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

[tckma]

As long as we're talking about Park County, Wyoming and its weird county route numbers, neighboring Big Horn County, Wyoming is a bit more sane, as can be seen by  the intersection of County Road 11 1/2 and County Lane 12.

When I used to do Waze map cleanup in Wyoming, I swear I saw something like "County Road 18 3/4."  Can't seem to find it now.  Most counties there seem to have a sequential system where County Roads are generally north-south and County Lanes are generally east-west, with the numbers increasing to the south and east.  But if they stick a new road inbetween two others it gets a 1/2 or a 3/4, and you'd often see H instead of 1/2, like County Road 2H.

[JayhawkCO]

D 5/8 Road in Grand Junction for your viewing pleasure.

[kphoger]

How about a red pentagon?

How about a green one?

Except that green pentagons are normal for Douglas County, CO.  See here and here, for example.  Red pentagons are not normal for Greene County, AR.

[kphoger]

D 5/8 Road in Grand Junction for your viewing pleasure.

Oh yeah, those are all over GJ.  For example, here is the intersection of 28½ Road and B¾ Road.

Not weird enough?  How about B⁴/₁₀ Road?

When our car overheated near Naturita and we took it to the mechanic in GJ, we walked through the intersection of 27½ Road and C½ Road to pick it up later.

[Scott5114]

How about a red pentagon?



Never seen this before, I should make a trip up here at some point to get a picture of it lol

And it's marked E-911, not as a county route (presumably some sort of emergency services locator, maybe some identifier you give the 911 operator?).

I think so.  Here is the sequence of signage:

https://goo.gl/maps/jjtBV7Ch1zrwb4hWA – Blue 'GREENE COUNTY 560' pentagon shield
https://goo.gl/maps/ThZ5aCzrZJbfcg678 – Small red '560' rectangle
https://goo.gl/maps/6V9ckpqVR3YB5KvKA – Red 'E 911 560' pentagon shield

I see more than one news article online complaining about stolen E911 signs in Greene County.

I spent more time deciphering the hand-made sign in the background than I should have. "Dump Wood Chips, Leaves, Grass, Cups"? Why cups? (Oh, it says "Grass Clips" and the sign maker just sucks at writing.)

[FrCorySticha]

How about a red pentagon?

How about a green one?
How about regular blue one, but with a weird county route number?
What about a pair of them?
7WC, 1AB, and 8WC not weird enough county route numbers for ya?
County Route 3 what?

Lake County, IL likes to do the opposite for its county route numbers: letter followed by numbers

[thenetwork]

D 5/8 Road in Grand Junction for your viewing pleasure.

That's not bad...it's when you have to tell people you live on "Effin One Half Road" (F-½ Road) or any of the other fragmented F Roads in Mesa County.

[zachary_amaryllis]

D 5/8 Road in Grand Junction for your viewing pleasure.

Oh yeah, those are all over GJ.  For example, here is the intersection of 28½ Road and B¾ Road.

Not weird enough?  How about B⁴/₁₀ Road?

When our car overheated near Naturita and we took it to the mechanic in GJ, we walked through the intersection of 27½ Road and C½ Road to pick it up later.

It makes you wonder, if they have to ever use decimals - I mean what if it's G 29/53 Road or something?

[thenetwork]

D 5/8 Road in Grand Junction for your viewing pleasure.

Oh yeah, those are all over GJ.  For example, here is the intersection of 28½ Road and B¾ Road.

Not weird enough?  How about B⁴/₁₀ Road?

When our car overheated near Naturita and we took it to the mechanic in GJ, we walked through the intersection of 27½ Road and C½ Road to pick it up later.

It makes you wonder, if they have to ever use decimals - I mean what if it's G 29/53 Road or something?

D 5/8 Road in Grand Junction for your viewing pleasure.

Oh yeah, those are all over GJ.  For example, here is the intersection of 28½ Road and B¾ Road.

Not weird enough?  How about B⁴/₁₀ Road?

When our car overheated near Naturita and we took it to the mechanic in GJ, we walked through the intersection of 27½ Road and C½ Road to pick it up later.

It makes you wonder, if they have to ever use decimals - I mean what if it's G 29/53 Road or something?

Usually the fractions.are either ½s, ¼s or tenths of a mile.   In the 1/10th mile category they do one of 3 ways:

G-1/10 Road
G.1 Road
G ¹ Road

And.on the outer North and South Fringes of Mesa County, you can have:

AA Road (once you've exhausted single-letter roads beyond Z Road)

BS Road -- and yes, there IS a road by that name in Glade Park -- (With the 'S' denoting the southern half of the county, or "B South Road")

[ClassicHasClass]

How about a red pentagon?

How about a green one?
How about regular blue one, but with a weird county route number?
What about a pair of them?
7WC, 1AB, and 8WC not weird enough county route numbers for ya?
County Route 3 what?

Lake County, IL likes to do the opposite for its county route numbers: letter followed by numbers

Although probably unusual for the region, not especially strange generally: see Iowa and California county routes, for example. Oddballs like San Bernardino County 66 (old US 66, natch) are the exception, not the rule (contrast with Imperial County S80, old US 80).

[Max Rockatansky]

How about a red pentagon?

How about a green one?
How about regular blue one, but with a weird county route number?
What about a pair of them?
7WC, 1AB, and 8WC not weird enough county route numbers for ya?
County Route 3 what?

Lake County, IL likes to do the opposite for its county route numbers: letter followed by numbers

Although probably unusual for the region, not especially strange generally: see Iowa and California county routes, for example. Oddballs like San Bernardino County 66 (old US 66, natch) are the exception, not the rule (contrast with Imperial County S80, old US 80).

Even stuff like J59 and J132 still fits the County Sign Route letter convention.  I believe San Bernardino County Route 66 is the only "officially"  designated Sign County Route without a letter suffix.

[tckma]

Except that green pentagons are normal for Douglas County, CO.  See here and here, for example.  Red pentagons are not normal for Greene County, AR.

What's the official word on using the blue pentagon?  Is that MUTCD-standard?  I know a lot of county route signage doesn't use the blue pentagon, particularly in Wisconsin and Missouri which have lettered county routes.

When I saw that green pentagon I posted on a business trip to the Littleton area, it struck me as unusual, and non-compliant.  It may be normal for Douglas County, but is it compliant?

[Big John]

^^ The blue pentagon is MUTCD standard.  Wisconsin has their own ideas on why they use something different.  "Used for major county routes only".  Missouri letter routes are supplemental state routes and not county highways.

[kphoger]

Except that green pentagons are normal for Douglas County, CO.  See here and here, for example.  Red pentagons are not normal for Greene County, AR.

What's the official word on using the blue pentagon?  Is that MUTCD-standard?  I know a lot of county route signage doesn't use the blue pentagon, particularly in Wisconsin and Missouri which have lettered county routes.

When I saw that green pentagon I posted on a business trip to the Littleton area, it struck me as unusual, and non-compliant.  It may be normal for Douglas County, but is it compliant?

Blue pentagons are the standard, yes.  But notice the bolded part...

Chapter 2D – Guide Signs–Conventional Roads

§ 2D.11 – Design of Route Signs

Standard:

01 – The "Standard Highway Signs and Markings" book shall be used for designing route signs. Other route sign designs shall be established by the authority having jurisdiction.

[...]

13 – If county road authorities elect to establish and identify a special system of important county roads, a statewide policy for such signing shall be established that includes a uniform numbering system to uniquely identify each route. The County Route (M1-6) sign shall consist of a pentagon shape with a yellow county name and route number and border on a blue background. County Route signs displaying two digits or the equivalent (letter and numeral, or two letters) shall be a minimum size of 18 x 18 inches; those carrying three digits or the equivalent shall be a minimum size of 24 x 24 inches.

[thenetwork]

Northwest New Mexico has 3 Pentagon styles.

FARMINGTON Area:
- Standard yellow-on-blue for county-maintained roads.
- Red-on-white for Non-county maintained roads, or NCM's

SHIPROCK/Navajo Indian reservation area:
- White-on-green pentagons.

[formulanone]

Except that green pentagons are normal for Douglas County, CO.  See here and here, for example.  Red pentagons are not normal for Greene County, AR.

What's the official word on using the blue pentagon?  Is that MUTCD-standard?  I know a lot of county route signage doesn't use the blue pentagon, particularly in Wisconsin and Missouri which have lettered county routes.

When I saw that green pentagon I posted on a business trip to the Littleton area, it struck me as unusual, and non-compliant.  It may be normal for Douglas County, but is it compliant?

Speaking of which, I found a faded green Boulder County 132 shield on SH 119 last week, but couldn't get a shot of it...I wasn't feeling too brave in low evening light.

Looking back, there's a dirt lot up ahead of the intersection which should be a safe place to park.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.005592,-105.3488375,3a,39.4y,275.54h,85.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2wu9Ws_R-YYp1fLIzD4vSw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[kphoger]

For those interested in Colorado's county road shields, Matt Salek has a page about them on his now-defunct site.  Nearly all of the images are dead links, but the info is still there in text form.

https://www.mesalek.com/colo/countynum.html

[J N Winkler]

Bambi has a lot to answer for:



(This drawing comes from the proyecto de construcción for a contract advertised by the Madrid autonomous community to make the M-501 corridor more permeable to wildlife.  The top panel is pattern-accurate, though the bottom one is not.)

[74/171FAN]

I am unsure how to best explain the I-95 shield on the NB exit sign here.  (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10218355817167290&set=a.10218355874488723)

[J N Winkler]

I am unsure how to best explain the I-95 shield on the NB exit sign here.  (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10218355817167290&set=a.10218355874488723)

They went (old) TxDOT-style and used a three-digit guide-sign shield for a two-digit route.

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/qEvwzGVzHsM45wLm7
Route for direction banner on ME 3 on Mount Desert Island.

[tckma]

https://goo.gl/maps/qEvwzGVzHsM45wLm7
Route for direction banner on ME 3 on Mount Desert Island.

I just looked at a map of ME-3.  Maine COULD do what Ontario does for the QEW, and sign control cities for the "direction."  "Ellsworth," "Ba Haba," and "Somesville" seem logical to me.

[kphoger]

https://goo.gl/maps/qEvwzGVzHsM45wLm7
Route for direction banner on ME 3 on Mount Desert Island.

Oh, that's definitely weird.

[hbelkins]

The last set of US 19/US 460 cutouts in Bluefield, Va., is gone. Replaced by this, as reported in the Sign Errors Facebook group.

[roadman65]

What is Scenic Downeast on a U.S. 1 guide in Ellsworth.?
https://goo.gl/maps/RKNCYijPwawFPW21A
Another unique guide.