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Signs With Design Errors

Started by CentralCAroadgeek, June 29, 2012, 08:22:36 PM

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akotchi

Quote from: Brandon on July 14, 2012, 06:30:58 PM


A pet peeve of mine, large capital letters with tiny lowercase letters.
The "Last Exit . . . " should also be a black text on yellow background panel.
Opinions here attributed to me are mine alone and do not reflect those of my employer or the agencies for which I am contracted to do work.


Scott5114

Quote from: akotchi on July 14, 2012, 10:41:23 PM
The "Last Exit . . . " should also be a black text on yellow background panel.

Green is technically correct. A toll road starting isn't really a hazard...
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

vtk

But it's not a destination or road name, so it should be in all caps anyway.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

Scott5114

Quote from: vtk on July 15, 2012, 01:32:50 AM
But it's not a destination or road name, so it should be in all caps anyway.

Do you recall the way the MUTCD phrases this? I thought it was a "place name messages shall be in mixed case" but with no specification as to other messages... does it say someone "everything else shall be in SCREAMY CAPS"?
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

vtk

Quote from: Scott5114 on July 16, 2012, 12:41:20 AM
Quote from: vtk on July 15, 2012, 01:32:50 AM
But it's not a destination or road name, so it should be in all caps anyway.

Do you recall the way the MUTCD phrases this? I thought it was a "place name messages shall be in mixed case" but with no specification as to other messages... does it say someone "everything else shall be in SCREAMY CAPS"?

Basically, but in reverse order from that:

Quote from: MUTCD 2009 Section 2A.13
Standard:
10 All sign lettering shall be in upper-case letters as provided in the "Standard Highway Signs and Markings" book (see Section 1A.11), unless otherwise provided in this Manual for a particular sign or type of message.

11 The sign lettering for names of places, streets, and highways shall be composed of a combination of lower-case letters with initial upper-case letters.

I'm not aware of any subsequent passages that override those standards.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

1995hoo

Quote from: Scott5114 on July 15, 2012, 01:04:47 AM
Quote from: akotchi on July 14, 2012, 10:41:23 PM
The "Last Exit . . . " should also be a black text on yellow background panel.

Green is technically correct. A toll road starting isn't really a hazard...

I've seen quite a few black-on-yellow "Last Exit Before Toll" signs over the years, although I have no idea what the MUTCD might say about it. Most of the time, however, I've seen this notation as a banner on a larger sign (similar to an "Exit Only" or the like), not as a separate sign as shown here.

If the goal of the sign is to grab the attention of someone who might not realize there's a toll road ahead, the black-on-yellow is probably more eye-catching regardless of what the MUTCD might say.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

Takumi

#56
I'm among the minority that likes unisigns, but not with the directional banner below the shield.



Misshapen shields. And VA 403 does not go north here (which is for another thread).


Non-cutout Interstate shield.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

Roadsguy

Quote from: akotchi on July 14, 2012, 10:41:23 PM
The "Last Exit . . . " should also be a black text on yellow background panel.

Of course, I've never seen any button copy that's not white on anything else. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing anything that's not white on green. Probably because reflectors on black doesn't work well.

When was that sign put up anyway?
Mileage-based exit numbering implies the existence of mileage-cringe exit numbering.

agentsteel53

there are many examples of white/black and yellow/black button copy here in CA.

also, brown/white and blue/white is very prevalent here, and the occasional red/white does exist, mainly in the form of old STOP signs.
live from sunny San Diego.

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Brandon

Quote from: Roadsguy on July 16, 2012, 05:19:42 PM
Quote from: akotchi on July 14, 2012, 10:41:23 PM
The "Last Exit . . . " should also be a black text on yellow background panel.

Of course, I've never seen any button copy that's not white on anything else. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing anything that's not white on green. Probably because reflectors on black doesn't work well.

When was that sign put up anyway?

Within the past four years or so.  When IDOT finished the widening of the Kingery Expressway and rebuilt the Torrance and IL-394/I-94 interchanges.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

Alps

Quote from: Roadsguy on July 16, 2012, 05:19:42 PM
Quote from: akotchi on July 14, 2012, 10:41:23 PM
The "Last Exit . . . " should also be a black text on yellow background panel.

Of course, I've never seen any button copy that's not white on anything else. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing anything that's not white on green. Probably because reflectors on black doesn't work well.

When was that sign put up anyway?
Well, you don't need to use button copy for EVERY legend:

Central Avenue

Here's a subtle one. I didn't even notice this until looking at the pictures after the fact:




Yep, on both I-75 signs, the top right corner is squared off as if to meet the exit tab, even though the exit tab is (correctly) left-aligned.
Routewitches. These children of the moving road gather strength from travel . . . Rather than controlling the road, routewitches choose to work with it, borrowing its strength and using it to make bargains with entities both living and dead. -- Seanan McGuire, Sparrow Hill Road

Alps

@Ms. Central: I imagine the tabs were once incorrectly on the right, and then moved over when someone woke up to the MUTCD.

national highway 1

Helvetica on this TX Toll 1 shield?
"Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take." Jeremiah 31:21

Central Avenue

Quote from: Steve on July 20, 2012, 08:33:55 PM
@Ms. Central: I imagine the tabs were once incorrectly on the right, and then moved over when someone woke up to the MUTCD.

That was my guess too.

Especially because I noticed the sign for a left-hand exit is mounted on the right-hand side of the road.
Routewitches. These children of the moving road gather strength from travel . . . Rather than controlling the road, routewitches choose to work with it, borrowing its strength and using it to make bargains with entities both living and dead. -- Seanan McGuire, Sparrow Hill Road

OracleUsr

Perhaps.  TN didn't use directional tabbing until the late 1990's anyway, at least not between Hartford and Knoxville.
Anti-center-tabbing, anti-sequential-numbering, anti-Clearview BGS FAN

Ian

NHDOT loves to push the top control city all the way over to the left when there is an arrow involved.

UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
Youtube l Flickr

PHLBOS

Quote from: PennDOTFan on July 23, 2012, 12:54:19 PM
NHDOT loves to push the top control city all the way over to the left when there is an arrow involved.


Both PTC and PennDOT have been known to 'Left-Justify' control destinations when a Right-Arrow is involved as well on their BGS' for almost a decade.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

Takumi

Off-center text.


Weird-looking gore sign.


Excessively bordered exit tab solutions.


White banner on an interstate shield.


This gore sign looks pretty funky too.


But this one was the worst of the bunch.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

CentralCAroadgeek

Texas-style exit tab, you're doing it wrong!

On I-5 north in Cottonwood.

national highway 1

Quote from: Takumi on July 30, 2012, 06:22:20 PM
This gore sign looks pretty funky too.

I guess it used to be a conventional exit gore sign, the '9' was added later.
Quote from: CentralCAroadgeek on July 30, 2012, 07:11:02 PM
Texas-style exit tab, you're doing it wrong!

On I-5 north in Cottonwood.
The same situation here, except they added a '664' plate below the gore point sign.
"Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take." Jeremiah 31:21

PurdueBill

Two instances of upper and lowercase letters trading places--how does this happen?  It's not button copy.  Demountable?



Seen before around here, I think--but maybe it was I-79/I-90 interchange specimens before.  Tiny lowercase with large initial capitals.  Stop doing this!


Compulov

Quote from: PHLBOS on July 13, 2012, 06:47:39 PM
One of the BGS' on the approach ramp to I-95 from PA 413 in Bristol (Exit 40) has a lower-case u for the the word SOuTH for I-95 South.

I hate you :P
I go up that ramp every day and never noticed it until you said something. Now I can't help but stare at it every single day.
But really... I swear it looks more like an upside-down n than a lower case u, but I'm usually going too fast to merge into the 95N lane to pay close attention.

Central Avenue

Quote from: PurdueBill on July 30, 2012, 09:09:03 PM
Two instances of upper and lowercase letters trading places--how does this happen?  It's not button copy.  Demountable?



I could almost excuse the O/o swap as a simple case of inattentiveness...but a capital A and a lowercase a don't even look alike! That's entirely inexcusable.
Routewitches. These children of the moving road gather strength from travel . . . Rather than controlling the road, routewitches choose to work with it, borrowing its strength and using it to make bargains with entities both living and dead. -- Seanan McGuire, Sparrow Hill Road

jeffandnicole

The Exit 53A gore sign on Rt. 55 South in NJ had been replaced with a Exit 53 Exit sign at one point...even though it should have remained 53A.  It appeared someone just took an ordinary 4 inch "A" sticker that you can get in a pack of stickers at walmart or craft stores and stuck it to the sign. 

It remained that way for years.  I think a proper sign has finally been installed...but I can't remember!



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