indeed, you can see the Caltrans’ version of Ankrom’s design to this day.
Though Ankrom’s story happened decades ago, it was recently shared once again by The Drive (video above), which had people commending Ankrom’s contributions all over again. A few could even recall the terrible times before his sign was created.
“As someone who regularly drove on the 110 in the 1990s, I can confirm that this artist is a hero.”
“I loved that sign. It always looked a little off. When I learned it was installed by a vandal, I thought it was amazing.”
“I HATED that transition. People would suddenly stop in the #2 lane so they could cut into it at the last moment, causing a lot of rear end collisions. That man is a hero.”
“I moved to LA near this sign in 2000 and I routinely was in the wrong lane because I wasn't familiar with the directions. I did notice when the sign changed and at the time figured it was a routine correction! Bless this man.”
“The downfall of a society is when everyone says, ‘it's not my job,’ and nothing ever gets done.”
Catch more of Ankrom’s art on Instagram.
Why so serious? Public domain
"Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci, painted in 1503Public domain
"Malle Babbe" by Frans Hals, sometime between 1640 and 1646Public domain
Even wedding party photos didn't appear to be joyful occasions.