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

[J N Winkler]

Kg rather than kg? Oof.

Yup, I noticed.  It also surprises me a little that they simply soft-converted the weight limit for the French sign instead of using dual units on both signs.

I'm not sure composez should be used with a definite article for the number--Québec uses "En cas d'intrusion/Composez 511" for its moose-in-the-ROW warning sign.

Did not realize Michigan was still specifying Clearview. Also interesting that neither situation, I don't believe, are appropriate for Clearview, yet only the larger sign uses Clearview.

Michigan DOT did go back to FHWA series temporarily when FHWA rescinded the interim approval.  A few of us assumed this change would be permanent, but like PennDOT they went back to Clearview after it was reinstated.  (TxDOT kept trucking on with Clearview throughout.)

I don't like that "1300 Feet" appears in negative-contrast Clearview, but otherwise the sign panels on this sheet meet my fairly relaxed font standards, which allow the use of all-uppercase Clearview in positive contrast for generic legends like "Welcome Center."

As a side note, seeing stuff like this really makes me wish WSDOT would make public their signing plans. Last I checked, it was either incredibly convoluted or completely inaccessible.

Have you tried their FTP server?  It hosts as-advertised contract plans (which include signing plans) for at least a few years in arrears.  I think they ask you to file a public disclosure request for as-builts from Engineering Records (no self-serve), and I've never seen an actual fabrication drawing from them (these wouldn't be included in plans sets), but there is some availability.  (Self-serve access to fabrication drawings is a dream as yet unrealized.  The big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is a complete set of sign installation orders--which include sketches of each sign--for all large panel signs on the Los Angeles freeways.)

I've noticed that contracts that in the past had signing (e.g., annual regionwide chip seal contracts for regions east of the Cascades) do not have it anymore.  I think this may be because WSDOT's sign shop has changed to digital printing for sign production, including large panel signs, with the result that about 60% of sign production (not sure whether this is per sign or per square foot) is now in-house.

[Big John]

Why say 1300 feet instead of saying 1/4 mile?

[jakeroot]

As a side note, seeing stuff like this really makes me wish WSDOT would make public their signing plans. Last I checked, it was either incredibly convoluted or completely inaccessible.

Have you tried their FTP server?  It hosts as-advertised contract plans (which include signing plans) for at least a few years in arrears.  I think they ask you to file a public disclosure request for as-builts from Engineering Records (no self-serve), and I've never seen an actual fabrication drawing from them (these wouldn't be included in plans sets), but there is some availability.  (Self-serve access to fabrication drawings is a dream as yet unrealized.  The big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is a complete set of sign installation orders--which include sketches of each sign--for all large panel signs on the Los Angeles freeways.)

I've noticed that contracts that in the past had signing (e.g., annual regionwide chip seal contracts for regions east of the Cascades) do not have it anymore.  I think this may be because WSDOT's sign shop has changed to digital printing for sign production, including large panel signs, with the result that about 60% of sign production (not sure whether this is per sign or per square foot) is now in-house.

Can you possibly suggest a good FTP access method? Historically I have use Chrome, but they have since removed this feature (as of November 2021, from what I can tell).

I can access WSDOT's FTP server using File Explorer (Windows 10), but cannot open any documents.

At any rate, I appreciate the suggestion and I'm interested to look around, even if I cannot locate signage plans.

[Bruce]

Found in Anacortes, WA (near SR 20 Spur):

[Scott5114]

Can you possibly suggest a good FTP access method? Historically I have use Chrome, but they have since removed this feature (as of November 2021, from what I can tell).

FileZilla has always served me well (note that despite the name it has nothing to do with Mozilla and doesn't interface with Firefox).

[jakeroot]

Can you possibly suggest a good FTP access method? Historically I have use Chrome, but they have since removed this feature (as of November 2021, from what I can tell).

FileZilla has always served me well (note that despite the name it has nothing to do with Mozilla and doesn't interface with Firefox).

Seems to work well, thanks!

[Mapmikey]

Found in Anacortes, WA (near SR 20 Spur):

There used to be a WA 20 shield with "SR" in it on R Ave in Anacortes:
https://goo.gl/maps/ZuDa1igXAcFq9zUdA

Recently replaced with a vanilla WA 20 shield (also sans 'SPUR')

[J N Winkler]

Can you possibly suggest a good FTP access method? Historically I have use Chrome, but they have since removed this feature (as of November 2021, from what I can tell).

I can access WSDOT's FTP server using File Explorer (Windows 10), but cannot open any documents.

At any rate, I appreciate the suggestion and I'm interested to look around, even if I cannot locate signage plans.

Browser developers have been phasing out support for FTP since the protocol is considered "insecure."  Firefox dropped it in mid-2021 as well.  I've had to install FileZilla as a result.  Command-line utilities like wget and curl still work well for noninteractive downloads.

Generally, there won't be a file named "Signage plans" or similar.  Your best bet is probably to look for projects that are likely to be scoped to include signing.  Among the WSDOT contracts I've downloaded in the last two months that are awaiting archiving, 9767 (Grape Drive intersection safety improvement, essentially a roundabout conversion) is small and has signing, while 9786 (I-90 Cabin Creek to Easton additional lanes and wildlife bridges) is quite large and has dozens of signing sheets.

[tolbs17]

Rare construction stop ahead sign. It seems like NCDOT is like Quebec sometimes with the STOP text! And it looks like the stop sign has ears.

https://goo.gl/maps/kDZGowqemKq9oALJA

[Big John]

And it looks like the stop sign has ears.

Looks like the contractor threw a stop sign over a yield sign.

[tolbs17]

And it looks like the stop sign has ears.

Looks like the contractor threw a stop sign over a yield sign.

Funny and odd indeed!

It clearly leads to a stop sign: https://goo.gl/maps/S69rHLFmz1Wjvm1b7

[Scott5114]

And it looks like the stop sign has ears.

All the better to hear you with.

[wanderer2575]

The northernmost 56 miles of I-75 are getting new signs, including bilingual weight limit signing for the International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie:

Do you know the letting date of this contract?  I frequently look at planned lettings on the MDOT e-Proposal website but I missed this one.

[J N Winkler]

Do you know the letting date of this contract?  I frequently look at planned lettings on the MDOT e-Proposal website but I missed this one.

It was Call 26 in the letting of March 4, 2022 (contract number 49025-201956).

I have a couple of scripts that work with Michigan DOT every four weeks.  The first goes through the bid quantity listings and prepares a shootlist of recent contracts with more than 2000 SF of signing that is sorted in descending order by sign panel area.  The second then attempts to download contracts on the shootlist.  This particular job was number one on this month's shootlist, with 30,968 SF.

[RobbieL2415]

This was installed during an ongoing construction project. I hope they correct this. It's embarassing.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7345112,-72.6643809,3a,15y,181.7h,89.23t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNJXaBMI2p_DkClbL88fPgA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[jay8g]

Can you possibly suggest a good FTP access method? Historically I have use Chrome, but they have since removed this feature (as of November 2021, from what I can tell).

WSDOT changed their FTP site to be accessible over HTTP -- for example, here's the main contracts directory. If you have old links, you just need to change ftp:// to https:// at the start of the URL.

As for signing plans, I've noticed the quality has dropped dramatically recently. You'll find the 3/4 error all over the place!  As you mentioned, a lot of projects don't include sign replacement work -- my guess is that's because WSDOT has been having serious budget issues lately with maintenance work, and sign work has been one of the victims of that. They used to sometimes do dedicated sign replacement contracts too, but I haven't seen one of those for quite a while, and it doesn't appear that they're stepping up in-house work to compensate.

[roadman65]

This was installed during an ongoing construction project. I hope they correct this. It's embarassing.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7345112,-72.6643809,3a,15y,181.7h,89.23t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNJXaBMI2p_DkClbL88fPgA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Looks like the numbers 290 just barely fit with the parameters of the shield.

https://goo.gl/maps/VBuxMQM5dpupEvWk7

Reminds me of a woman whom is well endowed wearing a small bra nearly keeping it in.

[plain]

This was installed during an ongoing construction project. I hope they correct this. It's embarassing.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7345112,-72.6643809,3a,15y,181.7h,89.23t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNJXaBMI2p_DkClbL88fPgA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Looks like the numbers 290 just barely fit with the parameters of the shield.

https://goo.gl/maps/VBuxMQM5dpupEvWk7

Reminds me of a woman whom is well endowed wearing a small bra nearly keeping it in.

Also button copy.

[jay8g]

Warning: LOCAL ACCESS 🚫 US 2 BYPASS

Someone (probably the county; I can't imagine WSDOT would do this) has put up these bizarre signs all along US 2 west of Stevens Pass. I guess people have been trying to use local roads to bypass traffic on this stretch of US 2, which often has quite bad traffic on the weekends. I get the intent, but that design (using a warning sign design for some reason, the non-standard use of the no symbol, the tiny US 2 shield) is just plain bad.

[Rothman]

Warning: LOCAL ACCESS US 2 BYPASS

Someone (probably the county; I can't imagine WSDOT would do this) has put up these bizarre signs all along US 2 west of Stevens Pass. I guess people have been trying to use local roads to bypass traffic on this stretch of US 2, which often has quite bad traffic on the weekends. I get the intent, but that design (using a warning sign design for some reason, the non-standard use of the no symbol, the tiny US 2 shield) is just plain bad.

Reminds me of the signs at the bottom of Cedar Point that tell parkgoers to take the designated route to the entrance.  Signs are obviously local.

[thefraze_1020]

Found in Anacortes, WA (near SR 20 Spur):

There used to be a WA 20 shield with "SR" in it on R Ave in Anacortes:
https://goo.gl/maps/ZuDa1igXAcFq9zUdA

Recently replaced with a vanilla WA 20 shield (also sans 'SPUR')

That's a classic job by the City of Anacortes. They are all over the board with scaling and fonts. We could add three more pages in this thread just from this small city.

[JoePCool14]

Warning: LOCAL ACCESS 🚫 US 2 BYPASS

Someone (probably the county; I can't imagine WSDOT would do this) has put up these bizarre signs all along US 2 west of Stevens Pass. I guess people have been trying to use local roads to bypass traffic on this stretch of US 2, which often has quite bad traffic on the weekends. I get the intent, but that design (using a warning sign design for some reason, the non-standard use of the no symbol, the tiny US 2 shield) is just plain bad.

A sign I would definitely ignore if I wanted. Nonstandard design, and no justification to prohibit people from using public roads.

[Bruce]

Warning: LOCAL ACCESS 🚫 US 2 BYPASS

Someone (probably the county; I can't imagine WSDOT would do this) has put up these bizarre signs all along US 2 west of Stevens Pass. I guess people have been trying to use local roads to bypass traffic on this stretch of US 2, which often has quite bad traffic on the weekends. I get the intent, but that design (using a warning sign design for some reason, the non-standard use of the no symbol, the tiny US 2 shield) is just plain bad.

A sign I would definitely ignore if I wanted. Nonstandard design, and no justification to prohibit people from using public roads.

Good luck with that, because a lot of these roads don't connect back to US 2 at all. They legitimately aren't for bypass use (and would be clogged with idiots trying to vainly follow their GPS otherwise).

[hotdogPi]

As part of my internship, I was looking through Google Street View of eastern Massachusetts, going through every town in the eastern quarter of the state or so. While not part of my job, I noticed that whenever a sign said "no thru traffic", it actually meant it, and it was impossible, not just prohibited, to connect to the other side. There was exactly one exception out of everywhere I checked.

[JoePCool14]

IDOT moment:



This one's been like this for almost 2 months.