Rarest sign type in the USA

[RobbieL2415]

I'm guessing for top 3:

1-The new BPSs (P for purple) for toll road signs
2-HC signs (either permissive or prohibitive for hazardous cargo)
3-BWSs for HOV/HOT lanes.

[hotdogPi]

Sign warning of solar glare (can't find a photo), found on MA 2 near I-495.

Also, this electronic toll sign:

[jakeroot]

All black truck-specific signs.

I only can only immediately think of one in WA, and it was removed (image below -- SR 520 WB in Redmond). I think there's more, for a grand total of one or two, but I don't remember where these signs are.

[02 Park Ave]

How about those bi-lingual (English & French) signs up near the frontier with Quebec?

[Scott5114]

Keep in mind that the MUTCD allows you to put whatever sort of textual message that you want on a sign, so there are thousands of one-off yellow signs like that, and it's probably not what the OP wants.

The rarest sign type is probably the fluorescent pink incident management signs. I still have never seen one in the wild.

[RobbieL2415]

All black truck-specific signs.

I only can only immediately think of one in WA, and it was removed (image below -- SR 520 WB in Redmond). I think there's more, for a grand total of one or two, but I don't remember where these signs are.

Or black signs in general, like the black speed limit sign on I-84 E in West Hartford, CT

[TheOneKEA]

The MDTA used to have a bunch of Big Blue Signs at Maryland House and Chesapeake House for wayfinding into and out of the parking lots. I've never seen these anywhere else in MD or in the neighboring states.

[6a]

Keep in mind that the MUTCD allows you to put whatever sort of textual message that you want on a sign, so there are thousands of one-off yellow signs like that, and it's probably not what the OP wants.

The rarest sign type is probably the fluorescent pink incident management signs. I still have never seen one in the wild.

It says "Fair information tune to 1670 AM"  so it's probably the best of both worlds in this thread

[jakeroot]

All black truck-specific signs.

I only can only immediately think of one in WA, and it was removed (image below -- SR 520 WB in Redmond). I think there's more, for a grand total of one or two, but I don't remember where these signs are.

https://i.imgur.com/dSAY1A0.png

Or black signs in general, like the black speed limit sign on I-84 E in West Hartford, CT

Is that particular sign not meant to be a night limit?

Agreed otherwise. I've just remembered another black sign that's not truck-specific: junction signs. Apparently these aren't very common either...

The MDTA used to have a bunch of Big Blue Signs at Maryland House and Chesapeake House for wayfinding into and out of the parking lots. I've never seen these anywhere else in MD or in the neighboring states.

https://www.aaroads.com/wp-content/uploads/guides/mid-atlantic/i-095-chesapeake-house-sign.jpg

I don't think this is in the spirit of the OP, as it's not a "USA"-wide sign nor is the sign based on some sort of rarely used standard. It's just an MD rest area sign that's moderately unique to MD.

[webny99]

As far as I can tell, there are five criteria:

(1) Shape
(2) Size
(3) Color
(4) Location/Mount
(5) Message

If we can find a sign that is unique with regards to all five, then we have a winner. The pink one two posts above is pretty good, scoring big on (3), (4), and (5), despite having a very common shape and size. Speaking of which, what is fair information, anyways? 

[1995hoo]

How many "Do Not Enter" signs of the style seen in the GSV link below still exist? I can think of two others in Northern Virginia, but off the top of my head I don't know of others. I'm sure others exist, though. BTW, the "All Traffic" sign dates back to the 1970s, when all the signs for the reversible carriageway on that road had black backgrounds.

Neither of these signs is likely to survive beyond 2019, as they'll be replaced as part of the HO/T lane project.

https://goo.gl/maps/cYwPQS5mjYB2

[Beltway]

How about the signs in Pennsylvania --

WAIT
FOR
GREEN
LIGHT

[Mapmikey]

How many "Do Not Enter" signs of the style seen in the GSV link below still exist? I can think of two others in Northern Virginia, but off the top of my head I don't know of others. I'm sure others exist, though. BTW, the "All Traffic" sign dates back to the 1970s, when all the signs for the reversible carriageway on that road had black backgrounds.

Neither of these signs is likely to survive beyond 2019, as they'll be replaced as part of the HO/T lane project.

https://goo.gl/maps/cYwPQS5mjYB2

I read the post and thought I was going to get the style like these still up in Rocky Mount VA - https://goo.gl/maps/BR8f7Jqddh12 and also https://goo.gl/maps/LRpCY7PYo5G2

[RobbieL2415]

How about the signs in Pennsylvania --

WAIT
FOR
GREEN
LIGHT

Or California with "One car per Green"

[MNHighwayMan]

Or California with "One car per Green"

That's not rare. Ramp meters in Minnesota have that sign too, or something very similar.

[kphoger]

The rarest sign type is probably the fluorescent pink incident management signs. I still have never seen one in the wild.

I've seen a total of one (two if you count seeing its mate in my rear-view mirror).  US-277 between Sonora and Jct TX-55.  A truck had rolled over and spilled its contents.  By the time we got to the scene, most of the cleanup had already taken place.

[roadman]

I'm guessing for top 3:

1-The new BPSs (P for purple) for toll road signs

Agencies that use BPS guide sign panels for toll facilities - cough - PTC - cough - are doing it wrong. Only the ETC information on these signs is supposed to be purple background.  The rest of the sign is supposed to be green background.

2-HC signs (either permissive or prohibitive for hazardous cargo)

Now Hazardous Materials (HM).  The prohibition sign is fairly common in areas with tunnels.

[index]

Keep in mind that the MUTCD allows you to put whatever sort of textual message that you want on a sign, so there are thousands of one-off yellow signs like that, and it's probably not what the OP wants.

The rarest sign type is probably the fluorescent pink incident management signs. I still have never seen one in the wild.

I have been seeing these everywhere here in North Carolina recently, around my specific area. I'll try and get a few pictures although that may not happen for a while, due to the fact I don't go places much. Before 2017 or so, I had never seen one and they seem to be springing up everywhere. Some of them are being used in construction sites and are staying there for some amount of time...which suggests they aren't being used right.

[Aquatarkus]

The rarest sign type is probably the fluorescent pink incident management signs. I still have never seen one in the wild.

I've seen some of these before, this past August actually on US 64 in New Mexico. There was a bad forest fire that was still smouldering around Ute Park and it was raining the day I was driving through. Plenty of bright pink signs warning of fire activities and flash floods.

As for other rare signs, I'd say Saftey Corridor: Lights on for Saftey is pretty rare. Only seen it once on US 87 in Nwe Mexico between Clayton and Raton around Des Moines.

Amarillo has HM ok and prohibited signs at the I40-I27 interchange, prohibiting HM from going through downtown but allowing it down the interstate. Westbound I40 still says HC instead of HM.

What about signs for runaway truck ramps? I think I've seen those before.

[formulanone]

There's probably a few signs in the MUTCD which haven't found a use, or are rarely used.

How about the combo standard / metric speed limit signs? I've not even seen a photo of those in the field.

[1995hoo]

How many "Do Not Enter" signs of the style seen in the GSV link below still exist? I can think of two others in Northern Virginia, but off the top of my head I don't know of others. I'm sure others exist, though. BTW, the "All Traffic" sign dates back to the 1970s, when all the signs for the reversible carriageway on that road had black backgrounds.

Neither of these signs is likely to survive beyond 2019, as they'll be replaced as part of the HO/T lane project.

https://goo.gl/maps/cYwPQS5mjYB2

I read the post and thought I was going to get the style like these still up in Rocky Mount VA - https://goo.gl/maps/BR8f7Jqddh12 and also https://goo.gl/maps/LRpCY7PYo5G2

I have not been there and haven't seen those until you posted them here. Sorry.

I did think about posting the octagonal "Do Not Enter" sign on D Street SW in DC, but I figured that's just an error sign and shouldn't really count for this thread.

Not really a "sign" per se, but I just went to the post office on Barclay Drive and found myself wondering how many other roads in the USA still have a single yellow center stripe. See satellite view link below. I suppose I should note that I don't know who maintains the street, but I suspect it may be the developer (Halle Corp.) because the nearby shopping center parking also uses single yellow stripes to separate opposing traffic. (I note if you click into GSV, it shows a double yellow line, so it's an old image. As of this morning it definitely had a single line.)

https://goo.gl/maps/k6d8G7vDt7w

[vdeane]

How about the combo standard / metric speed limit signs? I've not even seen a photo of those in the field.

Look closely on the far right: http://nysroads.com/photos.php?route=ny812&state=NY&file=100_6498.JPG

[kphoger]

Amarillo has HM ok and prohibited signs at the I40-I27 interchange, prohibiting HM from going through downtown but allowing it down the interstate. Westbound I40 still says HC instead of HM.

Yeah, Texas has several cities with HM/HC signs.  San Angelo stands out in my mind as another example.

[roadman]

Not really a "sign" per se, but I just went to the post office on Barclay Drive and found myself wondering how many other roads in the USA still have a single yellow center stripe.

Single yellow center lines are still common on numerous local streets in Massachusetts.  Usually, these streets allow parking on one or both sides, with the result that traffic has to encroach on the center line to safely pass the parked cars because the roadway is narrow.

[kphoger]

Not really a "sign" per se, but I just went to the post office on Barclay Drive and found myself wondering how many other roads in the USA still have a single yellow center stripe.

Single yellow center lines are still common on numerous local streets in Massachusetts.  Usually, these streets allow parking on one or both sides, with the result that traffic has to encroach on the center line to safely pass the parked cars because the roadway is narrow.

This is the one that immediately came to my mind, in Branson (MO).