Signs alerting motorists of school zones will soon be more noticeable than ever before.

Mustard-yellow school zone signs are coming down, and brighter, fluorescent yellow-green school signs will take their place.

Communities statewide have been sent more than 2,200 of the newer, more visible signs. The Iowa Department of Transportation aims to replace the old signs with new ones by the end of next year.

“The main goal is to draw more attention from drivers to school zones,” DOT traffic engineer Tim Crouch said of the new signs.

Research shows drivers can see fluorescent colors as much as 40 percent earlier than other colors, according to a DOT press release.

“We are confident that the new fluorescent traffic signing will more effectively alert motorists to the presence of pedestrians, school children and bicyclists in school zones,” said Ian MacGillivray, DOT Research Management Director.

Only one-quarter of the requests for the new signs have been filled due to a lack of proper financing for the project, Crouch said. He said the new signs are more expensive to produce than the traditional mustard-yellow signs.

Scott Logan, city of Ames traffic engineer, said Ames received 42 of the new signs more than a week ago.

Logan said Ames received the signs free from the DOT, and the city only has to pay for removing the existing signs and installing the new ones.

All school-zone signs on the state highway system were replaced last June. This effort focuses on signs for use on locally maintained streets and roadways.

“This is one of the first sign-replacement programs in a long time,” Logan said.

The fluorescent yellow-green replacement signs include school advance signs placed 150 to 200 feet prior to the school crosswalk, school children crossing signs and rectangular school signs.

Wanting to increase safety in school zones led to the DOT’s adopting the fluorescent signs as the new standard, MacGillivray said.

“Safety, including pedestrian and bicycle safety, is a statewide priority for the Iowa Department of Transportation,” he said.

In addition to the new fluorescent school signs, the DOT will also begin using fluorescent orange signs in many construction work zones this year.