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Most absurd VMS messages

Started by Pete from Boston, July 10, 2015, 12:27:52 AM

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Rothman

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.


Bruce

Try to decode this bus stop sign:



It's a sign for University Street Station, located under the intersection of 3rd Avenue and University Street with an entrance to Seneca Street.

King County Metro isn't doing itself any favors with its other signs for the tunnel stations, which include:


  • "PINE ST/3,4,5T AV"  for Westlake Station (located on Pine Street under 3rd, 4th and 5th avenues)
  • "3AV/JAMES/YESL WY"  for Pioneer Square Station (3rd Avenue & James Street/Yesler Way)
  • "S JACKSON ST/5 AV"  for International District/Chinatown Station (5th & Jackson)

The tunnel is also used by another agency, Sound Transit, who use the sensible approach of just using the station names ("WESTLAKE", "UNIVERSITY ST", etc.).

Not to mention that University Street is no where near the present University of Washington (which moved out of downtown in the 1880s), so there's always confused tourists at that station.

intelati49

Quote from: jbnv on July 20, 2015, 08:20:48 PM
I've seen VMSes in Houston giving directions to a gun show. Absurd or just pure Texas?  :sombrero:

Those two are not mutually exclusive...

spooky

The CMS on I-93 NB around Randolph displayed "BRIDGE OPENING PLANNED THURSDAY 5:15" last night. It did not bother to tell me what bridge.

roadman

#29
Latest Not an absurd CMS message, but a pretty inaccurate one.  Route 28 at the Reading/Stoneham line. "Road Work Begins - 5-25-15  Lane Merge Ahead."  It's now July 23rd, and the roadway remains fully open.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

Rothman

During the Buffalo/Niagara Road Meet, when travelling south on I-190, the VMS prior to the Skyway said that it was closed when it definitely was not.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

doogie1303

Since there are a lot of Patriots fans in RI, just before the Superbowl this year the VMS signs on I-95 read "GO THE EXTRA YAAD, DRIVE SOBAH".

mrsman

Quote from: jeffandnicole on July 17, 2015, 08:10:52 AM
Quote from: mrsman on July 17, 2015, 05:52:31 AM
Quote from: Bruce on July 13, 2015, 04:34:18 PM
Quote from: TEG24601 on July 13, 2015, 12:33:56 PM
Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on July 11, 2015, 03:57:13 PM
Quote from: Bruce on July 10, 2015, 01:22:12 AM
Technically a VMS, but Seattle's buses often switch to a "GO SEAHAWKS", "GO SOUNDERS" or "GO MARINERS" sign instead of their destination. It's a nice gesture, but it actually makes things inconvenient for bus riders and thus should be limited to stretches without any stops.


Metro 2716 "Go Sounders" at 3rd & Pine by SounderBruce, on Flickr

(Sorry for the blurry pic)

I've seen that done in other cities too.  I know buses in Montreal will often say "Go Habs!" during Canadiens games.


Don't those cycle with the destination signs?  And if not, aren't they just a shuttle to/from the stadium?

They cycle, but the problem is that they cycle while they're running between stops and at stops. They should be cycling on their non-stop segments (e.g. freeway segments or long stretches on Aurora and the bridges).

The downtown stadium shuttles don't leave the freeway until the last minute, and this coach was on a local route.

Even if they do cycle, it still takes time away from the key messaging information about route and destination.

I'm a regular rider of the DC Metro and they have VMS signs at every station whose main purpose is to list the upcoming 3 trains and how much time you need to wait for them.  (useful) They also may announce a major delay. (useful)

But at times they go through a litany of elevator outages (and in DC there are usually at least 20 stations with a broken elevator).  This information is not generally useful to most people, first because they list every station (not just those on the line) and secondly, the information only really affects the physically handicapped.  It takes so much time to go through the list, that you won't see the upcoming train information.  The information about broken elevators should be limited to announcements on trains as they approach the affected station.

That sucks though for the physically handicapped that are ready to depart the train.  If they had more notice - such as before the train picks them up - they could figure out their next best option, which isn't always the next stop on the line they are on.

I'm not the only one who feels strongly about the elevator message on the VMS signs on the Metro (known as PIDs - passenger information displays).

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/27503/metros-inefficient-info-displays-worsen-crowding/

mrsman

Quote from: Bruce on July 21, 2015, 05:31:41 PM
Try to decode this bus stop sign:



It's a sign for University Street Station, located under the intersection of 3rd Avenue and University Street with an entrance to Seneca Street.

King County Metro isn't doing itself any favors with its other signs for the tunnel stations, which include:


  • "PINE ST/3,4,5T AV"  for Westlake Station (located on Pine Street under 3rd, 4th and 5th avenues)
  • "3AV/JAMES/YESL WY"  for Pioneer Square Station (3rd Avenue & James Street/Yesler Way)
  • "S JACKSON ST/5 AV"  for International District/Chinatown Station (5th & Jackson)

The tunnel is also used by another agency, Sound Transit, who use the sensible approach of just using the station names ("WESTLAKE", "UNIVERSITY ST", etc.).

Not to mention that University Street is no where near the present University of Washington (which moved out of downtown in the 1880s), so there's always confused tourists at that station.

I agree with you Bruce, a station for Seattle's bus tunnel should be treated like a subway station, referred to by subway station name, not the intersection that is over the station.

And University Street is the only tunnel station (and only one of the few light rail stations) that is named after a street as opposed to a location.  Since it may be confusing for those who are looking for the University, the station should probably be renamed after Benaroya Hall.

Occidental Tourist

California has had some great ones.  "Don't Text While Driving" - Nothing says "let's prevent distracted driving" by distracting motorists with another message.

Most recently:  "Serious Drought, Help Save Water" and "Severe Drought, Limit Outdoor Watering"

jeffandnicole

Quote from: Occidental Tourist on August 18, 2015, 07:37:17 PM
California has had some great ones.  "Don't Text While Driving" - Nothing says "let's prevent distracted driving" by distracting motorists with another message.

That and similar messages are pretty common.  And glancing at an overhead sign is way different than looking down and watching what you're typing.

spooky

WEGMANS OPENING
SUN OCT 11TH
EXPECT DELAYS

seen on University Avenue in Westwood, in anticipation of Sunday's grand opening of a Wegmans grocery store at the University Station shopping center.

1995hoo

Quote from: spooky on October 08, 2015, 07:59:38 AM
WEGMANS OPENING
SUN OCT 11TH
EXPECT DELAYS

seen on University Avenue in Westwood, in anticipation of Sunday's grand opening of a Wegmans grocery store at the University Station shopping center.

I wouldn't call that absurd so much as I'd call it realistic. Every time a new Wegmans opens around here, the traffic snarls are hideous to the point where it bears mention on the radio traffic reports (though on at least one occasion, WTOP referred to heavy traffic "due to a new business opening" because Wegmans doesn't advertise on WTOP).
"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.

spooky

Quote from: 1995hoo on October 08, 2015, 08:21:07 AM
Quote from: spooky on October 08, 2015, 07:59:38 AM
WEGMANS OPENING
SUN OCT 11TH
EXPECT DELAYS

seen on University Avenue in Westwood, in anticipation of Sunday's grand opening of a Wegmans grocery store at the University Station shopping center.

I wouldn't call that absurd so much as I'd call it realistic. Every time a new Wegmans opens around here, the traffic snarls are hideous to the point where it bears mention on the radio traffic reports (though on at least one occasion, WTOP referred to heavy traffic "due to a new business opening" because Wegmans doesn't advertise on WTOP).

Agreed, but I didn't think it was necessary to create a new thread for "not absurd but realistic and yet somewhat amusing VMS messages".

1995hoo

Quote from: spooky on October 08, 2015, 08:26:16 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on October 08, 2015, 08:21:07 AM
Quote from: spooky on October 08, 2015, 07:59:38 AM
WEGMANS OPENING
SUN OCT 11TH
EXPECT DELAYS

seen on University Avenue in Westwood, in anticipation of Sunday's grand opening of a Wegmans grocery store at the University Station shopping center.

I wouldn't call that absurd so much as I'd call it realistic. Every time a new Wegmans opens around here, the traffic snarls are hideous to the point where it bears mention on the radio traffic reports (though on at least one occasion, WTOP referred to heavy traffic "due to a new business opening" because Wegmans doesn't advertise on WTOP).

Agreed, but I didn't think it was necessary to create a new thread for "not absurd but realistic and yet somewhat amusing VMS messages".

Good point. I replied before simply because I wasn't sure whether you felt it was an inappropriate use of a VMS.
"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.

cappicard

Quote from: Bruce on July 10, 2015, 01:22:12 AM
Technically a VMS, but Seattle's buses often switch to a "GO SEAHAWKS", "GO SOUNDERS" or "GO MARINERS" sign instead of their destination. It's a nice gesture, but it actually makes things inconvenient for bus riders and thus should be limited to stretches without any stops.


Metro 2716 "Go Sounders" at 3rd & Pine by SounderBruce, on Flickr

(Sorry for the blurry pic)
The Jo and the KC Metro busses both do this too.

roadman

Quote from: spooky on October 08, 2015, 07:59:38 AM
WEGMANS OPENING
SUN OCT 11TH
EXPECT DELAYS

seen on University Avenue in Westwood, in anticipation of Sunday's grand opening of a Wegmans grocery store at the University Station shopping center.
What's unusual about this message is not the content (warning of possible backups), but the fact they named the supermarket in the message.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

Buffaboy

Quote from: roadman on October 08, 2015, 12:40:12 PM
Quote from: spooky on October 08, 2015, 07:59:38 AM
WEGMANS OPENING
SUN OCT 11TH
EXPECT DELAYS

seen on University Avenue in Westwood, in anticipation of Sunday's grand opening of a Wegmans grocery store at the University Station shopping center.
What's unusual about this message is not the content (warning of possible backups), but the fact they named the supermarket in the message.

Hmm, this is slightly amusing...

I could see a sign like this popping up on I-290 near Buffalo when Whole Foods opens, but I don't know. Are that many people in Boston that Wegmans-crazy? I never got into it, likely because I've been raised on Wegmans my entire life.
What's not to like about highways and bridges, intersections and interchanges, rails and planes?

My Wikipedia county SVG maps: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Buffaboy

bzakharin

I think I mentioned this in some other thread, and I'm not sure they still do this, but I-295 VMSs in NJ would display travel times not just with mostly understandable route numbers (like NJ73), but "BEN" and "WALT" for the Ben Franklin Bridge and Walt Whitman Bridge respectively. I'm sure non-locals don't understand those. And these were just travel times with no mileage, so they were completely useless to those who couldn't decipher the destination.

For that matter, even places that spell out the destination, like the ones on NJ 55 and NJ 42 for travel times to I-295 and the Walt Whitman Bridge, without mileage, make me pause and try to calculate where I am in relation to those destinations. It doesn't help that there are at least 3 signs with identical destinations in different places.

Then there was one on I-287 North which showed travel times between two points ahead of you instead of from your current location, which I guess could be useful to go around if there was a traffic jam there, but isn't there a better way to do this? Maybe by putting the sign closer to the exit you could take to void the delay (or at least changing the sign to "Delays ahead / use exit XX for route YY"?

spooky

Quote from: Buffaboy on October 08, 2015, 01:21:25 PM
Quote from: roadman on October 08, 2015, 12:40:12 PM
Quote from: spooky on October 08, 2015, 07:59:38 AM
WEGMANS OPENING
SUN OCT 11TH
EXPECT DELAYS

seen on University Avenue in Westwood, in anticipation of Sunday's grand opening of a Wegmans grocery store at the University Station shopping center.
What's unusual about this message is not the content (warning of possible backups), but the fact they named the supermarket in the message.

Hmm, this is slightly amusing...

I could see a sign like this popping up on I-290 near Buffalo when Whole Foods opens, but I don't know. Are that many people in Boston that Wegmans-crazy? I never got into it, likely because I've been raised on Wegmans my entire life.

Folks in the Commonwealth love to be the first ones to get in on something that they think they've been missing out on from other parts of the country. I'm reminded of the lines of traffic that were generated by the first Sonic in the state, or the lines out the door at the since-closed Krispy Kreme locations.

Wegmans is definitely treating this like an event. Their advertising notes not only that they are opening Sunday, but that they are opening at 7 AM on Sunday. I know someone originally from Western NY that essentially tailgated the Wegmans opening in Northborough a few years back. Northborough was the first store in MA; I believe Westwood is the 4th.

1995hoo

When the Wegmans near our house (Alexandria, VA) opened in June at 7:00 AM on a Sunday, apparently there were over 1000 people already there waiting on line. (I say "apparently" because I made a point of not going in that direction that day!)
"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.

odditude

Quote from: bzakharin on October 08, 2015, 04:04:12 PM
I think I mentioned this in some other thread, and I'm not sure they still do this, but I-295 VMSs in NJ would display travel times not just with mostly understandable route numbers (like NJ73), but "BEN" and "WALT" for the Ben Franklin Bridge and Walt Whitman Bridge respectively. I'm sure non-locals don't understand those. And these were just travel times with no mileage, so they were completely useless to those who couldn't decipher the destination.
PennDOT occasionally uses "SFB" for the Scudder Falls Bridge - it's my daily commute, and it still took me a while to figure out what it meant.

cl94

Quote from: spooky on October 09, 2015, 07:53:48 AM
Quote from: Buffaboy on October 08, 2015, 01:21:25 PM
Quote from: roadman on October 08, 2015, 12:40:12 PM
Quote from: spooky on October 08, 2015, 07:59:38 AM
WEGMANS OPENING
SUN OCT 11TH
EXPECT DELAYS

seen on University Avenue in Westwood, in anticipation of Sunday's grand opening of a Wegmans grocery store at the University Station shopping center.
What's unusual about this message is not the content (warning of possible backups), but the fact they named the supermarket in the message.

Hmm, this is slightly amusing...

I could see a sign like this popping up on I-290 near Buffalo when Whole Foods opens, but I don't know. Are that many people in Boston that Wegmans-crazy? I never got into it, likely because I've been raised on Wegmans my entire life.

Folks in the Commonwealth love to be the first ones to get in on something that they think they've been missing out on from other parts of the country. I'm reminded of the lines of traffic that were generated by the first Sonic in the state, or the lines out the door at the since-closed Krispy Kreme locations.

Wegmans is definitely treating this like an event. Their advertising notes not only that they are opening Sunday, but that they are opening at 7 AM on Sunday. I know someone originally from Western NY that essentially tailgated the Wegmans opening in Northborough a few years back. Northborough was the first store in MA; I believe Westwood is the 4th.

The person who posed the question also lives in Upstate New York. Aside from the Pittsford store, no currently-open New York location is remotely like a Wegmans in Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania or New Jersey. Swing into the Pittsford store on NY 31 next time you're near Rochester. That is what the rest of the country thinks when they hear "Wegmans". I've been in the Northborough store as well as a couple further south. They're nothing like a Wegmans in New York.

And about the statement I bolded, Buffalo is the same way. Buffalo is very similar to Boston in several regards and that is precisely the reason why I intend to move away.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

vdeane

Quote from: cl94 on October 09, 2015, 03:40:46 PM
The person who posed the question also lives in Upstate New York. Aside from the Pittsford store, no currently-open New York location is remotely like a Wegmans in Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania or New Jersey. Swing into the Pittsford store on NY 31 next time you're near Rochester. That is what the rest of the country thinks when they hear "Wegmans". I've been in the Northborough store as well as a couple further south. They're nothing like a Wegmans in New York.
Calkins Rd, Canandaigua, DeWitt, East Ave (smaller but still packed with all the usual amenities, and a parking lot that includes the entire footprint of the old store and parking lot combined)... looks like they're giving Buffalo the cold shoulder.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

noelbotevera

A VMS on I-81 NB near the Maryland state line said:

US 11 52 MILES 51 MIN
I-78 89 MILES 88 MIN

Uh, you can take US 11 from Exit 3, 5 (via PA 16 west), 10 (PA 914 west), 14 (via Wayne Ave. and Orchard Drive)...you have all these opportunities to get on US 11, what's the point of driving to Carlisle to hop on 11?



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