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The Worst of Road Signs

Started by Scott5114, September 21, 2010, 04:01:21 AM

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US 89



TBKS1

Quote from: US 89 on August 25, 2018, 01:23:32 PM
From Atlanta:



It looks like they got the arrow right on it at least.
I take pictures of road signs, that's about it.

General rule of thumb: Just stay in the "Traffic Control" section of the forum and you'll be fine.

plain

They definitely could've left out the I-. Even if they didn't put INTERSTATE in the red part, it still would've looked better than what's there now.
Newark born, Richmond bred

Eth

On I-195 eastbound in Miami Beach:



All sorts of mismatched arrows, poorly aligned text, a weird text-only reference to A1A that adds superfluous hyphens, a 2-digit Florida SR shield horizontally stretched to 3-digit width, and...whatever that exit only panel is supposed to be. Just trash this and start over.

cjk374

Quote from: Eth on August 26, 2018, 08:46:05 PM
On I-195 eastbound in Miami Beach:



All sorts of mismatched arrows, poorly aligned text, a weird text-only reference to A1A that adds superfluous hyphens, a 2-digit Florida SR shield horizontally stretched to 3-digit width, and...whatever that exit only panel is supposed to be. Just trash this and start over.

It looks as though the matching arrow used to be in the exit only tab, but maybe peeled off or something?

I didn't know FL had 2 & 3 digit shields. The state outline looks normal. It doesn't look stretched to me like how the AL shields looks terrible when it is stretched out to 3 digits.
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

formulanone

Quote from: cjk374 on August 27, 2018, 06:42:12 AM
Quote from: Eth on August 26, 2018, 08:46:05 PM
On I-195 eastbound in Miami Beach:



All sorts of mismatched arrows, poorly aligned text, a weird text-only reference to A1A that adds superfluous hyphens, a 2-digit Florida SR shield horizontally stretched to 3-digit width, and...whatever that exit only panel is supposed to be. Just trash this and start over.

It looks as though the matching arrow used to be in the exit only tab, but maybe peeled off or something?

I didn't know FL had 2 & 3 digit shields. The state outline looks normal. It doesn't look stretched to me like how the AL shields looks terrible when it is stretched out to 3 digits.

The shape of the state outline varies a little from shield to shield...I would go as far as to say there is almost no exact standard. Stretched outlines are becoming more plentiful, and usually the ugliest offenders are on guide signs.

Eth

Quote from: cjk374 on August 27, 2018, 06:42:12 AM
I didn't know FL had 2 & 3 digit shields. The state outline looks normal. It doesn't look stretched to me like how the AL shields looks terrible when it is stretched out to 3 digits.

Typically, for a 3-digit shield, the state outline itself is unchanged, there's just more whitespace added to the left side to accommodate the longer number:



With the 907 shield above, notice the variations in line thickness; the vertical(ish) strokes are thicker than the horizontal ones, a telltale sign of stretching.

paulthemapguy

I never really paid attention to the details of Florida's 3-digit shields, but you're right!  Instead of centering the Florida outline (which would be dumb), Florida makes the right choice and just adds more space for the number to the left side.  (This is not a "worst of"--just an example of what's being described.)


FL-US319-160SJ by Paul Drives, on Flickr
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National collection status: 361/425. Only 64 route markers remain

hubcity

Bad enough to be "worst of" ? Crowding, odd font, and a misspelling (it should be "Lavallette" ...heck, even iOS spell check got that.) On NJ 35 approaching Seaside Heights...


hotdogPi

Quote from: hubcity on September 26, 2018, 09:16:21 AM
Bad enough to be "worst of" ? Crowding, odd font, and a misspelling (it should be "Lavallette" ...heck, even iOS spell check got that.) On NJ 35 approaching Seaside Heights...



That sign looks fine to me, except for the misspelling. A misspelling of a place name with nothing else does not qualify for worst of.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

tckma

Another ${deity}-awful street blade, this time in Audubon, PA:

https://goo.gl/maps/PFZkH92BU8m

jakeroot

Off topic but related to above post:

Is "LA" a common prefix for "Lane"? Here in the Northwest, "Ln" is used. I see "LA" (or "La") quite a lot in the DMV.

empirestate

Quote from: jakeroot on September 26, 2018, 05:56:41 PM
Off topic but related to above post:

Is "LA" a common prefix for "Lane"? Here in the Northwest, "Ln" is used. I see "LA" (or "La") quite a lot in the DMV.

"La" is what I grew up with, and I've always thought of "Ln" as an alternative form, despite it being the official abbreviation.

Brandon

Quote from: empirestate on September 27, 2018, 10:05:18 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on September 26, 2018, 05:56:41 PM
Off topic but related to above post:

Is "LA" a common prefix for "Lane"? Here in the Northwest, "Ln" is used. I see "LA" (or "La") quite a lot in the DMV.

"La" is what I grew up with, and I've always thought of "Ln" as an alternative form, despite it being the official abbreviation.

Seems to be an east of the Alleghenies thing.  In the Midwest , South, and West, I've only ever seen "Ln" used.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

PHLBOS

Quote from: 1 on September 26, 2018, 09:19:53 AM
Quote from: hubcity on September 26, 2018, 09:16:21 AM
Bad enough to be "worst of" ? Crowding, odd font, and a misspelling (it should be "Lavallette" ...heck, even iOS spell check got that.) On NJ 35 approaching Seaside Heights...



That sign looks fine to me, except for the misspelling. A misspelling of a place name with nothing else does not qualify for worst of.
Spelling error aside; the letter spacing (Series D mixed-case) for the control cities is indeed crowded and looks off.  It could use more spacing between the letters IMHO.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

tckma

Quote from: jakeroot on September 26, 2018, 05:56:41 PM
Off topic but related to above post:

Is "LA" a common prefix for "Lane"? Here in the Northwest, "Ln" is used. I see "LA" (or "La") quite a lot in the DMV.

I grew up in New York (Long Island), and though I have lived in several states, I have always lived in the Northeast (New England or the mid-Atlantic states).

I always thought it was "LA," and it's an accepted postal abbreviation for "Lane."  As a Waze editor, I was originally confused by the requirement to use "LN" as the abbreviation, but I think that has more to do with disambiguation for text-to-speech, which expands "LA" to "Louisiana" and "LN" to "Lane."  (I remember an old standalone GPS my wife had with text-to-speech that would refer to state routes in Connecticut as, for example, "Court 8 North.")

Eth

Quote from: tckma on September 27, 2018, 10:29:49 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on September 26, 2018, 05:56:41 PM
Off topic but related to above post:

Is "LA" a common prefix for "Lane"? Here in the Northwest, "Ln" is used. I see "LA" (or "La") quite a lot in the DMV.

I grew up in New York (Long Island), and though I have lived in several states, I have always lived in the Northeast (New England or the mid-Atlantic states).

I always thought it was "LA," and it's an accepted postal abbreviation for "Lane."  As a Waze editor, I was originally confused by the requirement to use "LN" as the abbreviation, but I think that has more to do with disambiguation for text-to-speech, which expands "LA" to "Louisiana" and "LN" to "Lane."  (I remember an old standalone GPS my wife had with text-to-speech that would refer to state routes in Connecticut as, for example, "Court 8 North.")

While I certainly have seen "La" used on occasion, "Ln" has been far, far more common in my experience.

Regarding GPS navigation, I have from time to time heard road names called out as, e.g. "Creek 216" when what's clearly meant was "County Road (CR) 216".

renegade

Quote from: PHLBOS on September 27, 2018, 10:27:06 AM
Quote from: 1 on September 26, 2018, 09:19:53 AM
Quote from: hubcity on September 26, 2018, 09:16:21 AM
Bad enough to be "worst of" ? Crowding, odd font, and a misspelling (it should be "Lavallette" ...heck, even iOS spell check got that.) On NJ 35 approaching Seaside Heights...



That sign looks fine to me, except for the misspelling. A misspelling of a place name with nothing else does not qualify for worst of.
Spelling error aside; the letter spacing (Series D mixed-case) for the control cities is indeed crowded and looks off.  It could use more spacing between the letters IMHO.
I like how it looks, though.  Somehow, it's easy on the eyes.
Don’t ask me how I know.  Just understand that I do.

Android

Quote from: renegade on September 27, 2018, 03:05:17 PM
I like how it looks, though.  Somehow, it's easy on the eyes.

I do too!  As someone whose state has a mixture of oddball typefaces and Clearview on the Interstates, it's when I see signs like that that give me a measure of pleasure.    Okay, so kerning is a bit tight, screw that, (the misspelling, unfortunate but I'd never have known), but it's still good old Highway Gothic all around.   
-Andy T. Not much of a fan of Clearview

Scott5114

Quote from: Brandon on September 27, 2018, 10:25:15 AM
Quote from: empirestate on September 27, 2018, 10:05:18 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on September 26, 2018, 05:56:41 PM
Off topic but related to above post:

Is "LA" a common prefix for "Lane"? Here in the Northwest, "Ln" is used. I see "LA" (or "La") quite a lot in the DMV.

"La" is what I grew up with, and I've always thought of "Ln" as an alternative form, despite it being the official abbreviation.

Seems to be an east of the Alleghenies thing.  In the Midwest , South, and West, I've only ever seen "Ln" used.

Kansas City, KS uses "LA", but it's the only place I can think of seeing it.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

machias

Quote from: Android on September 27, 2018, 05:09:15 PM
Quote from: renegade on September 27, 2018, 03:05:17 PM
I like how it looks, though.  Somehow, it's easy on the eyes.

I do too!  As someone whose state has a mixture of oddball typefaces and Clearview on the Interstates, it's when I see signs like that that give me a measure of pleasure.    Okay, so kerning is a bit tight, screw that, (the misspelling, unfortunate but I'd never have known), but it's still good old Highway Gothic all around.   

This has always been my argument of GDOT's use of Georgia D on all expressway and freeway signs (until fairly recently). Easier to read, easier on the eyes, and the sign sizes didn't have to be ridiculously huge for decent sized lettering.

TheHighwayMan3561

#5221
MnDOT tries its hand at a Frankensign. I didn't even know you could do shit like this to a sign that large.



Here's what it looked like before the, uh, upgrade. And all the other replacements of these kind of signs leading to the 35W/E split were done in full. No idea why they did this shit with this one.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

jeffandnicole

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on October 27, 2018, 03:45:13 AM
MnDOT tries its hand at a Frankensign. I didn't even know you could do shit like this to a sign that large.



Here's what it looked like before the, uh, upgrade. And all the other replacements of these kind of signs leading to the 35W/E split were done in full. No idea why they did this shit with this one.

It looks like a small vertical panel is missing, not that the sign was made incorrectly.

Roadsguy

I know I-35E is considered the "real" I-35, but the splits really shouldn't be signed as exits at all, and I think an APL without Exit Only indication would be more appropriate here.

At least the sign isn't that bad if you ignore the horribly ugly part. :P
Mileage-based exit numbering implies the existence of mileage-cringe exit numbering.

jakeroot

Quote from: Roadsguy on October 27, 2018, 12:49:28 PM
I know I-35E is considered the "real" I-35, but the splits really shouldn't be signed as exits at all, and I think an APL without Exit Only indication would be more appropriate here.

I agree (on both counts), although MNDOT's down arrows with vertical lines are a great alternative to APLs. As far as I'm concerned, it's the only acceptable variation of down arrows with option lanes.



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