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

[LilianaUwU]

Just putting this somewhere, but the new signs for NY 635 northbound, either from I-690 east or west in the C/D lanes, are ugly as sin.

Is it this?

Yep.  Something looks just out of proportion on the actual installation to me.

It looks like the shield is way too pointy at the bottom.

[J N Winkler]

Yep.  Something looks just out of proportion on the actual installation to me.

The proportions are nonstandard.  Enumerating the deviations:

*  Cardinal direction word:  normally 12" with 15" initial letter, here 10" with 12" initial letter

*  Destination legend:  normally 16" UC/12" LC, here 13.3" UC/10" LC

Meanwhile, the exit tab has normal 30" height while the shield has 36" height, so they both look larger than they should.

It looks like the shield is way too pointy at the bottom.

It's the same three-digit NYS shield that is programmed into GuideSign.  I don't know how closely it resembles the actual shields on the signs, and I have never seen a sign drawings book from NYSDOT, but it doesn't stick out to me as incorrect.

[Rothman]

Yep.  Something looks just out of proportion on the actual installation to me.

The proportions are nonstandard.  Enumerating the deviations:

*  Cardinal direction word:  normally 12" with 15" initial letter, here 10" with 12" initial letter

*  Destination legend:  normally 16" UC/12" LC, here 13.3" UC/10" LC

Meanwhile, the exit tab has normal 30" height while the shield has 36" height, so they both look larger than they should.

It looks like the shield is way too pointy at the bottom.

It's the same three-digit NYS shield that is programmed into GuideSign.  I don't know how closely it resembles the actual shields on the signs, and I have never seen a sign drawings book from NYSDOT, but it doesn't stick out to me as incorrect.

Thanks for the confirmation.

[Bruce]

Seattle DOT is rolling out new "driver report card" signs that will track the number of people who obey the yield-to-pedestrian laws at some intersections. More coverage in The Seattle Times (with image below) and the SDOT blog.

[hotdogPi]

How would it count people like me as a pedestrian? Unless it's busy enough that a gap doesn't exist, I typically stand far enough back that the cars pass first, and then I pass when it's clear. I also typically give myself a 1-2 second head start – I start moving forward as the car is about to pass me (any earlier and the car is going to slam on the brakes, exactly what I don't want to happen). Doing this is often faster than waiting for a car to brake, especially if they brake slowly and I can't tell if they're braking at first.

This would count as cars not stopping for me, but I intentionally let them go first.

[NoGoodNamesAvailable]

How would it count people like me as a pedestrian? Unless it's busy enough that a gap doesn't exist, I typically stand far enough back that the cars pass first, and then I pass when it's clear. I also typically give myself a 1-2 second head start – I start moving forward as the car is about to pass me (any earlier and the car is going to slam on the brakes, exactly what I don't want to happen). Doing this is often faster than waiting for a car to brake, especially if they brake slowly and I can't tell if they're braking at first.

This would count as cars not stopping for me, but I intentionally let them go first.

The law is that drivers stop/yield if you're within the crosswalk, not waiting behind the curb.

[Bruce]

A helpful map-sign on OR 138 near Crater Lake:

[fillup420]

Seattle DOT is rolling out new "driver report card" signs that will track the number of people who obey the yield-to-pedestrian laws at some intersections. More coverage in The Seattle Times (with image below) and the SDOT blog.

Unrelated, but this sign reminded me of this sign that was up for a while in Charlotte NC on NC 16. I never saw the numbers changed, and its gone now. Even as a kid I found it to be unique and interesting.

[BuildTheRussian]

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.6388491,-122.1059784,3a,56.6y,305.02h,97.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMBKgGWt4AEGr205dcM_Rhw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
The font on this stop sign is pretty unusual.

[JoePCool14]

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.6388491,-122.1059784,3a,56.6y,305.02h,97.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMBKgGWt4AEGr205dcM_Rhw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
The font on this stop sign is pretty unusual.

Looks like the font on the sign and on the street itself should be flipped!

[Scott5114]

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.6388491,-122.1059784,3a,56.6y,305.02h,97.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMBKgGWt4AEGr205dcM_Rhw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
The font on this stop sign is pretty unusual.

Looks like the font on the sign and on the street itself should be flipped!

Egad. You know what that is? That's BPR Series B, the standard block font from 1919!

No idea how it managed to end up on a red stop sign though–red stop signs were introduced about a decade or so after the current fonts were introduced!

[Edited to correct year. -S.]

[Bruce]

"In the distance" is a non-specific distance.

[Mapmikey]

Unrelated, but this sign reminded me of this sign that was up for a while in Charlotte NC on NC 16. I never saw the numbers changed, and its gone now. Even as a kid I found it to be unique and interesting.

These were common in North Carolina in the years after seat belt laws went into effect.  I was always struck by how low even the "record" compliance was in places...

[jakeroot]

I thought this was a fairly unique warning sign. The road does actually go straight as well.

Raymond @ SW 19th, Renton, WA.


Unusual turn arrow by Jacob Root, on Flickr

[JoePCool14]

I thought this was a fairly unique warning sign. The road does actually go straight as well.

Raymond @ SW 19th, Renton, WA.


Unusual turn arrow by Jacob Root, on Flickr

[formulanone]

"In the distance" is a non-specific distance.

"Down the road a piece."

[Big John]

I thought this was a fairly unique warning sign. The road does actually go straight as well.

Raymond @ SW 19th, Renton, WA.


Unusual turn arrow by Jacob Root, on Flickr

Warning: Casino ahead  (with the 7).

[plain]

I thought this was a fairly unique warning sign. The road does actually go straight as well.

Raymond @ SW 19th, Renton, WA.


Unusual turn arrow by Jacob Root, on Flickr

this MUST become a permanent meme in the roadgeek community!

[ethanhopkin14]

Both the shields on this display are awful.

[Big John]

Both the shields on this display are awful.

and in the wrong order.

[JoePCool14]

Both the shields on this display are awful.

When the default font in your CAD package is set to Arial.

[D-Dey65]

Refresh my memory; Has anybody posted the school-shaped church signs of Lake Butler, Florida? Because I intend to post them in the Wikimedia Commons this week.


I'm so glad I stopped in Lake Butler on my way to Folkston, Georgia last month.

[elsmere241]

"In the distance" is a non-specific distance.

Been past there many times, both with my wife and my late father-in-law.  If he were still alive, I'd suggest we stop there and check it out, since I never have.

[US71]

Has anyone mentioned South Dakota's  X Marks the Spot?.

[Rothman]

Has anyone mentioned South Dakota's  X Marks the Spot?.

I prefer the WHY DIE? ones.