Unique, Odd, or Interesting Signs aka The good, the bad, and the ugly

[LilianaUwU]

Interesting less for the sign itself and more for where it's placed.

https://goo.gl/maps/8fFk1zXmGrEL2AQM7

This is a situation where an overhead gantry is needed.

[M3100]

Here's a 27 MPH sign posted in Torrance, CA (Los Angeles County).  This is on westbound 182nd Street where it zig-zags under I-405.  Torrance installed this advisory speed limit years ago to get drivers' attention.  (This was previously mentioned in a thread dating back to 2012).

[Michael]

Here's a few "signs" that aren't signs:

I stumbled on these painted speed limit signs (also visible in aerial imagery) on the Scajaquada Expressway in Buffalo.  I thought it was neat and I was surprised to see they actually painted speed limit signs on the road instead of just text.

Here in Auburn last summer, a couple intersections got stop signs painted at the stop line instead of the text "STOP".  The one I linked is the first one I saw.  I thought it was kind of neat.

[wanderer2575]

Here's a few "signs" that aren't signs:

I stumbled on these painted speed limit signs (also visible in aerial imagery) on the Scajaquada Expressway in Buffalo.  I thought it was neat and I was surprised to see they actually painted speed limit signs on the road instead of just text.

Here in Auburn last summer, a couple intersections got stop signs painted at the stop line instead of the text "STOP".  The one I linked is the first one I saw.  I thought it was kind of neat.

I agree; those are interesting.  It appears that unfortunately the stop signs aren't elongated (to appear as normal from the driver's angle) so they probably can't really be seen.

[jakeroot]

Here in Auburn last summer, a couple intersections got stop signs painted at the stop line instead of the text "STOP".  The one I linked is the first one I saw.  I thought it was kind of neat.

The closest parallel I can picture is the extremely rare "yield ahead" symbol painted on the road, typically in advance of a yield situation (although sometimes right at the line instead).

Painted yield signs are quite common in other countries, but they're rare as hens teeth in the US despite being in the MUTCD, with all examples I can think of being in Hawaii, the US's test bed for otherwise-unknown markings.

[kphoger]

Here in Auburn last summer, a couple intersections got stop signs painted at the stop line instead of the text "STOP".  The one I linked is the first one I saw.  I thought it was kind of neat.

The closest parallel I can picture is the extremely rare "yield ahead" symbol painted on the road, typically in advance of a yield situation (although sometimes right at the line instead).

Painted yield signs are quite common in other countries, but they're rare as hens teeth in the US despite being in the MUTCD, with all examples I can think of being in Hawaii, the US's test bed for otherwise-unknown markings.

I'm a big fan of those.  Man, I could swear I've seen them, but I don't know where.  Are they not somewhat more common at roundabout entries or crosswalks?  Maybe I'm just imagining things...

[roadman65]

Old verses new on Dallas North Tollway.

[plain]

I like the old ones better

[1995hoo]

This might be a candidate for the Worst of Road Signs, but under the current rules for that thread it probably doesn't qualify. Spelling error? Check. Outsized punctuation? Check. Off-center word? Check. (Plus the spelling error applies to an institution that no longer operates at the center in question!)

[JoePCool14]

This might be a candidate for the Worst of Road Signs, but under the current rules for that thread it probably doesn't qualify. Spelling error? Check. Outsized punctuation? Check. Off-center word? Check. (Plus the spelling error applies to an institution that no longer operates at the center in question!)

Probably not quite good enough for the Worst Of. I think a good criteria for being considered Worst Of is the classic "It's so bad, it's good" montra.

Also, what's the spelling error here?

[1995hoo]

This might be a candidate for the Worst of Road Signs, but under the current rules for that thread it probably doesn't qualify. Spelling error? Check. Outsized punctuation? Check. Off-center word? Check. (Plus the spelling error applies to an institution that no longer operates at the center in question!)

Probably not quite good enough for the Worst Of. I think a good criteria for being considered Worst Of is the classic "It's so bad, it's good" montra.

Also, what's the spelling error here?

The University of Virginia is abbreviated as "UVA." "UAV" refers to a drone.

[D-Dey65]

Does anybody remember when I posted the German National Forest sign shaped like the International Yield sign but with a green outline? Here's a German No Fishing sign shaped like the International Yield sign but with a blue outline.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Langenargen_Schild_Fischschonbezirk_(9527975311).jpg

And this is my 2,800th post, but I'm not going to post a sign for that. NY 28 is strictly an upstate thing for me.

[Dirt Roads]

The University of Virginia is abbreviated as "UVA." "UAV" refers to a drone.

Even funnier, Virginia Tech has a new UAV facility near its on-campus golf course in Blacksburg. 

[formulanone]

Does anybody remember when I posted the German National Forest sign shaped like the International Yield sign but with a green outline? Here's a German No Fishing sign shaped like the International Yield sign but with a blue outline.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Langenargen_Schild_Fischschonbezirk_(9527975311).jpg

My German is a little weak, but I think that means Yield to Fish Gone Bezerk?

[SidS1045]

Does anybody remember when I posted the German National Forest sign shaped like the International Yield sign but with a green outline? Here's a German No Fishing sign shaped like the International Yield sign but with a blue outline.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Langenargen_Schild_Fischschonbezirk_(9527975311).jpg

My German is a little weak, but I think that means Yield to Fish Gone Bezerk?

Literally, "Beautiful Fish District."

[kphoger]

Oh, and here I thought it was berserk but beautiful fish crossing.

[transplanted]

Unusual parking sign in Pasadena CA. Haven't seen this anywhere else, and can't tell if it's a trial by the city or something put up by a neighbor, but it's nicely done and I wouldn't mind seeing this (or something like it) used more widely.

[1995hoo]

My neighborhood needs a sign like that. Some people insist on leaving at least half a carlength. Big waste of space.

My wife got mad at me the other day when I didn't leave a lot of room between her car and the car behind it, but she didn't have a response when I pointed out that the car behind it is also hers and is at the back of the row of cars (closest to the corner), so if she thinks she can't get out, she can just back the other car up, pull out, then pull the other car back to where it was.

[JoePCool14]

It looks like the sign might have been a citizen install, just based on the hardware and the look (design and retro-reflectivity) of the sign. I'd say it's pretty decent all things considered, though it probably could be simplified a bit.

[jakeroot]

There's only one thing more infuriating than seeing someone parked half a car length from the end of the curb, or half a car length from the car in front of or behind them: watching them do it and walk away like they haven't just committed a heinous crime against their community.

2 to 3 ft seems generous, personally. I might say 2 ft max; ideally maybe 1.5 ft. It's okay to tap a bumper. Or at least it is along my block.

[kurumi]

Does anybody remember when I posted the German National Forest sign shaped like the International Yield sign but with a green outline? Here's a German No Fishing sign shaped like the International Yield sign but with a blue outline.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Langenargen_Schild_Fischschonbezirk_(9527975311).jpg

My German is a little weak, but I think that means Yield to Fish Gone Bezerk?

Literally, "Beautiful Fish District."

My German is weaker than a leetul guhhhl, but I thought, "hey, shouldn't this be 'schön' for 'beautiful'?". But a little googling shows that schön and schon have a common origin, and schon (already) earlier meant beautiful as well. TIL.

[D-Dey65]

Normally those "No Motor Vehicles" signs don't have additional messages on the bottom, but some of them in Clearwater, Florida on the Pinellas Trail do:
https://www.google.com/maps/@27.9726144,-82.7973303,3a,15y,9.89h,88.17t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbfzCWw5e7VEoTah_oW2grg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

Which means now I want to grab a picture of one of them someday. I'm also curious about this one.
https://www.google.com/maps/@27.9595475,-82.7969059,3a,15y,176.02h,92.08t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sU1RhFgNyve1jijGlzG1mCg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en
I was a bit puzzled about this one, but now I'm starting to think it meant "No Whistles" and it was directed at the parallel train tracks.

[1995hoo]

There's only one thing more infuriating than seeing someone parked half a car length from the end of the curb, or half a car length from the car in front of or behind them: watching them do it and walk away like they haven't just committed a heinous crime against their community.

2 to 3 ft seems generous, personally. I might say 2 ft max; ideally maybe 1.5 ft. It's okay to tap a bumper. Or at least it is along my block.

That is a mega sore spot of mine, especially on the days every three years when our street is blocked off for sealcoating:

Our street is closed every few years when the HOA has it sealcoated. Nobody's allowed to drive on it, though some people always ignore the yellow tape and drive on it anyway. The maddening part to me is that a lot of our neighbors have no clue how to parallel park and leave way too much space between cars when we all need to park around the corner.

Reading this thread again made me remember I had grumbled about this in a prior thread, so I found my prior post with photo (edited here to remove an unrelated matter). The guy with the white minivan moved away a few years ago. He was by far the worst person in the neighborhood about this. Most people here leave too much space when they parallel park, but they don't carry it to this much of an extreme. On a normal day, it's not a big deal if people don't close up the gaps nice and tight because there's excess capacity on this street. But when they're sealcoating, everyone has to park on this street (unless you have an extra car such that, like me, you just leave one in the garage out of the way so as not to take up a space someone else needs), so parking like this to take up two spots is a complete dick move. (Note my comment below–in this case I had been parked there before him and this knew he had parked squarely in the middle.)

The street shown here is a VDOT street, whereas we live around the corner on an HOA street, hence the different maintenance schedules.

....

2. If they have to resurface the roads every 3 years (mill and pave) they are doing something very wrong. A proper pave of a light traffic street should last at least 10-15 years, even in the snowbelt.

They don't do a full milling and paving. I think they call it "sealcoating," though I'm not sure–the contractor comes out and does something and when they're done the street is a nice fresh black color with any cracks and other such stuff filled in. Either way, they tell us in advance and for two days we have to park around the corner.

Actually, that led to its own issue last time when the guy in front of me left at the same time I did, then we came back to find the guy up the street with "Diplomat" plates had parked squarely in the middle of the vacated space, i.e., there was space for two vehicles and he parked so half his vehicle took up each of the two "spaces." That one burned me up because it seemed like a situation where it should be obvious you shouldn't leave excess space because everyone had to park down there (and I did my part by putting the car we weren't going to drive in the garage so as to free up on-street space). I don't know whether he was intentionally being an asshole, whether he was being a dick because he knows his Diplomat plates let him get away with stuff, or whether he doesn't know how to parallel park and he took up too much space because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to get back out. (Doesn't matter anymore, the guy moved away last year.)

See below. I remember this all too clearly. I was parked in front of the Honda to the right and a neighbor was parked between my car and the Toyota to the left. We both left at the same time and I came back 15 minutes later to find the minivan parked like this on a day when all the on-street parking was taken due to the roadwork being done. If we lived in New York or Boston, I doubt it would have gone well for him....

[M3100]

This is more an 'unusual placement' for a sign. Normally I see Yield signs and the 'end' of the turn lane; this one is posted before you start the turn.  It is on eastbound CA 138 at Pearblossom Highway, at Four Corners (Palmdale), CA.

[Max Rockatansky]

I-15 Exit 23.9 Zzyzx Road:

IMG_7856 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr