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

[Big John]

^^ And PTS (Pittsburg KS) is not international.

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/DGwfNVdg1G3xXsXv5
The fact that US 29 is signed here despite all US 1 and 50 had all their signs removed throughout the district.  I guess soon US 29 will not be shielded.

Plus I never knew DC to use normal shields before. Always in a dark grey sign with DC- US above the route number.

[tsmatt13]

Jersey Shore Premium Outlets in NJ has a "I-66" shield for NJ-66 at one of the exits: try to spot it.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.2243666,-74.0925709,3a,15y,143.44h,90.46t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sXsdR1bs70GVKQDaaYWVhgg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[roadman65]

The PA Turnpike exit for PIT Int'l (exit 10) forgot the -h on Pittsburgh 

Maybe Pittsburg, KS.

[Mr. Matté]

Norristown, PA trying to steal Philly's street signs:


You might think it was Center City if not for the Spirit Halloween already set up in late August on the actual Chestnut St.:

[Jim]

Does Wyoming actually expect anyone to comprehend this at 80 MPH?  This is not in a turnout, this is on I-80.  August 1, 2022.



There was a similar one further west.

[US 89]

Does Wyoming actually expect anyone to comprehend this at 80 MPH?  This is not in a turnout, this is on I-80.  August 1, 2022.



There was a similar one further west.

There's another one going the other direction on 80, too. Agreed that it is not useful at speed.

[kirbykart]

Does Wyoming actually expect anyone to comprehend this at 80 MPH?  This is not in a turnout, this is on I-80.  August 1, 2022.



There was a similar one further west.

Wow, that's horrible. It took me a minute to comprehend that sign in a stationary picture. Completely useless at speed.

[Rothman]

Does Wyoming actually expect anyone to comprehend this at 80 MPH?  This is not in a turnout, this is on I-80.  August 1, 2022.



There was a similar one further west.

Wow, that's horrible. It took me a minute to comprehend that sign in a stationary picture. Completely useless at speed.

*shrug*

Having driven past it, I still think it's a fun oddity.  Wouldn't call it totally useless.  Really, the useless portions are just the text labels.

[kirbykart]

Does Wyoming actually expect anyone to comprehend this at 80 MPH?  This is not in a turnout, this is on I-80.  August 1, 2022.



There was a similar one further west.

Wow, that's horrible. It took me a minute to comprehend that sign in a stationary picture. Completely useless at speed.

*shrug*

Having driven past it, I still think it's a fun oddity.  Wouldn't call it totally useless.  Really, the useless portions are just the text labels.

The problem I have with it is that it's redundant as long as you sign the destinations at each exit. Sure, it's a funny oddity, but it really shouldn't exist.

[Scott5114]

If the destinations are fully signed at each exit, why shouldn't it exist? Maybe it's not necessary to have, but there's no real need to get rid of it. It's not like message loading is a concern in rural Wyoming.

[LilianaUwU]

If anything, such a sign should be at the rest area west of there... oh wait, there is.

[CoreySamson]

So far, my experience with Oklahoma signage has been mostly positive so far, subverting my expectations. Except for this poorly laid out sign on US 75 in Durant:
https://goo.gl/maps/EFrRZ5xDu3Nsriq66

Tulsa though is an entirely different animal, it appears. Speed limits were posted on portable VMSs. Visibility of signs at night is garbage at times. Signs mismatching their respective gantries. Stuff like that. On the flip side, however, when ODOT does signs right, I like the way they do them. Something about the borders when done right looks clean IMO. You can see that on the Durant sign. Make it a bit smaller and it would be super aesthetic to me.

[Scott5114]

So far, my experience with Oklahoma signage has been mostly positive so far, subverting my expectations. Except for this poorly laid out sign on US 75 in Durant:
https://goo.gl/maps/EFrRZ5xDu3Nsriq66

The blunt arrow doesn't really make it much better, either.

Tulsa though is an entirely different animal, it appears. Speed limits were posted on portable VMSs. Visibility of signs at night is garbage at times. Signs mismatching their respective gantries. Stuff like that. On the flip side, however, when ODOT does signs right, I like the way they do them. Something about the borders when done right looks clean IMO. You can see that on the Durant sign. Make it a bit smaller and it would be super aesthetic to me.

Interesting that you like the borders, since I've never particularly thought ODOT practice there stood out in any positive way. The double border between the exit tab and the main body of the sign has never been something I've liked, but it's been Oklahoma practice since the button-copy era, and it is something you're used to from Texas.

I just remarked in another thread that Division 8 has been putting out some good product lately, although I'm not sure whether they're actually any better or if they've just gotten lucky lately. But the one consistently true thing about ODOT signage is that you can drive under ten different gantries and see twelve different sign styles.

Now, if you really want to see clean signage, you're only about an hour from Coffeyville.

[Jim]

If the destinations are fully signed at each exit, why shouldn't it exist? Maybe it's not necessary to have, but there's no real need to get rid of it. It's not like message loading is a concern in rural Wyoming.

I have no problem with it existing.  I like unusual and interesting signs like that (after all, I'm still reading this thread 8 1/2 years and 7500+ posts after it was started).  My observation is that there's too much information there to be useful to anyone if passing by at 80 MPH, especially if you're the driver.

[J N Winkler]

I have no problem with it existing.  I like unusual and interesting signs like that (after all, I'm still reading this thread 8 1/2 years and 7500+ posts after it was started).  My observation is that there's too much information there to be useful to anyone if passing by at 80 MPH, especially if you're the driver.

I think a photo of this sign (taken under ideal lighting conditions, i.e., on a clear day with the sun shining full on the panel) would be suitable for printing, mounting, framing, and hanging on one's wall as a landscape.  But I do agree it is far too complex and legend-heavy to take in at 80 MPH.

It is in the same general style as Wyoming's hill descent map signs, only with green instead of yellow background.  The area map compares in elaborateness to the one at Burgess Junction where US 14 and US 14A split.  But the hill descent signs are all located at laybys where they can be studied at leisure.  I'm not sure why it was thought a good idea to place this sign (and the several similar ones in the vicinity) facing moving traffic.

[amroad17]

I-763 in Philly (down the street from I-694)


I-73 Food Mart & Smoke Shop, on NJ Route 73 (I know we used to have a thread about businesses and route shields in logos but it's prob. pretty old at this point)

Looks like I-763 was upgraded from US 763 (acorn US shield).

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/9L9Lx49RbY6EfmAR8
Mileage sign and Entering Little Egg Harbor on one assembly.  Interesting that the ENTER sign is larger than the mileage sign.

[tsmatt13]

https://goo.gl/maps/9L9Lx49RbY6EfmAR8
Mileage sign and Entering Little Egg Harbor on one assembly.  Interesting that the ENTER sign is larger than the mileage sign.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6017762,-74.3519062,3a,15y,289.15h,84.81t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0TDdadZKWCtPolR1U2MUEg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
There also used to be a mile marker on the same assembly as well.

[kphoger]

I've been trying to find that thread on the Do Not Enter signs with additional messages, but I still can't find it, so I'm adding my post here.

You won't find a Do Not Enter sign or a Stop sign like this anywhere in the USA;
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.9116415,-73.7869083,3a,75y,120.88h,89.14t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sM1BhcHi6Ivu8XOXt7aXFfQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en
Unless you drive along Washington Avenue next to the St. Gabriel & St. Joseph Church in New Rochelle, New York.

The Spanish on that sign looks like an incomplete sentence.  Let me explain:

'NO ENTRADA' means 'no entrance'.

'PARA' is the personal command form of the word parar, which means 'to stop'.  However, it isn't the word that's typically used on stop signs in Spanish-speaking countries.  Rather, stop signs typically say either 'ALTO' (the noun form of the Spanish word for 'halt' or 'PARE' (the polite command form of parar).

In addition, the word para in a homonym in Spanish, and the much more common word with that spelling is a preposition meaning 'for'.

Put all of that together, and the sign appears to be saying 'NO ENTRANCE FOR'.

No entrance for what?  Motorized traffic?  Donkey carts?  Spanish speakers?  Inquiring minds want to know.

[ClassicHasClass]

Not a native speaker, but I'd probably say "ninguna entrada" for no entrance, or "no es entrada" (although real Spanish do-not-enter signs say "no entre" which is literally "do not enter").

[kphoger]

Not a native speaker, but I'd probably say "ninguna entrada" for no entrance, or "no es entrada" (although real Spanish do-not-enter signs say "no entre" which is literally "do not enter").

"Ninguna entrada" would be more like "Not even a single entrance".

"No es entrada" approaches the grammar of the real-world Mexican sign "Este camino no es de alta velocidad".  (Such nanny signs are now deprecated, but they still exist.  The image below is from the 1986 manual.)

But the main thing is that "para" appears at first glance to be a preposition, not a command.  "No entrada" isn't exactly right, but it gets the meaning across fust fine.  "No entrada para" is nonsense.

[mrsman]

I've been trying to find that thread on the Do Not Enter signs with additional messages, but I still can't find it, so I'm adding my post here.

You won't find a Do Not Enter sign or a Stop sign like this anywhere in the USA;
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.9116415,-73.7869083,3a,75y,120.88h,89.14t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sM1BhcHi6Ivu8XOXt7aXFfQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en
Unless you drive along Washington Avenue next to the St. Gabriel & St. Joseph Church in New Rochelle, New York.

Since the sign is in the US, it seems that they probably just got a dictionary to create the Spanish translation, as opposed to consuliting with someone who actually speaks Spanish or taking a moment to see how Spanish-speaking countries would sign something equivalent.

The sign on Union is even worse (it's a Do Not Enter sign with text saying that this is the Church Entrance)! https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ru6joDzf9oNA6At69

The church signage completely eviscerates the meaning of the DO NOT ENTER.  Not good.

[kphoger]

Since the sign is in the US, it seems that they probably just got a dictionary to create the Spanish translation, as opposed to consuliting with someone who actually speaks Spanish or taking a moment to see how Spanish-speaking countries would sign something equivalent.

The parking sign shows some basic understanding of Spanish, or at least access to Google Translate.

Estacionamiento privado / Solamente para actividades de la iglesia y la escuela / Estacionamiento durante las noches no está permitido

I mean, I think that's all technically correct.  It just isn't totally natural.  I'd probably do this instead:

Estacionamiento privado / Solo para actividades escolares y de la iglesia / No se permite estacionar de noche

A native Spanish speaker could, I'm sure, do even better than that.

[tsmatt13]

https://flic.kr/p/2nHXwxh
Near WTC in Manhattan: Someone made an oopsies on a detour sign and used a "US-9A" shield instead of a NY-9A one.