Post Mileage on County Highways in California

[Max Rockatansky]

I've noticed over the years that some counties in California actually maintain Post Miles and sometimes road numbers.  Some like San Benito County even have primitive Highway logs posted online:

http://www.cosb.us/community-services/streets-highways/#.V_HcavArLIU

Off the top of my head some of the other counties I've seen Post Mile paddles on county maintained roadways are:

-  Tulare County with an extensive network of Mountain Roads. 
-  Kern County with a selection of post mile paddles on mountain roads. 
-  Calaveras County which apparently has post Mile paddles modeled Caltrans. 

Some counties like Monterey also have mile markers in place instead of post mile paddles.  What other examples of County level post miles are there in California that others are seeing?

[GaryA]

I've noticed over the years that some counties in California actually maintain Post Miles and sometimes road numbers.  Some like San Benito County even have primitive Highway logs posted online:

http://www.cosb.us/community-services/streets-highways/#.V_HcavArLIU

Off the top of my head some of the other counties I've seen Post Mile paddles on county maintained roadways are:

-  Tulare County with an extensive network of Mountain Roads. 
-  Kern County with a selection of post mile paddles on mountain roads. 
-  Calaveras County which apparently has post Mile paddles modeled Caltrans. 

Some counties like Monterey also have mile markers in place instead of post mile paddles.  What other examples of County level post miles are there in California that others are seeing?

Ventura County uses paddles with the letters "VC" and a mile count only (no road numbering).

GSV example at https://goo.gl/maps/r9PkdLEZQj8YdFLu5

[mapman]

Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties also do this on their rural roadways.  Their paddles just list the post miles only.  Monterey County's paddles are green with white text, while Santa Cruz County uses white paddles with black text.

[cahwyguy]

I believe LA county also has PMs. At least I recall seeing them on Malibu Canyon and Kanan Dume.

[Max Rockatansky]

Something that came to mind regarding San Benito County, it seems that they only sign their Post Miles in one direction.  Example would be Post Miles for County 109 on eastbound Coalinga Road.  I don't recall seeing anything but westbound Post Miles for County Road 116 on La Gloria Road.  The numbers also appear to begin around San Juan Bautista and ascend southward. 

[ClassicHasClass]

Lassen county has some. http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/395/u15/#img_39

San Diego county uses MUTCD mileposts now and then, though I don't always see them consistently. http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/54/#img_12

[sparker]

Back in the '70's Marin County postmiled several of their roads; apparently this extended through both rural and urban areas, although urban markers were scarce indeed.  They were divided into "A" (arterial) routes and "C" (connector) routes -- although sometimes shorter connectors with scant traffic still got "A" numbers.  Numbers were in the 100's and 200's, with 101 not being used because of the presence of US 101.  For instance A102 was Sir Francis Drake Blvd. from its SE terminus on (then) CA 17/current I-580 at San Quentin to Fairfax; A 103 was the 3rd/4th couplet through San Rafael from US 101 to Sir Francis Drake, then took over Drake all the way out to CA 1.  C105 was the infamous Fairfax-Bolinas Road (sketchy pavement, lots of hairpin curves, mostly single lane -- was gated off in the 90's).  Pretty much any paved road outside incorporated city limits got numbers and postmile markers.  Would have to do some investigation to determine if any or all postmile signs remain in the field (I resided in Bolinas in the spring of 1976, when I originally noticed the county network mileposts).   

[Max Rockatansky]

Having looked at Fairfax-Bolinas Road now you got me intrigued, did that one ever open back up?  From what I'm seeing on my phone that sure looks like that might be up my alley, it ever crosses over top a dam?

[heynow415]

Marin County (unincorporated parts) still maintains postmile paddles on arterials "A"#, and collectors "C"#.  Non-arterials/collectors, i.e residential/minor streets, also have numbers assigned but do not have paddle markers/PM's.  A sample of one:  https://goo.gl/maps/roy7g2QSrpWHFvpq9 

Bolinas-Fairfax Road does have gates at either end but it is not "gated off" - those are closed only when red flag/severe fire conditions exist or there is a major slide that requires closure until it is corrected and the road is passable (sometimes days, sometimes weeks).  Since this road is almost exclusively recreational in its usage - it's all water district/open space district lands and is not a shortcut to anything - occasional closure is not the end of the world.

[sparker]

My first time on Fairfax-Bolinas (C105) was way back in 1975, after a friend had moved to Bolinas and I was paying my first visit to her new residence.  Looked like a shortcut on the local CSAA map, so I headed SW out of Fairfax.  That was a bit of a journey in my little old Fiat 128 -- but I eventually showed up, told my friend about my trip, and got a laugh -- she had made the same mistake the month before while moving from Berkeley -- but in a U-haul truck with most of her belongings!  But glad to hear it's not fully/permanently closed.  Bolinas was a bit of a real "trip" back in the mid-70's -- priding itself on being the answer to the question "where did all the Haight hippies go?"  Eventually the isolation and the ambience of the place became too much for even my friend, who normally was pretty cool with just about anything; but she found a well-paying job that allowed her to move right into S.F.   One of these days -- if my schedule allows -- I might take a day trip up to Bolinas just to see if the place has changed at all in 45 years.  My gut feeling is -- not so much! 

[heynow415]

Bolinas is still its funky self, though the cast of characters is gradually changing.  With housing costs having skyrocketed there, like everywhere else in the Bay Area, and, thanks to the interwebs, many folks can work from remotely from home so the Haight-Ashbury expats are being replaced with more outdoorsy-leaning techie types.  That Bolinas still effectively has a building moratorium in place because it has a fixed number of water meters for the whole community has also kept things pretty much like they were.  Looking at pictures of the place back in the day, the only noticeable difference now is the vehicles (fewer VW microbuses, more Audis). 

I can't imagine driving a U-Haul on BoFax Road.  It's very popular with bicyclists and motorcyclists, for the same reasons one would NOT want to drive a truck on it, as your lady friend experienced!

[Max Rockatansky]

I was surprised to see Bolinas-Fairfax Road was double laned from the descriptions I'm hearing. That might need to be the way I get over the mountains the next time I'm headed to Point Reyes. 

[sparker]

I was surprised to see Bolinas-Fairfax Road was double laned from the descriptions I'm hearing. That might need to be the way I get over the mountains the next time I'm headed to Point Reyes. 

A bit out of the way from the populated bayside/east part of Marin to Point Reyes; but if you want to experience/clinch the road, it's not all that much of a detour.  If you're down on CA 1 by the Bolinas turn-off (the sign's probably not there; townsfolk have a penchant for removing it when Caltrans posts another one -- unless D4 has simply given up after 50+ years of futility in that department!), you may see a bunch of cars pulled off to the side of the road a couple of miles or so north of the junction; that's Sieroty Pond, where Bolinas skinny-dippers go when the town beach (de facto nude) gets too cold.   Interesting little place; the pond is partially fed by warm springs underneath the surface (got taken there several times back in '76) -- so Bolinas-area folks (including more than a few from Stinson and from "over the hill") would flock there in decent weather to lie about on the shore and occasionally take a dip.  The rains/flooding of '82-'83 almost wiped it out (partial dam collapse), but it was rebuilt by the Golden Gate parks district (in whose lands it sits) a few years later to serve the dairy farmers in the valley alongside CA 1 (it also hosts the San Andreas fault, which enters the ocean for good at the end of Tomales Bay).  Very scenic area; highly recommend, if you ever have the opportunity, taking CA 1 all the way north to its end at Leggett.