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

[Tonytone]

Apologies if this has already been posted, but this sign has distances in both miles and km (probably the only one of its kind in the area).

A few of those are still scattered around the state. Caltrans posted them in the late 1970s and early 1980s when it looked like metrication might actually happen, and left them alone when it didn't.

A sign from the 90's km test? Or a lot of out of country people live in the area?


iPhone

[Tonytone]

Apologies if this has already been posted, but this sign has distances in both miles and km (probably the only one of its kind in the area).

A few of those are still scattered around the state. Caltrans posted them in the late 1970s and early 1980s when it looked like metrication might actually happen, and left them alone when it didn't.

Delaware still has its KM based milage signs on the highway & exit tabs I believe.

On route 1


iPhone

[Tonytone]

Very big/noticeable curve signage in OKC:
https://www.google.pl/maps/@35.4341762,-97.4061822,3a,28.1y,296.06h,93.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6lymA-WUIfsDaX44zw6pMw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Ok other then that beautiful sign gantry. If you look in the other direction there are two water towers next to each other. Google mishap or real life?


iPhone

I think its real, but I'm no expert on OK.

Also, a good nice pictures of the planes parked at the Air Force Base.

The sign is great.  It is needed at many of the sharp mainline curves that exist.    I-90 in Cleveland also has special signage, but this is better.

There are two water towers. I assume the Air Force base is huge. Also a water tower for the area is to the left so that makes 3 water towers in a 1 mile vicinity.

I was thinking the other day, did they change the Gantry   Nation wide to stop graffiti on signs?   


iPhone

[ErmineNotyours]

Do you know where this is exactly?

My guess is that even though it my only activate the pedestrian signals, it is a special button for mounted riders.  Perhaps the button is up higher than the normal button to account for the higher position of riders on horses and would normally not be reachable by pedestrians.

Getchell, Washington.  There are many more dual-level buttons on horse trails, but this is the only I know that substitutes the mounted horse symbol for the walking man.  Most of these trails have rules that riders must dismount when crossing, though the convenient upper button would seem to discourage this.  Maybe you can dismount while waiting for the light to change.

[Occidental Tourist]

Do you know where this is exactly?

My guess is that even though it my only activate the pedestrian signals, it is a special button for mounted riders.  Perhaps the button is up higher than the normal button to account for the higher position of riders on horses and would normally not be reachable by pedestrians.

This.  We have horse trails in our town and have quite a few of these.  If there was a shot below the picture depicted, you would see another pedestrian crossing button mounted at normal height.

May I ask if this is in Burbank, CA near the horse trails by Griffith Park?  I think I remember reading that they installed these buttons there to help cross Riverside Drive.

Fullerton

[mrsman]

Do you know where this is exactly?

My guess is that even though it my only activate the pedestrian signals, it is a special button for mounted riders.  Perhaps the button is up higher than the normal button to account for the higher position of riders on horses and would normally not be reachable by pedestrians.

This.  We have horse trails in our town and have quite a few of these.  If there was a shot below the picture depicted, you would see another pedestrian crossing button mounted at normal height.

May I ask if this is in Burbank, CA near the horse trails by Griffith Park?  I think I remember reading that they installed these buttons there to help cross Riverside Drive.

Fullerton

In a similar vein, this picture at Venice and Sawtelle in Los Angeles shows two buttons to activate the ped crossing parallel to Venice.

https://www.google.pl/maps/@34.01137,-118.4198253,3a,37.5y,142.39h,88.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s1XAiM2VPA8axFOHlOVCuvA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192


The one under the red signal is for peds.  The one on the right is meant for bicyclists who would be riding in the street.

Truth be told, I don't understand the need for the push buttons at an intersection like this (major/major).  IMO, they only make sense for a low traffic street crosses a major street to activate the call to cross the major street.  I doubt many bicyclists ever push the button as they can cross on normal green and the signal favors Venice anyway.

[EpicRoadways]

I was doing some snooping around streetview and I came across this bizarre sequential "exit" sign along a surface street in Burnsville, MN. This road is the first interchange on both I-35W and I-35E after their southern split and the interchanges are super close together, so I guess this was done to prevent confusion and to help eliminate last-minute lane changes. Regardless, it's still strange to see a sign like this not on an expressway. Are there any other cases of local sequential exit signs being installed on non-expressway surface streets, for intersections or major junctions as opposed to interchanges? There's an identical sign at the other end of the junctions as well.

[roadman]

I was doing some snooping around streetview and I came across this bizarre sequential "exit" sign along a surface street in Burnsville, MN. This road is the first interchange on both I-35W and I-35E after their southern split and the interchanges are super close together, so I guess this was done to prevent confusion and to help eliminate last-minute lane changes. Regardless, it's still strange to see a sign like this not on an expressway. Are there any other cases of local sequential exit signs being installed on non-expressway surface streets, for intersections or major junctions as opposed to interchanges? There's an identical sign at the other end of the junctions as well.

What's equally bizarre to me is the next set of signs, which are placed on two separate cantilever supports instead of a single full gantry.  The signs and supports appear to be of identical age and design, so I can't figure the logic behind this.

[J N Winkler]

What's equally bizarre to me is the next set of signs, which are placed on two separate cantilever supports instead of a single full gantry.  The signs and supports appear to be of identical age and design, so I can't figure the logic behind this.

Could it be a question of saving the cost of a signbridge?  $30,000 per cantilever versus $100,000 per signbridge suggests a savings of $40,000.  I also wonder if we can exclude the possibility that "similar age and design" in a state like Minnesota corresponds to a difference of a decade or more in installation date.

[EpicRoadways]

What's equally bizarre to me is the next set of signs, which are placed on two separate cantilever supports instead of a single full gantry.  The signs and supports appear to be of identical age and design, so I can't figure the logic behind this.

Could it be a question of saving the cost of a signbridge?  $30,000 per cantilever versus $100,000 per signbridge suggests a savings of $40,000.  I also wonder if we can exclude the possibility that "similar age and design" in a state like Minnesota corresponds to a difference of a decade or more in installation date.

My guess is it probably had to do with cost; setups like that aren't at all uncommon in Minnesota and MNDOT generally avoids full-width gantries unless one absolutely has to be installed because of that added cost. It's also very possible, like you said, that the gantries were installed at different times and have just aged similarly (it's no secret that they're both at least 30-something years old). Given that the western I-35W interchange opened in the late 60s and the eastern I-35E interchange didn't open until the early 80s that's very possible, especially given the first sequential sign I linked is mounted on a different, older 1970s-era gantry. Knowing MNDOT it was probably the former, though.

[CoreySamson]

Very big/noticeable curve signage in OKC:
https://www.google.pl/maps/@35.4341762,-97.4061822,3a,28.1y,296.06h,93.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6lymA-WUIfsDaX44zw6pMw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Oddly enough, I actually like this sign: just not the fact that there are three of them.

[D-Dey65]

I hope nobody else has seen this sign, because I'm going to post it:
https://imgflip.com/i/46xv9u?nerp=1593791899#com5064473

[mrsman]

I hope nobody else has seen this sign, because I'm going to post it:
https://imgflip.com/i/46xv9u?nerp=1593791899#com5064473

US 192 stays in FL and is only 75 miles long.  It should be demoted to a state highway.

[7/8]

I was surprised to see a "MAXIMUM 60 ENDS" sign in Ontario today. I can't remember ever seeing a "speed limit ends" sign in Ontario without a new speed limit posted. Seems very european.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4193021,-80.1771196,3a,54.2y,302.47h,81.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1siU6gj54elGFU7xi8TyzilA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Verlanka]

I hope nobody else has seen this sign, because I'm going to post it:
https://imgflip.com/i/46xv9u?nerp=1593791899#com5064473

US 192 stays in FL and is only 75 miles long.  It should be demoted to a state highway.

If they did, it will not be demoted to FL 192 (which belongs in the northwestern part of the state), but FL 530 (west of Kissimmee) and FL 500 (east of US 441).

[1995hoo]

I was surprised to see a "MAXIMUM 60 ENDS" sign in Ontario today. I can't remember ever seeing a "speed limit ends" sign in Ontario without a new speed limit posted. Seems very european.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4193021,-80.1771196,3a,54.2y,302.47h,81.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1siU6gj54elGFU7xi8TyzilA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

So what happens, then? Does it default to 80? I think I read somewhere that's the default in Ontario.

[roadman65]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/50074743053/
A supplemental sign at the base of the main sign.  Both are really to the same place as the Historic Brunswick is the Downtown which is where the connecting road leads to.  Just replace Brunswick with Historic Brunswick and problem solved.

[roadfro]

The three mini signs on Canada Rd in Lake Forest, CA make me wonder if someone thought the curve should be signed so they made and posted their own signs?

https://goo.gl/maps/P7JMQpTS3bW2PSUb9

Could be that or it could be because a bigger sign could collide with cars or big trucks.

Late to reply on this one, but I'm pretty sure MarkF is on point. Not only are these signs undersized and not to design spec, they are also not installed at the proper height (such that they would not be very visible to drivers if a taller vehicle were parked adjacent.

[D-Dey65]

I hope nobody else has seen this sign, because I'm going to post it:
https://imgflip.com/i/46xv9u?nerp=1593791899#com5064473

US 192 stays in FL and is only 75 miles long.  It should be demoted to a state highway.

If they did, it will not be demoted to FL 192 (which belongs in the northwestern part of the state), but FL 530 (west of Kissimmee) and FL 500 (east of US 441).

Actually I wanted to focus on the bike lane vs. car lane warning sign which places the car lane over the water.
https://imgflip.com/i/46xv9u?nerp=1593791899

[7/8]

I was surprised to see a "MAXIMUM 60 ENDS" sign in Ontario today. I can't remember ever seeing a "speed limit ends" sign in Ontario without a new speed limit posted. Seems very european.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4193021,-80.1771196,3a,54.2y,302.47h,81.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1siU6gj54elGFU7xi8TyzilA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

So what happens, then? Does it default to 80? I think I read somewhere that's the default in Ontario.

I believe so. 80 seems to be the default rural two-lane speed limit.

[roadman]

What's equally bizarre to me is the next set of signs, which are placed on two separate cantilever supports instead of a single full gantry.  The signs and supports appear to be of identical age and design, so I can't figure the logic behind this.

Could it be a question of saving the cost of a signbridge?  $30,000 per cantilever versus $100,000 per signbridge suggests a savings of $40,000.  I also wonder if we can exclude the possibility that "similar age and design" in a state like Minnesota corresponds to a difference of a decade or more in installation date.

My guess is it probably had to do with cost; setups like that aren't at all uncommon in Minnesota and MNDOT generally avoids full-width gantries unless one absolutely has to be installed because of that added cost. It's also very possible, like you said, that the gantries were installed at different times and have just aged similarly (it's no secret that they're both at least 30-something years old). Given that the western I-35W interchange opened in the late 60s and the eastern I-35E interchange didn't open until the early 80s that's very possible, especially given the first sequential sign I linked is mounted on a different, older 1970s-era gantry. Knowing MNDOT it was probably the former, though.

With respect, and based on my 30+ years experience with BGS signs and support structures, it seems highly improbable to me that a pair of cantilever supports would cost less than a single gantry, unless you're spanning the complete width of the road and not just one direction.  For a similar location in Massachusetts, the cantilever supports would cost about $30K to $32K each, so you're not too far off there.  But a full span gantry for both signs would cost only about $45K to $50K, not $100K (our full span VMS gantries don't even approach $100K).  The foundation for a cantilever support is almost always more complex than the equivalent foundation for one upright of a full span gantry.  That, plus the need to use larger or thicker members in the support design, are what result in the higher cost.

[kphoger]

creative "route shield"

https://goo.gl/maps/WhNFVrkrNJpxEEpL8

[Scott5114]

creative "route shield"

https://goo.gl/maps/WhNFVrkrNJpxEEpL8

I mean, I don't hate it...

[kphoger]

creative "route shield"

https://goo.gl/maps/WhNFVrkrNJpxEEpL8

I mean, I don't hate it...

Yeah, it ended up looking really good.

[Scott5114]

Probably wouldn't work so well for any street that wasn't just an ordinal, though.