I've read about street sign theft mostly off Wikipedia; I know that some street names and numbers (mostly 69, 420, and 666) are victims, but do you know of any that I don't? Also, which signs in your area are frequently stolen, and why?
Back in the early 1980s, Electric Avenue over near Tysons Corner essentially had no street signs for a year or two due to sign theft.
Not literally a road sign, but the sign for the Howard Stern rest area on I-295 in New Jersey (he was a big fan of then-governor Christine Todd Whitman, and vice-versa) was posted, was quickly stolen before I could get up there to steal it myself, and was never replaced.
The segment of Alaska state route 10 in Cordova, Alaska used to have route markers, but those signs kept disappearing, and eventually the DOT gave up on erecting replacements. That segment of route 10 is connected to the rest of the state highway system only by ferry. Many in Cordova strongly opposed a proposed land connection of its highway segment to the rest of route 10, and apparently viewed the route 10 signs as part of a scheme to build that connecting highway. You still see lots of "NO ROAD" bumper stickers there (I even saw one in Alexandria VA), even though the proposed road has long been as dead as a doornail.
Ragged Ass Road (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=13488.msg2007124#msg2007124) in Yellowknife NT once had a sign theft problem, until one street blade was permabonded to a large hard-to-steal boulder, and others were welded to their signposts. Replica signs are sold locally (including at the airport), for tourists who forgot to pack their own metal saws.
Iqaluit NU's famous "Road to Nowhere" (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=13220.msg2005024#msg2000190) also has a sign theft problem. Its sign was missing when I visited Iqaluit in 2014, but I've seen at least one photo of the sign when it could be found in the wild.
Mullet Place in Green Bay. They hand the sign up high now.
Quote from: Big John on November 14, 2017, 09:51:11 PM
Mullet Place in Green Bay. They hand the sign up high now.
In a similar vein, for many years the "signs" for Penny Lane in Liverpool weren't signs anymore–they were painted on building walls. They now use a different style of actual sign that's supposedly hard to steal.
There's Colorado with Mileposts 419.99 and 68.99 to deter sign thieves.
Locally many rural municipalities with high street grids began signing their "420th" roads as "42X" on sign blades to prevent sign theft.
Pretty much any California spade is a popular theft item. M-22 comes to mind out in Michigan due to the scenic value of the highway.
Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on November 14, 2017, 10:43:08 PM
There's Colorado with Mileposts 419.99 and 68.99 to deter sign thieves.
Locally many rural municipalities with high street grids began signing their "420th" roads as "42X" on sign blades to prevent sign theft.
Meanwhile, Chisago County has taken to mounting their 420th St signs really high up on (sometimes former) utility poles (https://www.google.com/maps/@45.5569813,-92.8986322,3a,47.3y,2.71h,85.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgrtMuoBmbsd3T6L9w7iPqQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) to deter theft. There's another one to the west of that one that's even higher up.
Edit: also, all these attempts by DOTs to make their signs unworthy of theft just make me more interested in them. Mile 419.99? That's a unique item right there.
I've heard over the years that the sign for Bug Tussle (community in NE TX) got stolen so often that TxDOT gave up on re-signing it. Supposedly the culprits were college kids.
The town line signs for Florida, MA were a popular target of U-Mass (Amherst) students for years.
Here in San Angelo, the city finally renamed Gay Street to Grace Lane because the sign was stolen so often. Fucking, Austria has the same problem.
I think I related this on a different thread, but a street not far from me was named Pig Ln., bu they changed it to Darin Rd., because the street signs kept getting stolen.
Ragged Ass Rd, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
Quote from: bmorrill on November 15, 2017, 01:57:55 PM
Here in San Angelo, the city finally renamed Gay Street to Grace Lane because the sign was stolen so often. Fucking, Austria has the same problem.
So had Shitterton, England, until they purchased a stone block and placed it where the sign used to be.
I know three different people who have stolen NC 12 signs. Highway 12 is the only north-south route running along the length of the Outer Banks in NC, so many folks hold the road dear to their hearts.
One I completely forgot about is the US 1 END mile marker 0 in Key West. I have photos of several different versions of that sign assembly because it is stolen generally every couple months.
There used to be this sign on I-40 at it's beginning in Wilmington, NC but it kept getting stolen so many times that NCDOT said "fuck it" and never replaced it again. It sucks that it's gone now.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/WilmingtonBarstow.JPG)
There's a similar sign on I-40 in Barstow for Wilmington, but I don't know if it had the same theft problem or if it's even still there.
(https://twstatic.net/attachments/danjayna_i40-jpg.148349/)
I have one out in the sticks where I live in Harford County, north of Baltimore, that for some reason is a multiple-time victim of theft or damage.
Back in 1976 or so, one of my dad's buddies plucked a street sign from their neighborhood in Lanham-Seabrook just outside of Washington, DC. Shortly afterward, he moved to Pinellas County, Florida. As of 2010 it was still in his backyard there.
Quote from: kkt on November 15, 2017, 01:32:55 AM
Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco.
Really? When I lived there, the replica old signs at the intersection stayed put.
Quote from: LM117 on November 16, 2017, 09:12:25 AM
There used to be this sign on I-40 at it's beginning in Wilmington, NC but it kept getting stolen so many times that NCDOT said "fuck it" and never replaced it again. It sucks that it's gone now.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/WilmingtonBarstow.JPG)
There's a similar sign on I-40 in Barstow for Wilmington, but I don't know if it had the same theft problem or if it's even still there.
(https://twstatic.net/attachments/danjayna_i40-jpg.148349/)
Rumor is that it's been stolen a couple times but the size of the sign and major junction location at I-15 tends to deter a lot of would be thieves.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 16, 2017, 10:30:41 AM
Quote from: LM117 on November 16, 2017, 09:12:25 AM
There used to be this sign on I-40 at it's beginning in Wilmington, NC but it kept getting stolen so many times that NCDOT said "fuck it" and never replaced it again. It sucks that it's gone now.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/WilmingtonBarstow.JPG)
There's a similar sign on I-40 in Barstow for Wilmington, but I don't know if it had the same theft problem or if it's even still there.
(https://twstatic.net/attachments/danjayna_i40-jpg.148349/)
Rumor is that it's been stolen a couple times but the size of the sign and major junction location at I-15 tends to deter a lot of would be thieves.
Is there any reason people would want to steal that sign>
I think there will be issues with I-69 in Bloomington, it being a college town with a college sense of humor. I believe I've heard a few stories of IU students taking I-69 shields from further south, along the finished portions.
Quote from: theroadwayone on November 16, 2017, 12:02:33 PM
Is there any reason people would want to steal that sign>
It would make a cool beer pong table.
Quote from: triplemultiplex on November 16, 2017, 02:07:33 PM
Quote from: theroadwayone on November 16, 2017, 12:02:33 PM
Is there any reason people would want to steal that sign>
It would make a cool beer pong table.
You'll never see another like it and would look great in a garage bolted to the wall. Personally I'm not a fan of collecting BGSs given how much real estate they tend to take up in my storage room. But then again I buy all my signs and it's rare a BGS comes up for sale when it is easier just to scrap.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on November 14, 2017, 10:43:08 PM
There's Colorado with Mileposts 419.99 and 68.99 to deter sign thieves.
Oregon was poised to sign the Beltline Highway around Eugene as Oregon 69, to match its hidden highway number. However, before it could be signed in the field, concerns about theft were raised. It was originally proposed to be changed to Oregon 14, but was instead given Oregon
569 instead, making it Oregon's highest signed route number.
As far as mileposts go, I don't think there's a single highway whose mileposts go up to 420, but plenty make it to 69. Some, like on the Sunset Highway, are still there, but it's a bitch to get to. Others, like on I-5 at Sexton Summit (hehe) are attached to the pass sign itself (https://goo.gl/maps/GhYzz15aXPm). I'll have to do a rundown of all state highways on GSV and see which ones still exist.
I-5 in Washington used to have a blank milepost at MP 69, but now there are small "6" and "9" stickers placed in both (https://goo.gl/maps/Pr6KjHQgAQN2) directions (https://goo.gl/maps/h6LbNTCFEVD2). No clue about I-90.
Minnesota only has one physical MP 420, which is on US 59 near the Canadian border in a very rural area (the US 59 crossing north of Lancaster is so infrequently used that a controversial plan to close the customs station at 4 PM daily has been floated in recent weeks). I'm not sure if enough frat boys go that route to make it a frequent theft target.
US 71 has over 420 miles in Minnesota, but the MP 420 itself falls along its MN 11 duplex where the latter route's mileposts are used.
I met a guy in the geology department at MoDOT who said the most frequently-stolen sign in Missouri was–you guessed it–US 69. Of course, I don't know that a geologist would talk to the sign guys all that much, so take that as you will.
On the same vein I once noticed they had stolen a kmpost 69 (https://www.google.es/maps/@41.2656139,-0.7586305,3a,75y,308.03h,74.03t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sosa0ZjCy550HqWccy2w_Nw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) (in GSV is there, but it was gone in October 2015).
There is a Batman Rd south of Allentown PA on PA 29/100 that is placed very high as well, since that one keeps getting stolen.
Not too far north of Ann Arbor, MI, there would be green directional signs to Hell, MI. that were favorite targets of college kids.
Quote from: JasonOfORoads on November 16, 2017, 05:52:59 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on November 14, 2017, 10:43:08 PM
There's Colorado with Mileposts 419.99 and 68.99 to deter sign thieves.
Oregon was poised to sign the Beltline Highway around Eugene as Oregon 69, to match its hidden highway number. However, before it could be signed in the field, concerns about theft were raised. It was originally proposed to be changed to Oregon 14, but was instead given Oregon 569 instead, making it Oregon's highest signed route number.
As far as mileposts go, I don't think there's a single highway whose mileposts go up to 420, but plenty make it to 69. Some, like on the Sunset Highway, are still there, but it's a bitch to get to. Others, like on I-5 at Sexton Summit (hehe) are attached to the pass sign itself (https://goo.gl/maps/GhYzz15aXPm). I'll have to do a rundown of all state highways on GSV and see which ones still exist.
I-5 in Washington used to have a blank milepost at MP 69, but now there are small "6" and "9" stickers placed in both (https://goo.gl/maps/Pr6KjHQgAQN2) directions (https://goo.gl/maps/h6LbNTCFEVD2). No clue about I-90.
hehe, SEXton summit, i want that
Quote from: JasonOfORoads on November 16, 2017, 05:52:59 PM
Others, like on I-5 at Sexton Summit (hehe) are attached to the pass sign itself (https://goo.gl/maps/GhYzz15aXPm).
I would think that would make it an even greater target for theft. At least for that one, anyways.
Joey Ramone Place at E 2 St and The Bowery. The sign is nearly to the top of the lamppost now.
P00I
Joshua Tree Paradise Valley, AZ
MP 420 US 89 North of Flagstaff
Quote from: mapman1071 on November 20, 2017, 11:44:26 AM
Joshua Tree Paradise Valley, AZ
MP 420 US 89 North of Flagstaff
The worst offender in Arizona was probably US 666. Sign theft part was a huge arguement for getting it renumbered to US 191. Surprisingly the historic US 66 and 89A signs don't seem to get stolen all that much.
New Mexico has a blank sign at mm 420 on I-25. Same shape and position as a mile marker, but it's solid white with retroflective paint.
Quote from: JasonOfORoads on November 16, 2017, 05:52:59 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on November 14, 2017, 10:43:08 PM
There's Colorado with Mileposts 419.99 and 68.99 to deter sign thieves.
Oregon was poised to sign the Beltline Highway around Eugene as Oregon 69, to match its hidden highway number. However, before it could be signed in the field, concerns about theft were raised. It was originally proposed to be changed to Oregon 14, but was instead given Oregon 569 instead, making it Oregon's highest signed route number.
As far as mileposts go, I don't think there's a single highway whose mileposts go up to 420, but plenty make it to 69. Some, like on the Sunset Highway, are still there, but it's a bitch to get to. Others, like on I-5 at Sexton Summit (hehe) are attached to the pass sign itself (https://goo.gl/maps/GhYzz15aXPm). I'll have to do a rundown of all state highways on GSV and see which ones still exist.
I-5 in Washington used to have a blank milepost at MP 69, but now there are small "6" and "9" stickers placed in both (https://goo.gl/maps/Pr6KjHQgAQN2) directions (https://goo.gl/maps/h6LbNTCFEVD2). No clue about I-90.
I assume the thevies of such signs don't like the resulting numbers or they want to show their mom that they found a sign with "420" or "69" on them... :hmmm:
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 20, 2017, 12:10:30 PM
Quote from: mapman1071 on November 20, 2017, 11:44:26 AM
Joshua Tree Paradise Valley, AZ
MP 420 US 89 North of Flagstaff
The worst offender in Arizona was probably US 666. Sign theft part was a huge arguement for getting it renumbered to US 191. Surprisingly the historic US 66 and 89A signs don't seem to get stolen all that much.
Actually, US 666 got renumbered to US 491. Hence my theory that 491 is the "secretly evil" number.
Quote from: Finrod on November 28, 2017, 05:02:58 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 20, 2017, 12:10:30 PM
The worst offender in Arizona was probably US 666. Sign theft part was a huge arguement for getting it renumbered to US 191. Surprisingly the historic US 66 and 89A signs don't seem to get stolen all that much.
Actually, US 666 got renumbered to US 491. Hence my theory that 491 is the "secretly evil" number.
Both are correct. US 666 ran from Monticello UT to Douglas AZ via CO and NM, being a North-South route with a East-West number. In 1992 Arizona decided to get rid of its section and extended US 191 (which until then ended in Chambers, not far from where US 666 departed I-40) over it, making it an almost border-to-border route (it did become one five years later when it was extended in MT from Malta to Morgan at the Canadian border). In 2003 the other three states decided to renumber US 666 to US 491, skipping 291 and 391 as they were in use as state routes in at least one state.
This one in Simsbury, CT was always being stolen
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4538/38668446526_a88b41947b.jpg)
Quote from: Scott5114 on November 16, 2017, 10:31:51 PM
I met a guy in the geology department at MoDOT who said the most frequently-stolen sign in Missouri was–you guessed it–US 69. Of course, I don't know that a geologist would talk to the sign guys all that much, so take that as you will.
I guess that explains the lack of signage in Kansas City...
Quote from: JasonOfORoads on November 16, 2017, 05:52:59 PM
I-5 in Washington used to have a blank milepost at MP 69, but now there are small "6" and "9" stickers placed in both (https://goo.gl/maps/Pr6KjHQgAQN2) directions (https://goo.gl/maps/h6LbNTCFEVD2). No clue about I-90.
I-90 does not have any mile markers for milepost 69. I can find 70 and 68, but no 69. I-82 has an Exit 69, but the milepost is blank, like I-5: https://goo.gl/et4U9u
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on November 29, 2017, 09:01:26 AM
Both are correct. US 666 ran from Monticello UT to Douglas AZ via CO and NM, being a North-South route with a East-West number. In 1992 Arizona decided to get rid of its section and extended US 191 (which until then ended in Chambers, not far from where US 666 departed I-40) over it, making it an almost border-to-border route (it did become one five years later when it was extended in MT from Malta to Morgan at the Canadian border). In 2003 the other three states decided to renumber US 666 to US 491, skipping 291 and 391 as they were in use as state routes in at least one state.
I did not know that. Thanks for the information.
Quote from: vdeane on November 17, 2017, 12:46:05 PM
Quote from: JasonOfORoads on November 16, 2017, 05:52:59 PM
Others, like on I-5 at Sexton Summit (hehe) are attached to the pass sign itself (https://goo.gl/maps/GhYzz15aXPm).
I would think that would make it an even greater target for theft. At least for that one, anyways.
Seriously! What person thought it was a good idea to put "69" right next to "Sex"?
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on November 29, 2017, 09:01:26 AM
Quote from: Finrod on November 28, 2017, 05:02:58 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 20, 2017, 12:10:30 PM
The worst offender in Arizona was probably US 666. Sign theft part was a huge arguement for getting it renumbered to US 191. Surprisingly the historic US 66 and 89A signs don't seem to get stolen all that much.
Actually, US 666 got renumbered to US 491. Hence my theory that 491 is the "secretly evil" number.
Both are correct. US 666 ran from Monticello UT to Douglas AZ via CO and NM, being a North-South route with a East-West number. In 1992 Arizona decided to get rid of its section and extended US 191 (which until then ended in Chambers, not far from where US 666 departed I-40) over it, making it an almost border-to-border route (it did become one five years later when it was extended in MT from Malta to Morgan at the Canadian border). In 2003 the other three states decided to renumber US 666 to US 491, skipping 291 and 391 as they were in use as state routes in at least one state.
I've seen precisely one US-666 shield (back when it existed). It was mounted way up on a stoplight arm, where nobody could get to it. IIRC, that was in Monticello (UT). When I drove a portion of the highway back then, there were zero reassurance markers left un-stolen in the field.
Why would anyone steel a sign ?
Quote from: doglover44 on December 13, 2017, 08:51:25 PM
Why would anyone steel a sign ?
Much more durable than wood.
Quote from: epzik8 on November 16, 2017, 09:23:27 AM
I have one out in the sticks where I live in Harford County, north of Baltimore, that for some reason is a multiple-time victim of theft or damage.
This one just got stolen again this week! Can you believe it!!!
At one point in the mid-2000s US 60 shields start disappearing in between Poplar Bluff and Sikeston. Sign theft? Maybe.