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Michigan Replacing Some M-22 Signs with Plain "22"

Started by catch22, August 24, 2016, 12:17:03 PM

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catch22

MDOT is replacing some frequently-stolen M-22 signs with a simpler version, in an attempt to reduce future theft:

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2016/08/mdot.html



(I may know of a garage that has a circa-1973 M-22 sign hanging in it.  I hope the statute of limitations has run out by now.)  :)


Brandon

^^ Make the "M" green, use the white background, make the numbers blue and the outside yellow.  Then nobody will want to touch the damn things.
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pianocello

Quote from: Brandon on August 24, 2016, 12:30:06 PM
^^ Make the "M" green, use the white background, make the numbers blue and the outside yellow.  Then nobody will want to touch the damn things.

None of the Michiganders will. That might have an adverse effect for everyone else, though: they'd see a multi-colored sign of a well-known route as a novelty item.
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Max Rockatansky

For as supposedly as stolen sign M22 is I've never ONCE seen one pop up on eBay.  I have an M37 and I've seen M115 also...but no 22. Why not just paint them on the ground like they do with old sections of US 66?  :-D

6a

For the common idiot, why are these signs so frequently stolen?

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: 6a on August 25, 2016, 01:49:11 PM
For the common idiot, why are these signs so frequently stolen?

Very scenic route on the Leelanua Pennisula on Lake Michigan.  A lot of Michigan people love to get cabins or summer homes up there.  There is even a company that sells M22 branded merchandise which probably contributed to theft spike on the road signs.  For what it's worth it's one of the few really good "driver's" roads in Michigan with lots of twists and turns.

sparker

Given what I'm hearing here about MI sign theft, it was probably a sound decision for MI DOT to commission M-69 on the U.P.; less likely that folks would endure the slog up there just to steal a sign! (not to mention less confusion with I-69 "down south")

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: sparker on August 25, 2016, 03:54:05 PM
Given what I'm hearing here about MI sign theft, it was probably a sound decision for MI DOT to commission M-69 on the U.P.; less likely that folks would endure the slog up there just to steal a sign! (not to mention less confusion with I-69 "down south")

I think more people are interested in stealing I-69s given by the glut of them almost constantly on eBay.  It's probably smart to separate them geographically but it's pretty common for MDOT to place stuff close together like M10 (old US 10)/US10 or something like M24 with US 24 being so close.

tdindy88

Odd that I've never heard much about I-69 signs being stolen in Indiana (or Michigan really.) At least I've never heard of it being in a problem in our media to the point that we have to take extra measures. The shields are already neutered anyway. All of that said, M-22 is a very nice highway nonetheless and I am more than happy to have "taken" some pictures of the highway signs instead.

hbelkins

I know of no chronic issues with KY 69 (or now neutered I-69 in Kentucky) or KY 420 signs being stolen.

Quote from: Brandon on August 24, 2016, 12:30:06 PM
^^ Make the "M" green, use the white background, make the numbers blue and the outside yellow.  Then nobody will want to touch the damn things.

Make the sign red and gray and you virtually guarantee they won't be stolen.  :-D


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TheHighwayMan3561

Quote from: tdindy88 on August 25, 2016, 04:49:45 PM
Odd that I've never heard much about I-69 signs being stolen in Indiana (or Michigan really.) At least I've never heard of it being in a problem in our media to the point that we have to take extra measures. The shields are already neutered anyway.

Given how Indiana and Michigan generally sign things, the only real place to steal an I-69 in those states is going to be the reassurance markers located on the freeway itself which probably deters most thieves knowing it's unlikely they can do it without someone seeing them.
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Max Rockatansky

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on August 25, 2016, 10:01:23 PM
Quote from: tdindy88 on August 25, 2016, 04:49:45 PM
Odd that I've never heard much about I-69 signs being stolen in Indiana (or Michigan really.) At least I've never heard of it being in a problem in our media to the point that we have to take extra measures. The shields are already neutered anyway.

Given how Indiana and Michigan generally sign things, the only real place to steal an I-69 in those states is going to be the reassurance markers located on the freeway itself which probably deters most thieves knowing it's unlikely they can do it without someone seeing them.

They are among the most common on eBay of the Interstate signs.  Given that it's not exactly the largest of Interstates that suggests to me that it's not all scrap guys hawking them for a profit.  Usually the prices people want are kind of on the high end....ya know...cause it's "69."  :rolleyes:  Some people will always take the risk freeway or not.

dvferyance

Perhaps the manufacturer is from North Carolina.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: dvferyance on August 25, 2016, 10:49:27 PM
Perhaps the manufacturer is from North Carolina.

It would be rounded in the diamond instead of squared off.  The funny thing is that the company that sells the M22 trinkets has the exact same design if I recall correctly.

GaryV

Quote from: hbelkins on August 25, 2016, 09:43:38 PM
I know of no chronic issues with KY 69 (or now neutered I-69 in Kentucky) or KY 420 signs being stolen.

Quote from: Brandon on August 24, 2016, 12:30:06 PM
^^ Make the "M" green, use the white background, make the numbers blue and the outside yellow.  Then nobody will want to touch the damn things.

Make the sign red and gray and you virtually guarantee they won't be stolen.  :-D

But the vandalism ......

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: GaryV on August 26, 2016, 06:04:55 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on August 25, 2016, 09:43:38 PM
I know of no chronic issues with KY 69 (or now neutered I-69 in Kentucky) or KY 420 signs being stolen.

Quote from: Brandon on August 24, 2016, 12:30:06 PM
^^ Make the "M" green, use the white background, make the numbers blue and the outside yellow.  Then nobody will want to touch the damn things.

Make the sign red and gray and you virtually guarantee they won't be stolen.  :-D

But the vandalism ......

Make them pink then...no guy is going to want that for his man cave.

kurumi

M-22 is also an apparel/lifestyle brand identity for viral thought-leaders of realtime leisure engagement for 18-35's: http://www.m22.com/

i.e. there is M-22 schwag you can buy
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bulldog1979

MDOT will make the signs in house at a facility in Atlanta, Michigan. Both versions of the sign will cost the same. They aren't contracting it out to any other agency, and the NC 22 sign wouldn't be correct because each state has different corners on their diamonds.

JoePCool14

This is probably not going to help. Agreeing with some of the comments on the article, people are just going to keep stealing them. There's really no way around it other than welding signs down.

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triplemultiplex

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The Ghostbuster

If you ask me, the M in the shield was overkill anyway. You'd have to be completely brain-dead to not know you're in Michigan.

Brandon

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on August 29, 2016, 04:36:04 PM
If you ask me, the M in the shield was overkill anyway. You'd have to be completely brain-dead to not know you're in Michigan.

It's actually used in speaking, unlike Wisconsin.  In Michigan, it's "M-14", or in the western UP, "Highway M-28", unlike Wisconsin where everything, including interstates, is simply "Highway", i.e. "Highway 41".
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Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Brandon on August 29, 2016, 05:30:20 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on August 29, 2016, 04:36:04 PM
If you ask me, the M in the shield was overkill anyway. You'd have to be completely brain-dead to not know you're in Michigan.

It's actually used in speaking, unlike Wisconsin.  In Michigan, it's "M-14", or in the western UP, "Highway M-28", unlike Wisconsin where everything, including interstates, is simply "Highway", i.e. "Highway 41".

One of the few in fact.  If I say CA 99, FL 15, CT 67, NV 375, or something like that nobody knows what the hell in talking about.  I had a friend recently ask how Highways 395 was when she meant US 395.  Even the U.S. And Interstate designations get spoken in Michigan. 

paulthemapguy

I come from Chicago, festering breeding ground for Michigan's tourists.  I see M-22 stickers in the back windshield of many cars.  Why can't people just buy the M-22 merchandise?

Or why not just fabricate a bunch of M-22 signs and sell them for cash? (I guess people would rather steal stuff for free but still)
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Max Rockatansky

Quote from: paulthemapguy on August 31, 2016, 11:58:49 AM
I come from Chicago, festering breeding ground for Michigan's tourists.  I see M-22 stickers in the back windshield of many cars.  Why can't people just buy the M-22 merchandise?

Or why not just fabricate a bunch of M-22 signs and sell them for cash? (I guess people would rather steal stuff for free but still)

Or find a DOT sign maker.  There are plenty out there that would be happy to sell you a legit reproduction sign that has the exact specs.  You can find several sources on a quick Yahoo search.  Hell I've heard similar stories about US 66, U.S. 666, and even US 1 down in the Florida Keys.



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