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

[kphoger]

Someone thought that rotating a merge warning to indicate a fairly basic right turn was a good idea.
Industry Rd approaching SR-524 in Cocoa, FL.
https://goo.gl/maps/THkavEHidFQHwtcb7

I've seen that in other locations.

I've seen them rotated 90 or 45 degrees, which I'm assuming is improper usage...but I appreciate those "no-need-to merge" signs anyhow.

As long as it's a diamond, the added lane sign is probably correct and proper.  Actual conditions dictate how the exact diagram on the sign should be placed.  https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/fig2c_08_longdesc.htm

It's probably a bit of a fuzzy area.  Arguably, maybe it should fall under the guidance below.

Chapter 2C.  Warning Signs And Object Markers

Section 2C.41 Added Lane Signs (W4-3, W4-6)

Guidance:
02  When an Added Lane sign is to be installed on a roadway that curves before converging with another roadway that has a tangent alignment at the point of convergence, the Entering Roadway Added Lane (W4-6) sign (see Figure 2C-8) should be used to better portray the actual geometric conditions to road users on the curving roadway.

Which is this:

[PurdueBill]

Someone thought that rotating a merge warning to indicate a fairly basic right turn was a good idea.
Industry Rd approaching SR-524 in Cocoa, FL.
https://goo.gl/maps/THkavEHidFQHwtcb7

I've seen that in other locations.

I've seen them rotated 90 or 45 degrees, which I'm assuming is improper usage...but I appreciate those "no-need-to merge" signs anyhow.

As long as it's a diamond, the added lane sign is probably correct and proper.  Actual conditions dictate how the exact diagram on the sign should be placed.  https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/fig2c_08_longdesc.htm

Indeed, there is a proper sign for the turning movement where a lane is added non-merging.  Something rubs me the wrong way about that sign being where it is pictured in Florida with a signalized crosswalk conflicting with the turn.  And looking around the corner, that is hardly an added lane; it nearly instantly turns into a right turn only. 

[Max Rockatansky]

154 mile 30 foot truck advisory on CA 1 in Bodega Bay:

IMG_4669 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[roadfro]

Someone thought that rotating a merge warning to indicate a fairly basic right turn was a good idea.
Industry Rd approaching SR-524 in Cocoa, FL.
https://goo.gl/maps/THkavEHidFQHwtcb7

I've seen that in other locations.

I've seen them rotated 90 or 45 degrees, which I'm assuming is improper usage...but I appreciate those "no-need-to merge" signs anyhow.

As long as it's a diamond, the added lane sign is probably correct and proper.  Actual conditions dictate how the exact diagram on the sign should be placed.  https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/fig2c_08_longdesc.htm

Indeed, there is a proper sign for the turning movement where a lane is added non-merging.  Something rubs me the wrong way about that sign being where it is pictured in Florida with a signalized crosswalk conflicting with the turn.  And looking around the corner, that is hardly an added lane; it nearly instantly turns into a right turn only.

And really, that "Entering Roadway Added Lane" (W4-6) sign is really meant for freeway ramp merges, not right turns at intersections... But there's not another MUTCD-standard sign that conveys the same concept for an intersection.

[jakeroot]

Right or wrong: seeing that sign, I would assume that my right turn did not require a stop. To me, those are specifically for slip lanes and on-ramps where at-most you might deal with a crosswalk.

That approach is very confusing. You have the signal, which this right turn is clearly part of. Then you have the ped-crossing sign...why? And then the added-lane sign on the right, even though it's not really an added lane. Whoever designed this right turn really sucks at their job.

[PurdueBill]

And really, that "Entering Roadway Added Lane" (W4-6) sign is really meant for freeway ramp merges, not right turns at intersections... But there's not another MUTCD-standard sign that conveys the same concept for an intersection.

This location is an example of a place that really needs better treatment, as every time by there (in the Before Times, it would be basically daily, now maybe weekly) you see someone stopped in the channelized right turn lane with horns blaring behind them.  The wordy CONTINUOUS RIGHT TURN WITH CAUTION sign is ubiquitous in these parts but basically incomprehensible for some, and if you advance the date, you see the diamond added lane sign disappeared several years ago; unclear if deliberate or not.  The presence of the crosswalk may be complicating things.  The mast-mounted signal is for visibility around the curve and if it weren't there, you probably wouldn't see as many people stopping thinking the red light was for the right turns.  Can't use a constant green right arrow because of the crosswalk; wonder if someday it might get a flashing yellow arrow?
I still wish the W4-6 were there.  It clarifies for Market St/OH 18 that the right turners from Smith get their own lane too.

[roadfro]

And really, that "Entering Roadway Added Lane" (W4-6) sign is really meant for freeway ramp merges, not right turns at intersections... But there's not another MUTCD-standard sign that conveys the same concept for an intersection.

This location is an example of a place that really needs better treatment, as every time by there (in the Before Times, it would be basically daily, now maybe weekly) you see someone stopped in the channelized right turn lane with horns blaring behind them.  The wordy CONTINUOUS RIGHT TURN WITH CAUTION sign is ubiquitous in these parts but basically incomprehensible for some, and if you advance the date, you see the diamond added lane sign disappeared several years ago; unclear if deliberate or not.  The presence of the crosswalk may be complicating things.  The mast-mounted signal is for visibility around the curve and if it weren't there, you probably wouldn't see as many people stopping thinking the red light was for the right turns.  Can't use a constant green right arrow because of the crosswalk; wonder if someday it might get a flashing yellow arrow?
I still wish the W4-6 were there.  It clarifies for Market St/OH 18 that the right turners from Smith get their own lane too.

Yeah, the added lane sign in that instance does make sense. The agency in charge of the intersection should be reminded that one used to be there...

What might also help is if that near side signal head was aimed a little more to the left and had louvers added so that it couldn't be seen from the right turn lane. That, and/or the "continuous right turn with caution" sign* were mounted under the near side signal. You probably won't get a FYA unless that crossing to the splitter island was also signalized, and that seems less likely to happen without other intersection enhancements also happening.

*Side note: "Continuous right turn with caution" is a rather wordy sign. The analogous sign I've seen in these parts is "free right turn", although that's usually at stop-controlled intersections because I haven't seen a signalized setup where this is an issue.

[CoreySamson]

This US-59 shield looks like an acorn with jowls...
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7317061,-95.3931606,3a,15y,86.49h,114.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5W1HO6UqKww7-Qes-tPSwA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The rest of the sign isn't anything to write home about, either. Also interesting is the sign on the right which looks like they used greenout... on brown?

[J N Winkler]

This US-59 shield looks like an acorn with jowls...

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7317061,-95.3931606,3a,15y,86.49h,114.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5W1HO6UqKww7-Qes-tPSwA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The rest of the sign isn't anything to write home about, either. Also interesting is the sign on the right which looks like they used greenout... on brown?

Here's what these signs were originally supposed to look like back in 2002 when the contract to widen this section of US 59 was let:



The misshapen US 59 shield and the not-quite-Clearview, not-quite-E-Modified "Express Lane" legend looks like a patch job to replace the color bands that would have gone at the top of this sign to identify it as applying to a Metro HOV lane.  (The top corners of the sign as shown in StreetView are unrounded, too.)

I'm not sure why it was judged necessary to patch over the panel for St. Thomas University in Clearview on green while leaving the one for Rice University untouched.

The 2002 plans don't include exit tabs.  I assume the ones shown in StreetView were installed when this portion of US 59 became part of I-69 and the origin point is the southern terminus of unsuffixed I-69 near Victoria, about 125 miles to the southwest.

[PurdueBill]

This US-59 shield looks like an acorn with jowls...

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7317061,-95.3931606,3a,15y,86.49h,114.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5W1HO6UqKww7-Qes-tPSwA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The rest of the sign isn't anything to write home about, either. Also interesting is the sign on the right which looks like they used greenout... on brown?

Here's what these signs were originally supposed to look like back in 2002 when the contract to widen this section of US 59 was let:



The misshapen US 59 shield and the not-quite-Clearview, not-quite-E-Modified "Express Lane" legend looks like a patch job to replace the color bands that would have gone at the top of this sign to identify it as applying to a Metro HOV lane.  (The top corners of the sign as shown in StreetView are unrounded, too.)

I'm not sure why it was judged necessary to patch over the panel for St. Thomas University in Clearview on green while leaving the one for Rice University untouched.

The 2002 plans don't include exit tabs.  I assume the ones shown in StreetView were installed when this portion of US 59 became part of I-69 and the origin point is the southern terminus of unsuffixed I-69 near Victoria, about 125 miles to the southwest.

Looks like the patch was brown that has aged badly; comparing the two signs it looks like it was surgery to change "ST THOMAS UNIVERSITY" with "UNIVERSITY OF ST THOMAS".  The HOV lane signs in both directions did indeed have the blue and red color bands in older views.
https://goo.gl/maps/161pR4x5PN5CXdkR9

[Harvestman]

Found this unusual yellow not-a-stop-sign on a one-way street in Connersville, IN today.  Shame it isn't in better shape.


Some other interesting and unique signs from the past year:

Bardwell, KY (why not honor his memory with an apostrophe?)


Ceredo, WV (this is on private property at a railyard, but still unusual)


And one more for the "GPS is wrong" collection from Hartford, TN.

[J N Winkler]

Looks like the patch was brown that has aged badly; comparing the two signs it looks like it was surgery to change "ST THOMAS UNIVERSITY" with "UNIVERSITY OF ST THOMAS".  The HOV lane signs in both directions did indeed have the blue and red color bands in older views.

https://goo.gl/maps/161pR4x5PN5CXdkR9

I think two patches are involved.  The one shown in your StreetView link is fresh, clearly color-matched, in Clearview, and says "Univeisity of St Thomas" [sic].  The more recent one corrects the spelling of "University."

I visited Houston in the winter of 2017 and have found a picture of these signs that I took from the Graustark Street overbridge at around 2 PM on February 16, when I parked my car in the neighborhood north of US 59 to avoid paying a parking fee while visiting the Museum of Fine Arts.  It shows the signs in their current configuration and confirms that the "University of St Thomas" patch had a brown background, though it was already noticeably faded even then.

[Scott5114]

I think two patches are involved.  The one shown in your StreetView link is fresh, clearly color-matched, in Clearview, and says "Univeisity of St Thomas" [sic].  The more recent one corrects the spelling of "University."

That's a photo-stitching error on Google's part. (Notice that if the vertical line of the I is followed straight down, parts of every character it intersects are missing.) If you scroll back one step, the "error" goes away.

[ErmineNotyours]

This US-59 shield looks like an acorn with jowls...
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7317061,-95.3931606,3a,15y,86.49h,114.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5W1HO6UqKww7-Qes-tPSwA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The rest of the sign isn't anything to write home about, either. Also interesting is the sign on the right which looks like they used greenout... on brown?

Texas universities are considered recreation destinations?  At least they're honest about it.

[ethanhopkin14]

This US-59 shield looks like an acorn with jowls...
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7317061,-95.3931606,3a,15y,86.49h,114.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5W1HO6UqKww7-Qes-tPSwA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The rest of the sign isn't anything to write home about, either. Also interesting is the sign on the right which looks like they used greenout... on brown?

Texas universities are considered recreation destinations?  At least they're honest about it.

Well that one is. 

[D-Dey65]

Another idea on road signs for roads that don't exist anymore.

Is anyone familiar with the surroundings of Suffolk County Community College in Selden, New York?

For as long as I can remember, the north end of Waverly Avenue and College Road used to have street name signs for a closed off dirt road named Highview Drive. Just so nobody here is mistaken, Highview Drive is actually a paved road in a residential area that ran south from NY 25 to a dead end south of Seminole Street in Selden. The dirt road is a continuation of that, and it used to serve as the eastern border of Suffolk County Community College. Yet that dirt portion was closed and they still had street name signs as if it were an active road. From what little I've seen of it, the road makes streets like Adirondack Drive look like a smooth, flat surface road. Sometime in the 1990's they stopped putting those signs there, stuck a chain-link fence in front of it, and let a whole bunch of vines and thorns cover up any view of it. Nevertheless, I remember walking through that path by myself once.

[STLmapboy]

This US-59 shield looks like an acorn with jowls...

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7317061,-95.3931606,3a,15y,86.49h,114.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5W1HO6UqKww7-Qes-tPSwA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The rest of the sign isn't anything to write home about, either. Also interesting is the sign on the right which looks like they used greenout... on brown?

Here's what these signs were originally supposed to look like back in 2002 when the contract to widen this section of US 59 was let:



The misshapen US 59 shield and the not-quite-Clearview, not-quite-E-Modified "Express Lane" legend looks like a patch job to replace the color bands that would have gone at the top of this sign to identify it as applying to a Metro HOV lane.  (The top corners of the sign as shown in StreetView are unrounded, too.)

I'm not sure why it was judged necessary to patch over the panel for St. Thomas University in Clearview on green while leaving the one for Rice University untouched.

The 2002 plans don't include exit tabs.  I assume the ones shown in StreetView were installed when this portion of US 59 became part of I-69 and the origin point is the southern terminus of unsuffixed I-69 near Victoria, about 125 miles to the southwest.

Damn, for a sign that isn't even 20 years old that one has aged horribly. Look at the peeling yellow (now orange) exit only tab.

[D-Dey65]

Do you know what I just found out? Germany has National Forest signs that look like International Yield Signs, except the outlines are green, instead of red.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2012-05-13_Bannwald_Hofstatt_1.jpg

I kind of like those, but they can't be everywhere. For us, I'll stick to the big wooden inverted trapezoids.

[tylert120]

On this advance street name sign, the lines are reversed. The roads name is Little Deer Creek Valley Road, but the sign shop reversed the lines.

[interstatefan990]

A Stop Ahead sign, except the symbol actually has the word "STOP" written on it.

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/8MWwkVdfP6dACKCP9

This is got to be the shortest distance through a town ever.  Enter Phillipsburg, and then go a very short distance and enter a new community.

[hotdogPi]

https://goo.gl/maps/8MWwkVdfP6dACKCP9

This is got to be the shortest distance through a town ever.  Enter Phillipsburg, and then go a very short distance and enter a new community.

MA 146 through Douglas a second time...

OpenStreetMap: About 250 feet southbound, but if you're going northbound, you have to be on the left half of the roadway.
Google Maps search: Southbound only, and you have to be in the southbound lanes.
Google Maps by clicking points: Doesn't quite enter the shoulder, so therefore not at all.
Bing Maps: Doesn't seem to understand that Massachusetts is divided into towns, not villages.
Apple Maps: By using "drop pin", it thinks that entire corner is in Uxbridge, not Douglas, even ignoring that nearby West St. becomes Uxbridge St. for a short distance.

Can someone provide a definitive answer on whether MA 146 enters Douglas twice?

[J3ebrules]

https://goo.gl/maps/8MWwkVdfP6dACKCP9

This is got to be the shortest distance through a town ever.  Enter Phillipsburg, and then go a very short distance and enter a new community.

Eh, that's just Jersey town lines being ridiculous. Ever drive up NJ 31? You go through Hopewell, then Pennington, then Hopewell...

[DrSmith]

https://goo.gl/maps/8MWwkVdfP6dACKCP9

This is got to be the shortest distance through a town ever.  Enter Phillipsburg, and then go a very short distance and enter a new community.

Eh, that's just Jersey town lines being ridiculous. Ever drive up NJ 31? You go through Hopewell, then Pennington, then Hopewell...

The Mass Pike has a stretch of Natick-Wayland-Natick-Wayland-Natick. There are plenty of other places were routes cross at least between short distances of a town. Route 202 has a Shutesbury-New Salem-Shutesbury-New Salem stretch.

[Ben114]

https://goo.gl/maps/8MWwkVdfP6dACKCP9

This is got to be the shortest distance through a town ever.  Enter Phillipsburg, and then go a very short distance and enter a new community.

MA 146 through Douglas a second time...

OpenStreetMap: About 250 feet southbound, but if you're going northbound, you have to be on the left half of the roadway.
Google Maps search: Southbound only, and you have to be in the southbound lanes.
Google Maps by clicking points: Doesn't quite enter the shoulder, so therefore not at all.
Bing Maps: Doesn't seem to understand that Massachusetts is divided into towns, not villages.
Apple Maps: By using "drop pin", it thinks that entire corner is in Uxbridge, not Douglas, even ignoring that nearby West St. becomes Uxbridge St. for a short distance.
Can someone provide a definitive answer on whether MA 146 enters Douglas twice?

Hard to tell, but I'm going to say no, mainly because MA does sign "entering <town>" when the road is in a town for a short distance (see Milville by the RI line and Northbridge at exit 5). However, it appears that only the right southbound lane may enter Douglas just south of exit 4 (either that lane or the SB breakdown lane). Either way, I'm saying no.