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ODOT's insistence on abbreviating Oklahoma City as Okla. City. everywhere.

Started by FakeMikeMorgan, February 13, 2022, 09:44:01 AM

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FakeMikeMorgan

I can understand abbreviating mileage signs on 2 lane highways, but there should be no reason to abbreviate on overhead gantries or Interstate mileage signs.

This is an egregious example, not only did ODOT had plenty or room to spell out Oklahoma City they omitted the period after Okla. I never heard of Okla City, must be new...
R
I've only came across 2 instances where Oklahoma City is not abbreviated: US 270 Westbound at US 177 jct. in Tecumseh & I-44 Westbound at OK 97.


Bobby5280

ODOT has been doing the "Okla City" thing on big green signs for decades. I can understand the abbreviation on a narrow sign panel without enough horizontal space. But the practice is indeed pretty silly when there is clearly enough room on the panel for "Oklahoma City" to be listed fully. It's not like ODOT adheres strictly to rules about white space either. I've seen plenty of sign listings where the letters are running very close to the border.

It's funny how ODOT is inconsistent with using the "Okla City" listings. The South entrance to the H.E. Bailey Turnpike (I-44 and US-70 near Randlett) has an overhead sign that fully spells out Oklahoma City, Chickasha and Lawton, along with the turnpike name. The same applies to the Oklahoma City listing on an I-44 overhead sign near Medicine Park (the I-44 split with US-62/277/281). In Lawton "Okla City" is used on overhead panels on I-44. Those panels are pretty narrow however. 

rte66man

Quote from: Bobby5280 on February 13, 2022, 10:57:04 AM
ODOT has been doing the "Okla City" thing on big green signs for decades. I can understand the abbreviation on a narrow sign panel without enough horizontal space. But the practice is indeed pretty silly when there is clearly enough room on the panel for "Oklahoma City" to be listed fully. It's not like ODOT adheres strictly to rules about white space either. I've seen plenty of sign listings where the letters are running very close to the border.

It's funny how ODOT is inconsistent with using the "Okla City" listings. The South entrance to the H.E. Bailey Turnpike (I-44 and US-70 near Randlett) has an overhead sign that fully spells out Oklahoma City, Chickasha and Lawton, along with the turnpike name. The same applies to the Oklahoma City listing on an I-44 overhead sign near Medicine Park (the I-44 split with US-62/277/281). In Lawton "Okla City" is used on overhead panels on I-44. Those panels are pretty narrow however. 

TXDoT spells it out on NB 35 just after the 35E/35W junction.  I believe ODOT spells it out on NB35 in Norman.

EDIT: I checked and the sign I was remembering was replaced in the recent BGS upgrade.
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

tolbs17

There is Penn Turnpike, Jax Beaches, Jackson Miss, etc. I don't see a problem why Oklahoma needs to abbreviated.

Ted$8roadFan

Some roadways in Philadelphia are signed as "Central Phila" . Also, in NYC, points east if the City on I-495 are (or were) signed as "Eastern LI" . 

Ted$8roadFan


skluth

My standard for this is whether most people will be confused. I'd say no; almost all drivers are going to know what Okla City is, especially in the middle of Oklahoma. Would Oklahoma City be better? Yes. Does it really matter? No.

SkyPesos

Better to do that than to eliminate the word "city" altogether, which I've seen done for NYC sometimes.

hotdogPi

Quote from: SkyPesos on February 13, 2022, 01:09:58 PM
Better to do that than to eliminate the word "city" altogether, which I've seen done for NYC sometimes.

New York City's official name is City of New York.
Oklahoma's official name is City of Oklahoma City, not City of Oklahoma.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

FakeMikeMorgan

Quote from: Bobby5280 on February 13, 2022, 10:57:04 AM
.

It's funny how ODOT is inconsistent with using the "Okla City" listings. The South entrance to the H.E. Bailey Turnpike (I-44 and US-70 near Randlett) has an overhead sign that fully spells out Oklahoma City, Chickasha and Lawton, along with the turnpike name. The same applies to the Oklahoma City listing on an I-44 overhead sign near Medicine Park (the I-44 split with US-62/277/281). In Lawton "Okla City" is used on overhead panels on I-44. Those panels are pretty narrow however.

Those two are OTA signs at the start points of the Bailey. OTA has been a little better with their signs. The ones in Lawton are ODOT's

Flint1979

MDOT has signs that say Mackinac Br and Gd Rapids on Interstate highways.

SkyPesos

Quote from: 1 on February 13, 2022, 01:30:21 PM
Oklahoma's official name is City of Oklahoma City, not City of Oklahoma.
I see what you did here hehe

hotdogPi

Quote from: SkyPesos on February 13, 2022, 01:40:14 PM
Quote from: 1 on February 13, 2022, 01:30:21 PM
Oklahoma's official name is City of Oklahoma City, not City of Oklahoma.
I see what you did here hehe

That was a simple slip-up. I didn't mean to do that intentionally.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Rothman

Quote from: 1 on February 13, 2022, 01:42:00 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on February 13, 2022, 01:40:14 PM
Quote from: 1 on February 13, 2022, 01:30:21 PM
Oklahoma's official name is City of Oklahoma City, not City of Oklahoma.
I see what you did here hehe

That was a simple slip-up. I didn't mean to do that intentionally.
Why so serious?

I like the idea of just calling it Oklahoma. :D
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Plutonic Panda

I don't see a problem with this. I don't see a problem with signs either like "west suburbs"  or "beaches"  or "desert cities"  or so on.

hbelkins



Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

tdindy88

Isn't this kind of similar to Utah's usage of "Salt Lake" on their signage for their capital city. I always found that kind of unique but I'm under an impression that it may have stopped recently.

hotdogPi

Quote from: tdindy88 on February 13, 2022, 07:44:51 PM
Isn't this kind of similar to Utah's usage of "Salt Lake" on their signage for their capital city. I always found that kind of unique but I'm under an impression that it may have stopped recently.

The problem with using Salt Lake as a control city is that it also refers to the actual lake.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Scott5114

ODOT is actually consistent enough in using "Okla. City" that it looks weird to me when KTA, TxDOT, or ARDOT spell it out.

As mentioned before, it saves on materials. Keep in mind that "Oklahoma City" is 13 characters. Most of the time it will be paired with a city with a much shorter name, like "Dallas", "Wichita", "Tulsa", or "Lawton". On those panels, abbreviating so that the names are of similar length just makes sense.

Quote from: Rothman on February 13, 2022, 02:00:58 PM
Quote from: 1 on February 13, 2022, 01:42:00 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on February 13, 2022, 01:40:14 PM
Quote from: 1 on February 13, 2022, 01:30:21 PM
Oklahoma's official name is City of Oklahoma City, not City of Oklahoma.
I see what you did here hehe

That was a simple slip-up. I didn't mean to do that intentionally.
Why so serious?

I like the idea of just calling it Oklahoma. :D

I can hear the Tulsans screaming about that idea with my windows closed.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

bugo

Here's a rare sign that spells the name of the city out. It is on northbound Yale Avenue as you go under I-44.


Plutonic Panda

That makes me mad how it isn't aligned with the street underneath the bridge. What a motherfucking joke.

US 89

Quote from: 1 on February 13, 2022, 07:47:08 PM
Quote from: tdindy88 on February 13, 2022, 07:44:51 PM
Isn't this kind of similar to Utah's usage of "Salt Lake" on their signage for their capital city. I always found that kind of unique but I'm under an impression that it may have stopped recently.

The problem with using Salt Lake as a control city is that it also refers to the actual lake.

Said like someone who's hasn't spent much time out there. Nobody gives a shit about the lake. If you say "Salt Lake" to any resident of Utah or any surrounding state, 99.9% of people will assume you're talking about the city.

And yes, UDOT has for the most part shifted to spelling out "Salt Lake City" on most new signs in the last 10-15 years, though the abbreviated version might still be used on smaller signs with space constraints. Idaho and Wyoming also still regularly use "Salt Lake".

Scott5114

Control cities aren't really for people who spend a lot of time in an area, though. I could see someone passing through, especially someone who doesn't know much about road signs, thinking "Salt Lake" and "Salt Lake City" are meant to refer to different destinations.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

Scott5114

Oh, also, since I should give credit where it's due–the image posted at the top of this thread is really slick for ODOT signage. May be one of the best signs they've posted in the last decade.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

MikieTimT

Quote from: Plutonic Panda on February 13, 2022, 08:31:01 PM
That makes me mad how it isn't aligned with the street underneath the bridge. What a motherfucking joke.

Yeah, they pretty much had to have uplights on the bottom of the sign as it wouldn't actually properly reflect with oncoming traffic since it's aligned with the bridge rather than being perpendicular to the road with some appropriate brackets to push the right edge away from the bridge.



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