After a recent (read: last weekend) trip to Ottawa, there are two things I'm currently wondering about:
Ontario clearly does use FHWA Series typefaces, but there also seems to be a secondary one that looks a little blockier, used on some cardinal direction plaques and regulatory signs. Does anyone know what it is? (I wish I had pictures...)
Also, am I the only one who finds this diagrammatic (http://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.41966,-75.645504&spn=0.064462,0.190887&t=h&z=13&layer=c&cbll=45.419545,-75.646799&panoid=-cA71cfatBesda_oHqsGjQ&cbp=12,259.65,,0,-3.5)(link) confusing? Is this kind of diagrammatic common in Ontario?
More inaccurate than confusing. Of the four lanes, lanes 1-3 carry through traffic and lanes 3-4 are exit lanes. The yellow diagrammatic in the background confirms this and appears to be far more accurate.
Also: "Drive" and "Parkway" are both "Promenade" en francais?!
Yup. 2 through lanes, 1 option lane and 1 dropped lane. The most important problem on that sign is that the diag begins with tree lanes instead of four, so the option lane seems to spawn out of nowhere between the dropped and through lanes. The exact same diagrammatic appears on the following exit (118), too.
Indeed, the yellow sign is much easier to read.
EDIT: Yes, both words translate to "Promenade" in French.
EDIT2: Picture that shows what's wrong with the sign.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdrfrankenstein.homedns.org%3A8080%2Fimages%2Fsigns%2FON%2F417%2Fon-diag-fail.jpeg&hash=caebfdfb157ad0c12cfd1ac8452c4fe41532c5d8)
I guess the blocky font that your talking about looks like this:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg191.imageshack.us%2Fimg191%2F2301%2Fhelv.png&hash=050a8cacdaf56f6ec0767ec9a5fc5a9187a184d0)
If so then it's a bolded and narrowed version of Helvetica, I don't why they decided to use that on some directional tabs since there's some done in regular FHWA too.
I also kind of find that diagrammatic inaccurate too as it kind of shows that the right lane is a exit lane to me, it reminds me a bit of this one on Hwy. 2A in Scarborough:
Streetview Link (http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=43.790397,-79.155893&spn=0.010998,0.019119&z=16&layer=c&cbll=43.790533,-79.155667&panoid=SoUYZIrtjf_Cz0jA1jnFhQ&cbp=12,79.76,,2,1.44) and this one on the 401: link (http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/1609/hwy401westallenctr.jpg) Both are for offramps that taper off from a mainline lane instead of having a separate exit lane for it, which I think current Ontario freeway sign design don't show well.
Quote from: Kniwt on November 08, 2010, 09:37:15 PM
(...) "Drive" and "Parkway" are both "Promenade" en francais?!
I think yes... / Je pense que oui...
EDIT: Dr Frankenstein, j'avais pas vu que t'avais répondu / I've dont seen you have responded.