Wisconsin notes

[JMAN_WiS&S]

Not only does it go "against" Wisconsin norms, it's also a MUTCD violation in that the green arrow and FYA are the same head...

It is allowed. This city has 2 of these setups, and  MN actually did this first. This is the only proper way to signal a option left/straight lane using the modern fya.

[SSOWorld]

Ok then, I stand corrected.

[paulthemapguy]

I visited Eau Claire's only HAWK Signal today. Watched 3 activations and recorded one. Drivers for the most part knew how to use it without confusing signage.
https://youtu.be/HNC76jcZ0Is

Notice when the guy honked his horn?  I would have gotten honked at, too.  Those flashing alternating red lights make me think of railroad crossings, where you sit and wait until the train goes by.  I would have sat there until the signal shut off.  Why can't we just have a typical three-section head here?  Eau Claire, why do you have to complicate things, especially when avoiding confusion is a matter of safety?  I'll even take a red-yellow-FYA signal here like you see at some fire stations.

I also visited both of Eau Claires FYA doghouse intersections but didn't get any footage. I sat at the Lake St/First Ave setup for 15 minutes and the protected green arrow never came up. I took this video of the Farwell St/Galloway st setup about a month ago:
https://youtu.be/7FaFAoH4xZ0

So unnecessary.  Just get rid of the FYA.  People turning left know to yield during the sight of a green ball.  Do what the MUTCD says to do and put in a doghouse that operates as they've always been operating.

[triplemultiplex]

Massive rainfall in northern Wisconsin yesterday (July 11) has caused major problems for roads and highways.
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4072496-list-flood-related-road-closures-northland
US 2 is washed out east of Ashland.
US 63 is washed out south of Ashland.
WI 13 is washed out south of Ashland in three places. (The Brunsweiler River, Trout Brook [North York], Silver Creek [Highbridge])
US 53 NB is closed at Lampson in Washburn Co.
The Bad River has closed WI 169 in Mellen.

US 63 at Twentymile Creek near Grand View:


The little county park and marina at Saxon Harbor has been utterly devastated.  It looks like nearly 10 inches of rain dumped on the watershed of Oronto Creek.


It's reminiscent of the 2012 flooding further west in the Duluth area.

[paulthemapguy]

Massive rainfall in northern Wisconsin yesterday (July 11) has caused major problems for roads and highways.
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4072496-list-flood-related-road-closures-northland
US 2 is washed out east of Ashland.
US 63 is washed out south of Ashland.
WI 13 is washed out south of Ashland in three places. (The Brunsweiler River, Trout Brook [North York], Silver Creek [Highbridge])
US 53 NB is closed at Lampson in Washburn Co.
The Bad River has closed WI 169 in Mellen.
It's reminiscent of the 2012 flooding further west in the Duluth area.

Whoaaaa.  Not cool.  I hope no one got hurt.
Much of this was the Bad River, yes?  There aren't any areas that are devoid of roadway access, are there?  Is WI-112 still intact?

[triplemultiplex]

Whoaaaa.  Not cool.  I hope no one got hurt.
Much of this was the Bad River, yes?  There aren't any areas that are devoid of roadway access, are there?  Is WI-112 still intact?

For a time yesterday it was impossible to leave Ashland.  There are some areas still cut off as I understand it, but they are not as large.
WI 112 is open.  The worst flooding happened just south of there outside the White River's drainage.
One fatality in the Saxon Harbor area, sadly.  But if it had been the weekend, there could have been dozens camping there.

If enough roads reopen, the area's waterfalls should be amazing.

[JMAN_WiS&S]

I visited Eau Claire's only HAWK Signal today. Watched 3 activations and recorded one. Drivers for the most part knew how to use it without confusing signage.
https://youtu.be/HNC76jcZ0Is

Notice when the guy honked his horn?  I would have gotten honked at, too.  Those flashing alternating red lights make me think of railroad crossings, where you sit and wait until the train goes by.  I would have sat there until the signal shut off.  Why can't we just have a typical three-section head here?  Eau Claire, why do you have to complicate things, especially when avoiding confusion is a matter of safety?  I'll even take a red-yellow-FYA signal here like you see at some fire stations.

I also visited both of Eau Claires FYA doghouse intersections but didn't get any footage. I sat at the Lake St/First Ave setup for 15 minutes and the protected green arrow never came up. I took this video of the Farwell St/Galloway st setup about a month ago:
https://youtu.be/7FaFAoH4xZ0

So unnecessary.  Just get rid of the FYA.  People turning left know to yield during the sight of a green ball.  Do what the MUTCD says to do and put in a doghouse that operates as they've always been operating.

The hawk signal was something they were trying out and is a first. Many other areas have had success with them (Wis Dell's has 3 within one two mile stretch of road)

Previously at First ave/Lake st, there was no protected left phasing, just standard ryg heads for all directions. Had there not been an option left/straight lane, and instead a dedicated turn lane, a regular 4 section fya would have been used, since WISDOT no longer allows 5 stack yield on green balls on new installations I believe. Wisdot has never allowed regular yield on green ball doghouses, but now is allowing them to be used for option lane situations.

[mgk920]

I note that WisDOT is getting very close to exhausting the NNN-LLL format number pool for regular issue automobile license plates (I saw a just-issued one with xxx-YZY here in the Appleton area a couple of days ago).  Does anyone in here know what format will be used once this happens?



Mike

[colinstu]

123-ABC format allows for a theoretical max of 17,576,000 combinations, which is about triple the population of Wisconsin right now. That's also only for standard Auto plates, all other plates have independent combinations / permutations of numbers and or letters (trucks, semis, state-owned/municipal/collector/etc etc).

Now, that doesn't mean those are all valid (right now anyways). I don't think anything under 101 exists actually. Also, the ZY* range is for Human service vehicles only. I also think there are certain letter combinations that they don't allow ("bad words" or things like them, I presume, 123-ASS would probably catch some flack lol).

Wikipedia lists: 101-AAA to 999-YYY (as of June 26, 2016)

So they could open up the existing un-used ranges. They could also open up the use of old / existing plate numbers, right? Not sure how many years of not being renewed should be used. Probably start with the oldest first year first, and move on from there.

I sure hope WI doesn't go towards flat plates, or even worse, the 3M Digital font... holy crap that's ugly! MN has gone to flat plates (at least with a tasteful font that is reminiscent of the existing font, and similar to WI's). Also, WI's recent Bald Eagle Endangered Resources plate features a flat design (also maybe the new Badger plate? cannot remember)... it's possible they could make that move.

The easiest thing WI could do would be to go to a 101AAAA format. The state currently supports 7 digit plates, so there wouldn't be any need to shrink the letters or dies / change computer systems / etc.

Vanity plates support up to 7 characters AND 2 spaces. The width of a space is smaller if both two spaces are used I think (compared to using only a single space), I haven't done exact measurements. Since going to 101AAAA would remove the dash, could go with a space between the numbers and letters if there was a concern about that.

Adding that one extra letter would allow for 456,976,000 total permutations, a huge jump.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Plus don't even light trucks in Wisconsin get special truck plates? That makes the pool for the standard car/minivan plates even smaller.

[colinstu]

Yup. Trucks don't fall under auto. Different letter/number scheme, says Truck on bottom, and has a weight class sticker.

I've seen some normal SUV and minivans with truck plates too. If you look at the requirements for truck plates they're identical as autos. However I think if people say they keep the rear and or middle seats folded down all the time, they can get truck plates instead. I don't see the benefit. Wouldn't save any money, they still need to get smogged every other year, etc.

[mgk920]

Wisconsin does not go below '101' for the number part.  Interesting in that the lowest possible number under the current format ('101-AAA') is/was an active plate here in the Appleton area.

Prior to the current format, Wisconsin used 'LLL-NNN', starting a long-term changeover in about 2000.  The last of those 'red number' plates were off the road only a year or two ago.

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

It would be nice to get a new plate design too.  This one has been around for 30 years or so.

[colinstu]

I like the current clean design. Would be even more cool if they brought back an old design.

[Milwaukee, WY]

It would be nice to get a new plate design too.  This one has been around for 30 years or so.

I hate the current license plates. They should at least eliminate the horribly cheesy farm graphic in the corner and move "Wisconsin" to the center. I can deal with plain black and white plates; but that farm graphic has to go.

[dvferyance]

I note that WisDOT is getting very close to exhausting the NNN-LLL format number pool for regular issue automobile license plates (I saw a just-issued one with xxx-YZY here in the Appleton area a couple of days ago).  Does anyone in here know what format will be used once this happens?



Mike

I thought about that the other day. I would say they will probably reissue plate numbers not used anymore from long ago.

[SSOWorld]

I've seen plate#'s ending in Axx and Bxx recently.

[Milwaukee, WY]

I just assumed they'd reverse the serial and move to the AAA-100 format once the current numbers were exhausted.

[dvferyance]

I heard they don't use the letters O and I due to them being too similar to zero and 1.

[colinstu]

They use them...

[mgk920]

'O' (letter) and 'I' are only used on personalized plates.  The number of the personalized plates on my car includes an 'I'.  I'm half thinking that a 'O' (letter) on personalized plates is recorded the same as a '0' (number) in WisDOT's files.

I do kind of agree on the thought that WisDOT will begin reissuing numbers in the LLL-NNN format, since all of the previous plates with those combinations (the 'red letter/number' ones) are now off of the road.

Mike

[Big John]

the Q is also not used on Wisconsin standard car plates.

[dvferyance]

the Q is also not used on Wisconsin standard car plates.

Your right but I know other states use it my grandfather had a Q on his Virginia plates.

[colinstu]

It's available on vanity plates.

[slorydn1]

Just a note from a person that accesses DMV files on a daily basis:

It seems regardless of the state in question no matter what it says on the plate itself, the return I get from any of  state's DMV files that I run for my deputies the printout always shows an "O" to be a "0". This includes Wisconsin. For example, my personalized tag SLORYDN1 shows up in the database here in NC as SL0RYDN1

The "I" versus "1" is a little cloudier, I have noticed most states (including NC) do allow the letter "I" and it shows up as an "I" in the database, not a "1". I don't remember seeing one with the letter "I" from Wisconsin but I must admit it's been a while since I have run a Wisconsin tag.