Regional Boards > Northwest
US Route 101 in Washington
jay8g:
If 101 was L-shaped or zigzagging (as SR 20 is), that would be one thing. But as it is, it's basically U-shaped, so the way WSDOT does it is the only way that makes sense -- splitting up the route doesn't work very well because there are just no logical points to do so (as the maps above make very clear), and double-signing would just be super confusing.
I'm pretty sure the current signing structure has been in place for much longer than just since the 2000s. The signs at SR 20 are old enough that they don't have the current large-number date sticker on the back (which WSDOT started using sometime in the 90s -- I think the oldest one I've seen was 92) and correctly shows US 101 towards Olympia as southbound, without any obvious signs of that having been changed. These two signs in Port Angeles are similarly ancient. Also, I grew up on the Peninsula around that time, and I imagine it would have been a huge news story if WSDOT had suddenly decided to change the signed highway directions.
Bruce:
The 1970 Annual Traffic Report uses WB/EB to describe the Port Angeles area section of US 101 and I see similar references to westbound/eastbound in newspapers from that era, so safe to say this has been in place for well over 50 years.
pderocco:
If a route loops around over a great distance, as is usually the case, I think basing the signage on the dominant direction in that part of the road makes more sense than basing it on the overall direction of the entire road. This is because you can't have, using this road as the example, US-101N/S suddenly turning into US-101S/N. There will be a substantial stretch where it switches to US-101E/W between the two. So while driving in any particular area, the suffixes will be meaningful to any driver with a reasonable sense of direction and understanding of the geography, and not confusing in any way.
A 360-degree beltway could use N/S for roughly one quarter, then E/W for the next quarter clockwise, then S/N for the next quarter, and W/E for the next one.
Cape Cod could switch US-6 from E/W to N/S at the Orleans circle, and then W/E in Provincetown.
I notice that CA-18 and CA-38 in the San Bernardino Mountains have dramatic doubling back. Both or basically horizontal through most of their lengths, but a line connecting the ends of CA-38 is closer to vertical. California solves that by simply not putting directions or direction suffixes on any of the signs.
Quillz:
--- Quote from: Bruce on October 02, 2022, 03:42:28 AM ---The 1970 Annual Traffic Report uses WB/EB to describe the Port Angeles area section of US 101 and I see similar references to westbound/eastbound in newspapers from that era, so safe to say this has been in place for well over 50 years.
--- End quote ---
This is interesting. I remember seeing N/S signage on the eastern half of the 101 loop, but I guess it's me misremembering. I do recall a few other sites mentioning the signage change occurred sometime during the 90s, kind of matching up with what I remembered, but those are unreliable.
Quillz:
--- Quote from: pderocco on October 02, 2022, 05:13:18 PM ---If a route loops around over a great distance, as is usually the case, I think basing the signage on the dominant direction in that part of the road makes more sense than basing it on the overall direction of the entire road. This is because you can't have, using this road as the example, US-101N/S suddenly turning into US-101S/N. There will be a substantial stretch where it switches to US-101E/W between the two. So while driving in any particular area, the suffixes will be meaningful to any driver with a reasonable sense of direction and understanding of the geography, and not confusing in any way.
A 360-degree beltway could use N/S for roughly one quarter, then E/W for the next quarter clockwise, then S/N for the next quarter, and W/E for the next one.
Cape Cod could switch US-6 from E/W to N/S at the Orleans circle, and then W/E in Provincetown.
I notice that CA-18 and CA-38 in the San Bernardino Mountains have dramatic doubling back. Both or basically horizontal through most of their lengths, but a line connecting the ends of CA-38 is closer to vertical. California solves that by simply not putting directions or direction suffixes on any of the signs.
--- End quote ---
Yes, CA-18 is probably the strangest route in California. Only the straight portions out in the desert (west of 15) will be consistently signed. The rest just isn't. Though there's no reason it couldn't just do what 101 around the peninsula does, and just have direction banners that are relevant only to that portion. CA-18 did make a bit more sense originally, though, when it actually started in the LA area (thus its number). It had more west-east alignment that fit something of a grid. Only then did it turn northeast and go through the mountains.
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