Guerrilla Public Service 2011 on HackerTube: recommended by 1 Hacker News commenter across 1 month, 2018–2025.
documentary · evergreen
Richard Ankrom's account of his 2001 guerrilla project, in which he painted and installed a missing freeway exit sign on a Pasadena freeway. The sign matched official standards and stayed up for years before being discovered.
HN cites it as the best-known example of a citizen quietly fixing public infrastructure, often in threads on unsanctioned civic repairs.
“If you've not heard of Richard Ankrom who fixed an exit sign on the 110 freeway, check it out.”
3 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
Guerilla Public Service. If you've not heard of Richard Ankrom who fixed an exit sign on the 110 freeway, check it out. He made a documentary about it (and there are countless other videos on YouTube covering the story). ▶ this video He did it so well, the modification stayed in place for years. If you can do it right, I say go for it.
in “Engineer restores pay phones for free public use” · View on HN
Reminds me of the story of Richard Ankroms, who installed his own Interstate 5 exit sign. It hung for 8 years. Video of the process: ▶ this video [link]
in “How to Paint a Crosswalk” · View on HN
Reminds me of the "Guerrilla Public Service" vigilante[1][2] from 2001, he added an I-5 sign notification where people commonly missed the exit. [1] [link] [2] ▶ this video
in “Portland Anarchist Road Care Fixes Potholes Anonymously (2017)” · View on HN