AARoads Forum

https://www.aaroads.com/pa/078/i-078-e-exit-040-4.jpg
This photo courtesy of AA Roads shows a type of overpass that was quite common once within the commonwealth of PA.  Sadly, what I used to find fascinating that these design structures built similar to railroad overpasses, is now being phased out for the more conventional type of overpass.

I know, things get old and outlive their service life, but I hate to see a part of roadding history go at the same time.

Button copy is becoming less and less common in California as signs get replaced. I particularly will miss this style of button copy shields:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Faaroads.com%2Fshields%2Fimg%2FCA%2FCA19700052i1.jpg&hash=1b889cb2217a0cbd30c3877ee1e4293969545310)
Aesthetically, I think the thicker border combined with the thinner crossbar looks really nice. This style dates back to at least the 1970s or so, if not older.

(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTSzpI0R-JMsFehWWffSy0htIsZPXPVZw-tCZCMX8kv5R_PEnzdmSPKmkEsDo5cOu2w3FI&usqp=CAU)

Flashing green lights in Massachusetts, although they're not entirely gone. In my opinion, they should be used when there's a pedestrian crossing not at an intersection, although some of the current flashing greens are at intersections.

I don't live in flashing green territory, but the pushbutton on the nearest three-headed flashing yellow to me doesn't work.

I was sad to see all the short urban/suburban state highways in Indiana get decommissioned, like 73, 112, 123, 131, 141, 219, 431, 435

I get that INDOT needs to focus more on inter-regional connections, but it would be nice if they could work out a way to have locally maintained roads still signed as state highways.

Wooden signposts in Colorado, being replaced by those godawful yellow things.

Trombone arms in Wisconsin.

Chicagoland trombone trusses.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/576638889838772234/1029393041007579146/unknown.png)

The square signs that Kentucky used for its three- and four-digit state routes up until the 1970s.

Now even District 12 (Pikeville), which was the last holdout for using the circles-in-squares signs for four-digit routes, is using the wider oval-or-ellipse-in-rectangle signs for the four-digit routes and wider shields-in-rectangles for US 119 and US 460.

I'm not OCD, but the uniform square signs make for cleaner looking assemblies.

In West Virginia, the "delta" routes and the old-style county route markers -- all-cap lettering with a white outlined circle and white numbers with the inside of the circle being green like the rest of the sign.

Quote from: Quillz on October 11, 2022, 08:29:42 AM
Button copy is becoming less and less common in California as signs get replaced. I particularly will miss this style of button copy shields:

Image cut

Aesthetically, I think the thicker border combined with the thinner crossbar looks really nice. This style dates back to at least the 1970s or so, if not older.

Came here to say the same thing.  I love the aesthetic of button copy and find modern vinyl signage boring to look at. 

The thiin black outlines around route shields on BGSes in Iowa.

Mike

    Trombone arms in Wisconsin.


Munis can and still do use them.  Appleton just repaved a major street in its downtown area this past summer (Appleton St) and ALL of its signalized intersections got them.   They look really nice. :cool:

Mike

Quote from: Hobart on October 11, 2022, 10:00:54 AM
Chicagoland trombone trusses.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/576638889838772234/1029393041007579146/unknown.png)

But Wiscosin's have those horizontal signal heads.  :nod:

Mike

Minnesota's three-post setup with the diagonal wind brace for standalone ground signs. Still more than a few around but actively being replaced with the single rectangular post in many spots.

Large one-piece sign assemblies. A lot of independent cities still do them, but they've become very rare in VDOT-maintained jurisdictions.

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on October 11, 2022, 01:15:36 PM
Minnesota's three-post setup with the diagonal wind brace for standalone ground signs. Still more than a few around but actively being replaced with the single rectangular post in many spots.

I didn't realize those were going away.

Quote from: mgk920 on October 11, 2022, 01:09:34 PM
    Trombone arms in Wisconsin.


Munis can and still do use them.  Appleton just repaved a major street in its downtown area this past summer (Appleton St) and ALL of its signalized intersections got them.   They look really nice. :cool:

Mike

When I was in Madison this summer, I saw a lot of them there - although I'm not sure if they're new installs or pre-existing ones.

Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on October 11, 2022, 09:40:17 AM
Wooden signposts in Colorado, being replaced by those godawful yellow things.

IDOT does the same thing. So many of their posts are yellow and they look awful. Especially on signs with conflicting colors like green or blue.

The black-background shields in Idaho, as well as their brown variant for scenic routes. They look much better than their replacements (which are still being phased in).

I will always have nostalgia for the old exit numbers in Massachusetts.

Another one to add for Wisconsin, I'll miss the wooden uni-signs. They've now switched over to using sheet metal in an effort to be more sustainable, but the wooden signs just felt so right. I wouldn't be surprised to see a reversal to the policy one day when wood becomes the more "sustainable" hot topic.

I miss the old rural roadsides (https://www.impulsivetravelerguy.com/old-school-rest-stops-wisconsin-waysides-and-michigan-roadside-parks/). I remember them along several highways in Wisconsin when I was younger. They typically weren't much - a couple picnic tables and maybe an outhouse with parking for 4-6 cars - but they were great for a picnic when traveling along the old two-lane highways. I remember my mom packing sandwiches and we'd stop to eat at one on our way to campgrounds "Up North" or on our periodic vacation trips to Mackinac Island.

Wayside picnic areas are only useful if there's a bathroom.

I miss the Tennessee Scenic Highway auxiliary signs that were posted along scenic highways throughout the state.  They had the larger ones and then the small reassurance ones.
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/traffic-engineering/TN-Supplement%20to%20Highway%20Signs%202018%20final.pdf (https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/traffic-engineering/TN-Supplement%20to%20Highway%20Signs%202018%20final.pdf)

Quote from: Avalanchez71 on October 11, 2022, 06:50:15 PM
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/traffic-engineering/TN-Supplement%20to%20Highway%20Signs%202018%20final.pdf (https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/traffic-engineering/TN-Supplement%20to%20Highway%20Signs%202018%20final.pdf)

Page number??

Quote from: kphoger on October 11, 2022, 07:56:46 PM
Page number??

Main sign: 
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0328/3245/4791/products/IS-17-1818_b9f49c37-fd37-4b10-9d27-e23a8517678f.jpg?v=1642175829)

Auxiliary sign (usually posted above the route shield: 
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Tennessee_Scenic_Parkway_Small.svg/753px-Tennessee_Scenic_Parkway_Small.svg.png)

I'm not sure, but it seems like the disappearance of these signs is related to development along many of these routes over the years, rendering some of the routes to be less scenic and more (choke) developed.

Sorry, I thought I had added the page number.  The standard for the TN-22a sign and TN-22b auxiliary banner can be found on Page 34.
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/traffic-engineering/TN-Supplement%20to%20Highway%20Signs%202018%20final.pdf (https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/traffic-engineering/TN-Supplement%20to%20Highway%20Signs%202018%20final.pdf)

Utah - the steady disappearance of the old, pre-2000s beehive shields.

Quote from: Dirt Roads on October 11, 2022, 09:07:45 PM

Quote from: kphoger on October 11, 2022, 07:56:46 PM
Page number??

Main sign: 
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0328/3245/4791/products/IS-17-1818_b9f49c37-fd37-4b10-9d27-e23a8517678f.jpg?v=1642175829)

Auxiliary sign (usually posted above the route shield: 
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Tennessee_Scenic_Parkway_Small.svg/753px-Tennessee_Scenic_Parkway_Small.svg.png)

I'm not sure, but it seems like the disappearance of these signs is related to development along many of these routes over the years, rendering some of the routes to be less scenic and more (choke) developed.

Sorry, I thought I had added the page number.  The standard for the TN-22a sign and TN-22b auxiliary banner can be found on Page 34.
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/traffic-engineering/TN-Supplement%20to%20Highway%20Signs%202018%20final.pdf (https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/traffic-engineering/TN-Supplement%20to%20Highway%20Signs%202018%20final.pdf)

SR 266 in Smyrna on Sam Ridley Pkwy is designated as a scenic parkway.  That should have been undesignated years ago.  It was designated once upon a time when the route was sleepy and scenic.  It is suburban sprawl now.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9742694,-86.5691078,3a,15y,22.12h,90.4t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4NCDlfuter6-zVL1NjjNgg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 (https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9742694,-86.5691078,3a,15y,22.12h,90.4t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4NCDlfuter6-zVL1NjjNgg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192)

Thanks to a reconstruction project at the Circle Interchange and the Rapid-Fire ramps, I was unhappy to find that the brown gantries leading up to the interchange were gone. Those were my favorite features on that part of I-90/I-94.

What makes suburban "sprawl" automatically not scenic?

There are still plenty of those smaller mockingbird signs all over Middle and East Tennessee.

Earlier I spoke of the square signs for three- and four-digit routes in Kentucky. Then I saw this old photo on Facebook:

(https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/278276583_8134336613258942_4708968816983342462_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p843x403&_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=0debeb&_nc_ohc=E8NWslXIb8IAX9c7O7I&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&oh=00_AT_M_3_3FrwtGIQw3eI1E8j9S0k7D5Ko5udxOegBj-Z5Wg&oe=634C74FC)

Much better looking than what's there now:

(https://storage.googleapis.com/kytc-photolog-data/Van7_Mandli_Data_2021/04-23-2021/2021_V7_089-US-431N/2021_V7_089-US-431N/Right/Dir_023/R_02300.jpg)

Quote from: Henry on October 12, 2022, 10:56:52 AM
Thanks to a reconstruction project at the Circle Interchange and the Rapid-Fire ramps, I was unhappy to find that the brown gantries leading up to the interchange were gone. Those were my favorite features on that part of I-90/I-94.

I've got bad news for you regarding the brown gantries on the Kennedy north of downtown...

Quote from: ran4sh on October 12, 2022, 11:13:48 AM
What makes suburban "sprawl" automatically not scenic?

What about dozens of fast-food restaurants and department stores is scenic?

Distinctive bridge designs in most states, replaced by look-alike AASHTO beam crap.

For Florida the colored US Route shields.

Quote from: Quillz on October 11, 2022, 08:29:42 AM
Button copy is becoming less and less common in California as signs get replaced. I particularly will miss this style of button copy shields:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Faaroads.com%2Fshields%2Fimg%2FCA%2FCA19700052i1.jpg&hash=1b889cb2217a0cbd30c3877ee1e4293969545310)
Aesthetically, I think the thicker border combined with the thinner crossbar looks really nice. This style dates back to at least the 1970s or so, if not older.

Same here anytime a freeway repair or repave project happens Caltrans removes the Button Copy because some of the signs have rust on them.

Michigan:  Underlined cardinal directions on BGSs.

(https://i.imgur.com/A2eoc1A.jpg)

Louisiana's green & white state highway signs.

Quote from: cjk374 on October 12, 2022, 11:26:12 PM
Louisiana's green & white state highway signs.

I was just about to post this exact thing. Also, I'll miss all the state highways that are being removed and turned into parish roads.

Quote from: cjk374 on October 12, 2022, 11:26:12 PM
Louisiana's green & white state highway signs.

Rare color scheme. Even rarer is the reverse, green on white. South Dakota and Vermont come to mind.

Offhand, I think there are only five states that don't use black-on-white route shields: California, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, South Carolina. Louisiana switched to black-on-white around 2014 or so.

(https://imgur.com/DjbMYhz.jpg)

The Old BG Sign^

Quote from: Quillz on October 13, 2022, 03:24:35 AM

Quote from: cjk374 on October 12, 2022, 11:26:12 PM
Louisiana's green & white state highway signs.

Rare color scheme. Even rarer is the reverse, green on white. South Dakota and Vermont come to mind.

Offhand, I think there are only five states that don't use black-on-white route shields: California, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, South Carolina. Louisiana switched to black-on-white around 2014 or so.

You're missing Kansas (black on yellow). New Mexico uses a red accent, but the numbers are black on white.

Quote from: Scott5114 on October 13, 2022, 08:15:57 AM

Quote from: Quillz on October 13, 2022, 03:24:35 AM

Quote from: cjk374 on October 12, 2022, 11:26:12 PM
Louisiana's green & white state highway signs.

Rare color scheme. Even rarer is the reverse, green on white. South Dakota and Vermont come to mind.

Offhand, I think there are only five states that don't use black-on-white route shields: California, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, South Carolina. Louisiana switched to black-on-white around 2014 or so.

You're missing Kansas (black on yellow). New Mexico uses a red accent, but the numbers are black on white.

That reminds me that Wyoming is also black-on-yellow. I didn't really consider New Mexico because it's still black-on-white when it comes to legend on a background.

On a slightly related note, Florida's colorful US highway shields. They were discontinued around 1993 or so. Each US highway had a different color and it was supposed to be that no routes with a similar color scheme would junction, although this didn't always happen. Arizona also had a similar system a long time ago, around the 1950s or so.

Quote from: XamotCGC on October 13, 2022, 03:49:55 AM
(https://imgur.com/DjbMYhz.jpg)

The Old BG Sign^

All the old parkway signs.

I wonder there may be an effort upcoming to change the parkway signs again. State government is moving away from the "Unbridled Spirit" branding in favor of "Team Kentucky." I wasn't a fan of "Unbridled Spirit" and was certainly not happy with the decision to change the parkway signage to include that logo, but I dislike "Team Kentucky" infinitely more for a number of reasons.

https://routemarkers.com/usa/Connecticut/Conn_Tpk.gif

Old mercury-vapor and high-pressure sodium lights being replaced with LEDs. The MV/HPS luminaires always had very distinct designs from one another, so you were going to see variety everywhere you went. The LED ones, though, all look the same to me, boring with no style at all.

Quote from: Quillz on October 13, 2022, 03:24:35 AM
Offhand, I think there are only five states that don't use black-on-white route shields: California, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, South Carolina. Louisiana switched to black-on-white around 2014 or so.

I mean, that is specifically included in MUTCD guidance, after all.

Quote from: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices – 2009 Edition
Chapter 2D – Guide Signs – Conventional Roads

§ 2D.11 – Design of Route Signs

Guidance:

11 – State Route signs (see Figure 2D-3) should be rectangular and should be approximately the same size as the U.S. Route sign. State Route signs should also be similar to the U.S. Route sign by containing approximately the same size black numerals on a white area surrounded by a rectangular black background without a border. The shape of the white area should be circular in the absence of any determination to the contrary by the individual State concerned.

Hey, by the way...  I see in the MUTCD that if "county road authorities elect to establish and identify a special system of important county roads", then "a statewide policy for such signing shall be established that includes a uniform numbering system to uniquely identify each route".  What implications does this have?  Does this mean that counties can't decide for themselves what numbers to use?  Does this mean that Colorado's hodgepodge of route markers runs in violation of the MUTCD?

I miss the Florida colored US highway signs.

Quote from: kphoger on October 13, 2022, 11:56:40 AM

Quote from: Quillz on October 13, 2022, 03:24:35 AM
Offhand, I think there are only five states that don't use black-on-white route shields: California, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, South Carolina. Louisiana switched to black-on-white around 2014 or so.

I mean, that is specifically included in MUTCD guidance, after all.

Quote from: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices – 2009 Edition
Chapter 2D – Guide Signs – Conventional Roads

§ 2D.11 – Design of Route Signs

Guidance:

11 – State Route signs (see Figure 2D-3) should be rectangular and should be approximately the same size as the U.S. Route sign. State Route signs should also be similar to the U.S. Route sign by containing approximately the same size black numerals on a white area surrounded by a rectangular black background without a border. The shape of the white area should be circular in the absence of any determination to the contrary by the individual State concerned.

Hey, by the way...  I see in the MUTCD that if "county road authorities elect to establish and identify a special system of important county roads", then "a statewide policy for such signing shall be established that includes a uniform numbering system to uniquely identify each route".  What implications does this have?  Does this mean that counties can't decide for themselves what numbers to use?  Does this mean that Colorado's hodgepodge of route markers runs in violation of the MUTCD?

Could the statewide policy be to have no policy?  :spin:

Quote from: Henry on October 13, 2022, 10:31:24 AM
Old mercury-vapor and high-pressure sodium lights being replaced with LEDs. The MV/HPS luminaires always had very distinct designs from one another, so you were going to see variety everywhere you went. The LED ones, though, all look the same to me, boring with no style at all.

Forget that, I just miss the orange glow from the lights instead of blinding white. Technically, the white LEDs are safer and provide more visibility, but I'll miss the old ones.

Quote from: wanderer2575 on October 12, 2022, 10:54:39 PM
Michigan:  Underlined cardinal directions on BGSs.

On a similar note, MDOT using traditional FHWA fonts.

I don't like taking the state names off interstate signs. 

Quote from: texaskdog on October 13, 2022, 04:18:28 PM
I don't like taking the state names off interstate signs.

Especially the ones with long state names like "WEST VIRGINIA", "NORTH CAROLINA", and even better is the one that is not a state "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA".  (Sorry, didn't mean to snub South Carolina, but I just happen to be connected to the other three).

Quote from: hbelkins on October 13, 2022, 09:41:26 AM

Quote from: XamotCGC on October 13, 2022, 03:49:55 AM
(https://imgur.com/DjbMYhz.jpg)

The Old BG Sign^

All the old parkway signs.

I wonder there may be an effort upcoming to change the parkway signs again. State government is moving away from the "Unbridled Spirit" branding in favor of "Team Kentucky." I wasn't a fan of "Unbridled Spirit" and was certainly not happy with the decision to change the parkway signage to include that logo, but I dislike "Team Kentucky" infinitely more for a number of reasons.

I disliked it when they attached the governor's names onto the parkways names.  Too wordy for my tastes.   

Quote from: XamotCGC on October 13, 2022, 03:49:55 AM
(https://imgur.com/DjbMYhz.jpg)

The Old BG Sign^

Also the old tree shield for the Mountain Parkway.  I still haven't bit the bullet and paid a fabricator to make one for me.

Quote from: Quillz on October 13, 2022, 08:22:15 AM
On a slightly related note, Florida's colorful US highway shields. They were discontinued around 1993 or so. Each US highway had a different color and it was supposed to be that no routes with a similar color scheme would junction, although this didn't always happen. Arizona also had a similar system a long time ago, around the 1950s or so.

Arizona's colored US highway shields weren't set up that way though. They had four colors, and which one they used was determined by whether you were going north/south/east/west on the US highway in question.

Quote from: US 89 on October 14, 2022, 12:04:57 AM

Quote from: Quillz on October 13, 2022, 08:22:15 AM
On a slightly related note, Florida's colorful US highway shields. They were discontinued around 1993 or so. Each US highway had a different color and it was supposed to be that no routes with a similar color scheme would junction, although this didn't always happen. Arizona also had a similar system a long time ago, around the 1950s or so.

Arizona's colored US highway shields weren't set up that way though. They had four colors, and which one they used was determined by whether you were going north/south/east/west on the US highway in question.

Yeah, I know how they worked, was an interesting idea to associate color with direction. I just meant the concept of having colored shields in general. Kind of a neat little moment in time. But then the government said they would withhold gas tax funds if non-standard shields were used, so Florida discontinued them.

Quote from: US 89 on October 14, 2022, 12:04:57 AM

Quote from: Quillz on October 13, 2022, 08:22:15 AM
On a slightly related note, Florida's colorful US highway shields. They were discontinued around 1993 or so. Each US highway had a different color and it was supposed to be that no routes with a similar color scheme would junction, although this didn't always happen. Arizona also had a similar system a long time ago, around the 1950s or so.

Arizona's colored US highway shields weren't set up that way though. They had four colors, and which one they used was determined by whether you were going north/south/east/west on the US highway in question.

I'd add that I miss the colored Phoenix loop shields. Maybe if they picked a color other than brown, they would last longer. Black, blue, and green would've been fine options.

Quote from: Rothman on October 13, 2022, 11:07:23 PM

Quote from: XamotCGC on October 13, 2022, 03:49:55 AM
(https://imgur.com/DjbMYhz.jpg)

The Old BG Sign^

Also the old tree shield for the Mountain Parkway.  I still haven't bit the bullet and paid a fabricator to make one for me.

I saw one on sale on Etsy the other day. Looks like it had actually been posted in the field.

I need to go up to our sign shop and see if they have any old ones still hanging around.

I have a second-generation Daniel Boone Parkway (the round logo in a square blank) sign that has never been posted in the field in my office.

Quote from: hbelkins on October 14, 2022, 11:04:51 AM

Quote from: Rothman on October 13, 2022, 11:07:23 PM

Quote from: XamotCGC on October 13, 2022, 03:49:55 AM
(https://imgur.com/DjbMYhz.jpg)

The Old BG Sign^

Also the old tree shield for the Mountain Parkway.  I still haven't bit the bullet and paid a fabricator to make one for me.

I saw one on sale on Etsy the other day. Looks like it had actually been posted in the field.

I need to go up to our sign shop and see if they have any old ones still hanging around.

I have a second-generation Daniel Boone Parkway (the round logo in a square blank) sign that has never been posted in the field in my office.

Heh.  If the sign shop has any, pick one up for me.  I'd come down there to get it.

Kansas used to have "20 MILES" signs for major tourist attractions like Boot Hill in Dodge City--those have been disappearing.

About the only things I can think of that are disappearing from Colorado roads (other than free flowing traffic) are interstate business routes. Don't know if I care too much about those on the era of cell phones.

I miss the old Mass. Pike signs with the pilgrim hat.

●  Virginia's small, old cut-out shields for state and US Routes

●  Black traffic-light backplates without the yellow outlines (starting to be phased out with new signal replacements).

● Ticket-based toll roads, or any toll road with traditional tolling gates/barriers.

I will miss the center tab exit signs on MA 128 in Peabody/Danvers. With the recent construction there, they are gradually being replaced by overhead signs.

I have always liked North Carolina's black-on-white directional signs along state and US highways. There are still plenty to be found, mostly down east, but i haven't ever seen a new one placed.

Quote from: fillup420 on October 16, 2022, 03:38:04 PM
I have always liked North Carolina's black-on-white directional signs along state and US highways. There are still plenty to be found, mostly down east, but i haven't ever seen a new one placed.

This was new when I first moved here:  https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0459884,-79.0228185,3a,15y,41.05h,87.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEAJyVem84tkbAouSvRvqcg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
I like the older wooden versions where the tip is cut into a wedge next to the chevron arrow.

West Virginia's "EMERGENCY" routes, posted as permanent detours around chemical plants.  The one's I remember were EMERGENCY US-60 bypassing the Union Carbide plant through downtown South Charleston and EMERGENCY WV-2 bypassing the PPG Chlorine Plant in Natrium.  There may have been others.  I seem to remember seeing another EMERGENCY WV-2 bypassing the Allied Chemical Plant in Moundsville, but I can't find any evidence of any road that could have been located far enough away to make a useful emergency route.  The emergency route around the Charleston Industrial Plant (nitrocellulose "redwop" explosives) in Nitro was already posted as US-35 (later WV-62).

I just looked up to see what "redwop" really means.  Turns out that it was TNT powder, spelled backwards.  It was also one of the names originally considered for the town of Nitro that grew up around the explosives plant.

Quote from: Dirt Roads on October 16, 2022, 04:12:40 PM

Quote from: fillup420 on October 16, 2022, 03:38:04 PM
I have always liked North Carolina's black-on-white directional signs along state and US highways. There are still plenty to be found, mostly down east, but i haven't ever seen a new one placed.

This was new when I first moved here:  https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0459884,-79.0228185,3a,15y,41.05h,87.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEAJyVem84tkbAouSvRvqcg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
I like the older wooden versions where the tip is cut into a wedge next to the chevron arrow.

Washington seems to use these, too. But they are white-on-green instead. They also aren't cutouts.

Quote from: Ted$8roadFan on October 15, 2022, 12:32:10 PM
I miss the old Mass. Pike signs with the pilgrim hat.

For a second, I thought you were advocating use of the Tridentine Rite.

Quote from: JoePCool14 on October 13, 2022, 04:11:48 PM

Quote from: kphoger on October 13, 2022, 11:56:40 AM

Quote from: Quillz on October 13, 2022, 03:24:35 AM
Offhand, I think there are only five states that don't use black-on-white route shields: California, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, South Carolina. Louisiana switched to black-on-white around 2014 or so.

I mean, that is specifically included in MUTCD guidance, after all.

Quote from: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices – 2009 Edition
Chapter 2D – Guide Signs – Conventional Roads

§ 2D.11 – Design of Route Signs

Guidance:

11 – State Route signs (see Figure 2D-3) should be rectangular and should be approximately the same size as the U.S. Route sign. State Route signs should also be similar to the U.S. Route sign by containing approximately the same size black numerals on a white area surrounded by a rectangular black background without a border. The shape of the white area should be circular in the absence of any determination to the contrary by the individual State concerned.

Hey, by the way...  I see in the MUTCD that if "county road authorities elect to establish and identify a special system of important county roads", then "a statewide policy for such signing shall be established that includes a uniform numbering system to uniquely identify each route".  What implications does this have?  Does this mean that counties can't decide for themselves what numbers to use?  Does this mean that Colorado's hodgepodge of route markers runs in violation of the MUTCD?

Could the statewide policy be to have no policy?  :spin:

Quote from: Henry on October 13, 2022, 10:31:24 AM
Old mercury-vapor and high-pressure sodium lights being replaced with LEDs. The MV/HPS luminaires always had very distinct designs from one another, so you were going to see variety everywhere you went. The LED ones, though, all look the same to me, boring with no style at all.

Forget that, I just miss the orange glow from the lights instead of blinding white. Technically, the white LEDs are safer and provide more visibility, but I'll miss the old ones.

Quote from: wanderer2575 on October 12, 2022, 10:54:39 PM
Michigan:  Underlined cardinal directions on BGSs.

On a similar note, MDOT using traditional FHWA fonts.

Agreed on the old Michigan font.   The "14" in the bridge height banner is an example of the normal width font (there was also a narrow version) while the "4" is a FHWA font.   The best chance to see the old font today is on these signs.

Quote from: mgk920 on October 11, 2022, 01:09:34 PM
    Trombone arms in Wisconsin.


Munis can and still do use them.  Appleton just repaved a major street in its downtown area this past summer (Appleton St) and ALL of its signalized intersections got them.   They look really nice. :cool:

Mike

I am glad to see those go. Never understood why they were ever used. Although aside from Milwaukee County Brown County and Eau Clarie County plenty of them are still around.

The specific styling for Oklahoma City numbered streets from button copy signage: "S. E. 15^TH St."

"SE 15th St" just isn't the same.

My childhood hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska has been changing all the horizontal traffic lights to vertical ones over the past 10 years or so. Growing up I was unaware that they were uncommon until I moved elsewhere. It was one of the things I appreciated whenever I'd go back as it was a nice reminder of me being there.

(https://gray-koln-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/oBqQ09kmwPmw3P8tFJ2TuMOcY7A=/1200x675/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/Z6X2PPY4RZKDVHQ3UUJ7IW4RYM.jpg)

Quote from: Scott5114 on October 22, 2022, 09:24:29 PM
The specific styling for Oklahoma City numbered streets from button copy signage: "S. E. 15^TH St."

"SE 15th St" just isn't the same.

You want that Arialveticservik (???) sign to come back eh?

Quote from: mrose on October 23, 2022, 12:56:12 AM
My childhood hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska has been changing all the horizontal traffic lights to vertical ones over the past 10 years or so. Growing up I was unaware that they were uncommon until I moved elsewhere. It was one of the things I appreciated whenever I'd go back as it was a nice reminder of me being there.

(https://gray-koln-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/oBqQ09kmwPmw3P8tFJ2TuMOcY7A=/1200x675/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/Z6X2PPY4RZKDVHQ3UUJ7IW4RYM.jpg)

Pretty sure these are still common in Canada IIRC.

Quote from: TheGrassGuy on October 27, 2022, 06:39:04 PM

Quote from: mrose on October 23, 2022, 12:56:12 AM
My childhood hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska has been changing all the horizontal traffic lights to vertical ones over the past 10 years or so. Growing up I was unaware that they were uncommon until I moved elsewhere. It was one of the things I appreciated whenever I'd go back as it was a nice reminder of me being there.

(https://gray-koln-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/oBqQ09kmwPmw3P8tFJ2TuMOcY7A=/1200x675/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/Z6X2PPY4RZKDVHQ3UUJ7IW4RYM.jpg)

Pretty sure these are still common in Canada IIRC.

I mean, you don't even have to go to Canada for that. Horizontal signals are everywhere in certain parts of the US - New Mexico and parts of Texas and Florida instantly come to mind.

Quote from: US 89 on November 04, 2022, 09:37:59 AM

Quote from: TheGrassGuy on October 27, 2022, 06:39:04 PM

Quote from: mrose on October 23, 2022, 12:56:12 AM
My childhood hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska has been changing all the horizontal traffic lights to vertical ones over the past 10 years or so. Growing up I was unaware that they were uncommon until I moved elsewhere. It was one of the things I appreciated whenever I'd go back as it was a nice reminder of me being there.

(https://gray-koln-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/oBqQ09kmwPmw3P8tFJ2TuMOcY7A=/1200x675/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/Z6X2PPY4RZKDVHQ3UUJ7IW4RYM.jpg)

Pretty sure these are still common in Canada IIRC.

I mean, you don't even have to go to Canada for that. Horizontal signals are everywhere in certain parts of the US - New Mexico and parts of Texas and Florida instantly come to mind.

And a lot of places in Wisconsin still with the trombone arms.

The white background signs with the Louisiana State shape in green for Louisiana State Highways. They are being replaced by green background and white state shapes or  a black sign with a a white outline and numbers.