City Asks: Who Put Up All Those Stop Signs?

Here's a just plain old odd-but-fun story to break up the day.

Authorities in Cranston, R.I., as WPRI-TV reports, say they've only partially solved the mystery of who put up nearly 700 stop signs that hadn't gotten proper approval.

State Department of Transportation officials have said their workers were responsible for about one-third of the signs. The other two-thirds? A spokeswoman for the mayor says many may have been installed by city residents.

"Anecdotally, people will tell you that in years past they would call city hall and a sign would go up," says that spokeswoman, Robin Schutt:

Our favorite part of WPRI reporter Kathryn Sotnik's report: The caution from the mayor's office that "drivers ... should not take this as a free pass. A stop sign is a stop sign."

Cranston is no small place, by the way. Population: Nearly 80,000.