About commercial signage

The purpose of highway signage is to give drivers information they need to make informed decisions. Priority for signing along New Brunswick’s highways is given to guide, regulatory and warning signs. After these highway signing priority needs are met, commercial signs are permitted on various classes of highway.

For more information on commercial signs, please email [email protected]. 

Signage must address human behaviour factors. Based on the research of Allison Smiley, Human Factors North Inc., the following factors affect signage usability and effectiveness. On level I and level II controlled access highways, where speeds exceed 90 kilometres per hour, effective signage considers:

• motorists have only 6 to 10 seconds to locate and read a sign
• motorists require about 1 second to read each word or symbol
• motorists spot consistent signage more readily
• motorists must continue to watch the road
• motorist maneuverability time
• legibility distance
• the smallest critical detail must be legible
• sign must contrast with the background
• sign must be located easily
• sign must be read quickly
• sign must contain only information that is needed (minimizing the length of the message often maximize effectiveness)
• sign letters must be of sufficient height and spacing
• sign letters must be of a specific, clear font for highway visibility
• sign symbols must be understood by the driver

To balance keeping highways safe and uncluttered, commercial signage on level I and level II controlled access highways is available to businesses providing tourism-related activities and attractions that qualify as "specific interest". Commercial signage for other types of qualifying businesses is available on highways other than level I and level II controlled access highways.

The primary purpose of commercial signage is to provide directional information that will help motorists find your place of business. It is important to recognize that in order for a highway sign to be effective, it should be:

• Easy to see by the person who needs the information
• Easy to read at the appropriate distance so that the driver has time to take action 
• Easy to read and understand when seen for a short period of time 

Drivers are often in situations where there is a lot of information requiring their attention (eg. signs, other traffic, and weather conditions). A driver may have a limited time to see, read and understand the information on a highway sign. Signs can easily be hidden by other vehicles travelling on the highway and are visible to a motorist only briefly.

A basic understanding of human factors - a driver’s capability to sense stimuli , attach meaning to it, and make a correct and quick decision based on the information is important in the design and installation of effective signage. 

Level I highway — An access controlled highway that does not have driveways intersecting the road – the only access to the road is by ramps. Level I highways are normally 4-lane highways. Level I highways in New Brunswick include Routes 1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 15 and 95.

Level II highway — An access controlled highway that does not have driveways intersecting the road – the only access to the highway is by ramps or by an intersecting road. Level II highways in New Brunswick include portions of Routes 7, 8, 11, 15 and 16.

Arterial highway —Highways are numbered between 1 and 99.

Collector highway — Highways that are numbered between 100 and 199.

Local highways — Highways that are numbered between 200 and 999 and locally named roads.

Right-of-way (ROW) — The area of the highway owned by the Province of New Brunswick. The width of the ROW is not the same for all highways.