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

[ErmineNotyours]

Also only in SoCal, at a rest area on I-5 between Los Angeles and San Diego.  Don't Tread On Me.

[US 89]

Along that same line, this is at an I-80 rest area in the Utah west desert.

[J N Winkler]

When I was a kid and I saw this sign Prevent radiator boil over.  Turn off air conditioning, I wondered why they put that sign there in particular.  Our family didn't have air conditioning, and so I didn't know the stress it would put on a car driving up a hill.

That is also a Caltrans classic, with examples on I-5 at the Grapevine, SR 190 in Death Valley, and SR 180 approaching Kings Canyon and Sequoia NPs from Fresno.  I think the message is dated and this sign can be eliminated altogether, since it has been probably many decades since the last vehicle rolled off the assembly line with cooling capacity so marginal that A/C operation (or other accessory load) noticeably increases the risk of overheating during a hill climb.

Newer cars tend to have soft-start fans that start running at slow speed when engine coolant just barely begins to climb above usual operating temperature, which tends to mask the thermal effects hill climbs and other elevated loads have on the engine.  However, older cars (such as my 1994 Saturn) have hard-start fans that run at full speed once the coolant temperature reaches a fan-on point that is just under the "danger" range on the temperature gauge.  Once the fan kicks on, the response is dramatic--the temperature drops rapidly until it reaches thermostat opening point and the fan shuts off.  Engine overheating typically results from the cooling system being crippled in some way, e.g. a coolant return hose being plugged or the radiator cap no longer holding pressure.

[StogieGuy7]

US 59 near Atchison, Kansas. Don't let anyone tell you there's nothing to see in Kansas.

Would this be a sign directing travelers to the very first Pizza Hut in Wichita, KS? That could very well be an actual "tourist attraction".

[kphoger]

Um, no.  Wichita is not 2.9 miles from Atchison.  Also, the original Pizza Hut is no longer in its original location.

[Bruce]

Not sure about this one.

[jakeroot]

Not sure about this one.

https://i.imgur.com/uyk798u.jpg

Holy crap, that thing is ancient. Well, the typeface is. Where is that?

[wanderer2575]

Brand-new gantry and APL on M-5 at I-96/I-275 in Novi, MI.  No additional bracing on the back side.  I'm going to make sure I'm not anywhere near this thing during a stiff wind.

[Mapmikey]

Along that same line, this is at an I-80 rest area in the Utah west desert.

Texas also gets in on the act...this is the I-10 Welcome Center in Orange:  https://goo.gl/maps/uRPX3UWiLPp7UrRV8

[Max Rockatansky]

Weird over-size California spades on Mono Street and Van Ness in downtown Fresno.  These things are becoming more rare but once were very common on surface streets in downtown.  The font is weird and shields seem to be made from a substandard vinyl:

99CAa by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[jakeroot]

Brand-new gantry and APL on M-5 at I-96/I-275 in Novi, MI.  No additional bracing on the back side.  I'm going to make sure I'm not anywhere near this thing during a stiff wind.

Glad to see that they didn't opt for any "EXIT ONLY" plaques. I've always felt it was redundant with arrow-per-lane signs.

I see that the M5 extends to the left beyond this junction; perhaps they didn't want to sign the up arrows with the exit-only message (since up arrows are probably most often associated with through movements), so they just omitted it altogether.

[wanderer2575]

Brand-new gantry and APL on M-5 at I-96/I-275 in Novi, MI.  No additional bracing on the back side.  I'm going to make sure I'm not anywhere near this thing during a stiff wind.

Glad to see that they didn't opt for any "EXIT ONLY" plaques. I've always felt it was redundant with arrow-per-lane signs.

I see that the M5 extends to the left beyond this junction; perhaps they didn't want to sign the up arrows with the exit-only message (since up arrows are probably most often associated with through movements), so they just omitted it altogether.

I'd chalk it up more to inconsistency than anything else.  The whole M-5 signing plan is really sloppy IMO and has several questionable composition details, among other issues.  Worth noting is that the old sign this one replaced indicated the right lane as exit only to I-275, although the pavement marking indicates the LEFT lane is an exit only.  (By the way, my post was because of the precarious-appearing mounting of the sign on the gantry, not because of the sign design.)

[tolbs17]

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5929719,-77.5686533,3a,15y,91.68h,81.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sV0wxvy5x0Rk5EfnGbre3vw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This is funny. Who would drive that slow?

[MNHighwayMan]

A speed limit sign you can see in parking lots all over the country. Hilarious!

[mrsman]

Weird over-size California spades on Mono Street and Van Ness in downtown Fresno.  These things are becoming more rare but once were very common on surface streets in downtown.  The font is weird and shields seem to be made from a substandard vinyl:

99CAa by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

My guess is that Fresno made their own signs, as opposed to getting them from Caltrans.  I guess signing along non-Caltrans roads is the local responsibility.

[D-Dey65]

Texas also gets in on the act...this is the I-10 Welcome Center in Orange:  https://goo.gl/maps/uRPX3UWiLPp7UrRV8

Oh, they're really common in Florida. This is on I-4 in Polk County, and it's not the only one:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caution_Venomous_Snakes_Sign.jpg

[roadman65]

Texas also gets in on the act...this is the I-10 Welcome Center in Orange:  https://goo.gl/maps/uRPX3UWiLPp7UrRV8

Oh, they're really common in Florida. This is on I-4 in Polk County, and it's not the only one:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caution_Venomous_Snakes_Sign.jpg

Paines Prairie on I-75 has the same.

[Max Rockatansky]

Weird over-size California spades on Mono Street and Van Ness in downtown Fresno.  These things are becoming more rare but once were very common on surface streets in downtown.  The font is weird and shields seem to be made from a substandard vinyl:

My guess is that Fresno made their own signs, as opposed to getting them from Caltrans.  I guess signing along non-Caltrans roads is the local responsibility.

Fresno definitely makes their own signs.  They get even stranger like this 99 on a white blank:

IMG_7686 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[ClassicHasClass]

I guess signing along non-Caltrans roads is the local responsibility.

Generally yes. Even on state highways, if the alignment is relinquished but the agreement is to keep the routing continuous, then you'll see them there too. CA 111 in Riverside County is like that, a patchwork of different agencies maintaining it and sometimes wildly divergent (or even non-existent) signage.

[D-Dey65]

Texas also gets in on the act...this is the I-10 Welcome Center in Orange:  https://goo.gl/maps/uRPX3UWiLPp7UrRV8

Oh, they're really common in Florida. This is on I-4 in Polk County, and it's not the only one:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caution_Venomous_Snakes_Sign.jpg

Paines Prairie on I-75 has the same.

I took a picture of that years ago. It turned out terrible. Even cropping it around the sign doesn't make the lettering any more visible.

[thefraze_1020]

Not sure about this one.

https://i.imgur.com/uyk798u.jpg

Holy crap, that thing is ancient. Well, the typeface is. Where is that?

As I recall, that is on WA-99 southbound approaching 196th in Lynnwood.

[roadman]

Also only in SoCal, at a rest area on I-5 between Los Angeles and San Diego.  Don't Tread On Me.

I can see the movie now:  Snakes in a Rest Area.

[Bruce]

Whoops:

https://twitter.com/marctomik/status/1166114831994413057

[ErmineNotyours]

I can see the movie now:  Snakes in a Rest Area.

"I'm so tired of these m[flushing sounds]king snakes!"

[roadman65]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/48630093916/in/dateposted-public/
This one in Atlanta, Texas is interesting as TexDOT uses freeway style (large) shields on a regular arterial.  I think this assembly is cool despite it being ordinary!