Practices unusual for your state

[Hobart]

So I was taking a look at Google Maps again, and I noticed that in 2007, on an Illinois state highway, signals colored yellow on the side facing traffic were put into operation in Taylorville for a brief while. Illinois nearly exclusively uses signals with black fronts facing the traffic, similar to the other ones in the intersection.

The yellow signals no longer stand, but here they are:
https://goo.gl/maps/Dc2r6voWT2UUh5jz9

Are there any other examples of your DOT or highway department committing practices that almost never occur in your state?

[TheStranger]

For California, the obvious thing that we rarely do that almost all states do in comparison: external exit tabs!

The 1971-era Los Angeles ones are centered external button copy tabs:


Ca. 2009 there was a briefly installed one at the San Bernardino Split on US 101/Santa Ana Freeway south at I-10/San Bernardino Freeway east, which has since been removed and replaced with an internal-tab sign.




2017-present with internal tabs
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0534512,-118.23187,3a,31.8y,100.85h,95.74t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sbFZRLVUb__9bBfU5_kCHpQ!2e0!5s20170601T000000!7i16384!8i8192

The internally tabbed sign here was installed after 2017 according to Google Street View
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0526611,-118.2267722,3a,75y,100.85h,95.74t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1ssdhcaFF52qyIFXPEUC4OjQ!2e0!5s20201201T000000!7i16384!8i8192


Another 2009-era external tab nearby, at the Alameda Street exit:

This was inexplicably removed around 2017!
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0544679,-118.2386127,3a,75y,121.69h,90.73t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s_0rH6UWsm3G7VBMgcyH2ow!2e0!5s20170601T000000!7i13312!8i6656

There's a whole thread on a new installation external tab in Orange County:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=29046.msg2617046#msg2617046

[Big John]

Yield lines (sawtooth) in Wisconsin: https://goo.gl/maps/hPr4D6AuVFmYfgat7

[SkyPesos]

"Next 3 exits" signage in Ohio. I think District 6 (Columbus) is the only one in the state that does that.

[hbelkins]

"End" signs in Kentucky are really rare.

Similarly, "JCT" plates in Virginia.

[index]

   
• North Carolina rarely uses "NO PASSING ZONE" pennants, and locally maintained road surfaces are not very common.

   
• Many of our roads lack shoulders.

   
• Outside of a handful of situations like multi-lane highways with steep grades and curves, NCDOT doesn't use 40 foot RRPMs, only 80 foot. I wish they would use 40 foot, though.
• The markings of merges varies by district. Some will do the thing where the merge is marked with dashed lines throughout (I think D12 does this, not sure of any others) while others will mark it with solid lines throughout.

[ran4sh]

Route markers painted/applied to the pavement is something Georgia never did until about 8 years ago. Georgia still doesn't use them regularly (compared to e.g. TX, OH, NC), and I don't think I've seen them outside the Atlanta area.

[ilpt4u]

4(+) Level Stack Interchanges are really rare in Illinois...like non-existent rare

[LilianaUwU]

The obvious answer for Québec would be to put English on the road signs, but there are exceptions. For instance, Pont Champlain and Pont Jacques-Cartier has bilingual signage because they're maintained by the federal government. Also, some communities with more English speakers (especially in the Eastern Townships) will have their signs in either both languages or only English (though the trend is to be bilingual).

[jakeroot]

The obvious answer for Québec would be to put English on the road signs, but there are exceptions. For instance, Pont Champlain and Pont Jacques-Cartier has bilingual signage because they're maintained by the federal government. Also, some communities with more English speakers (especially in the Eastern Townships) will have their signs in either both languages or only English (though the trend is to be bilingual).

Out here in BC, it is the opposite: no French on signs. But there are hardly any French speakers out this way.

Why does Quebec not use bilingual signs? Aren't about half of the Québécois able to speak English? Never mind all those travelling through.

[hotdogPi]

Why does Quebec not use bilingual signs? Aren't about half of the Québécois able to speak English? Never mind all those travelling through.

Many of the signs are picture-only or use words that mean the same in both languages (e.g. maximum 90).

Lawrence, MA doesn't have road signs in Spanish, and as far as I know, neither does the Rio Grande Valley or South Florida.

[jakeroot]

Why does Quebec not use bilingual signs? Aren't about half of the Québécois able to speak English? Never mind all those travelling through.

Many of the signs are picture-only or use words that mean the same in both languages (e.g. maximum 90).

Lawrence, MA doesn't have road signs in Spanish, and as far as I know, neither does the Rio Grande Valley or South Florida.

The symbols are great, it's just that nearby provinces use bilingual signs so it would seem logical for Quebec to as well.

The difference is that, if any of those places were, say, a state in Mexico, even with all of the English speakers, you'd likely see Spanish on the road signs. But not Quebec.

I know that the answer to my question is "PQ", but I like to poke at Quebec.

[hotdogPi]

Take this assembly of signs and traffic signals.



Top sign: obvious, due to cognates
Traffic signals: same as in the US; while "BUS" isn't used on signals in the US, it's clear what it's referring to
Green circle sign: the non-intuitive meaning of mandatory instead of permitted applies in all of Canada and is not a language-specific issue
Orange construction sign: it might not be visible from this photo, but the sidewalk is closed, and even if you can't read French, it's clear that that's what the sign is referring to


Times: obvious, as long as you can read 24-hour time. Days: you need knowledge of one Romance language, but it doesn't have to be French due to cognates.

[jakeroot]

The 24 hour is fine, since that's common even in the US (at least around military bases) and almost all of Canada apart from BC, and the green circle signs are fine even though mostly in BC it's just common to have the "no" version.

The "Lun à Ven" sign is lost on me. I have to assume Monday to Friday since restrictions normally apply those days. Still, the same sign in Ontario would have both languages.

The orange construction sign is complete gibberish to me. I have no clue. "Sidewalk Closed" should be black-on-white. Why not a picture of a sidewalk with a "no" symbol over it, and an arrow pointing towards a crosswalk?

(edit: black on white, not the other way round)

[LilianaUwU]

The orange construction sign is complete gibberish to me. I have no clue. "Sidewalk Closed" should be black-on-white. Why not a picture of a sidewalk with a "no" symbol over it, and an arrow pointing towards a crosswalk?

To be fair, only the "Trottoir barré" sign is standard... the usual sign is way less wordy and just says "Use the other sidewalk".

[paulthemapguy]

I know that the answer to my question is "PQ", but I like to poke at Quebec.

I find the use of that provincial abbreviation Particularly Questionable.

[LilianaUwU]

I know that the answer to my question is "PQ", but I like to poke at Quebec.

I find the use of that provincial abbreviation Particularly Questionable.

It stands for "Province de Québec", but it's obsolete now, as QC is mostly used now instead. I guess it's a combination of the Parti québécois (the separatist party) using it and the fact that "PQ" is used in France to designate toilet paper.

[ilpt4u]

The orange construction sign is complete gibberish to me. I have no clue. "Sidewalk Closed" should be black-on-white. Why not a picture of a sidewalk with a "no" symbol over it, and an arrow pointing towards a crosswalk?

(edit: black on white, not the other way round)

I have never studied French, and only 2 years of HS Spanish and being around native speakers of Spanish for periods of my life, but the French word "Trottoir"  clearly is the same root word as the English word "trot"  - basically, a trotway, or walkway - not far fetched from sidewalk

Not sure what "Pietons"  is but "utilisez"  is a cognate to English utilize...pretty sure that sign says Please/Pedestrians (depending on Pietons) utilize the sidewalk on the other side

French readers/speakers, if I'm way off the mark, let me know

[LilianaUwU]

The orange construction sign is complete gibberish to me. I have no clue. "Sidewalk Closed" should be black-on-white. Why not a picture of a sidewalk with a "no" symbol over it, and an arrow pointing towards a crosswalk?

(edit: black on white, not the other way round)

I have never studied French, and only 2 years of HS Spanish and being around native speakers of Spanish for periods of my life, but the French word "Trottoir"  clearly is the same root word as the English word "trot"  - basically, a trotway, or walkway - not far fetched from sidewalk

Not sure what "Pietons"  is but "utilisez"  is a cognate to English utilize...pretty sure that sign says Please/Pedestrians (depending on Pietons) utilize the sidewalk on the other side

French readers/speakers, if I'm way off the mark, let me know

Yes, the sign translates to "Pedestrians, use the sidewalk on the other side". "Piétons" is "pedestrians", and bonus info: "s'il vous plaît" is "please".

[jakeroot]

I know that the answer to my question is "PQ", but I like to poke at Quebec.

I find the use of that provincial abbreviation Particularly Questionable.

It stands for "Province de Québec", but it's obsolete now, as QC is mostly used now instead. I guess it's a combination of the Parti québécois (the separatist party) using it and the fact that "PQ" is used in France to designate toilet paper.

In my context, I was using it to refer to Parti Québécois, who I believe began to institute the "no English" rules in the 70s.



The result of some brief Googling...

Ontario: About 11.5% bilingual, ~0.4% French-only; bilingual road signs everywhere
Quebec: About 50% bilingual, ~4.5% English-only; virtually no English apart from high-English concentrations

I just find that odd. Quebec absolutely needs French for the sake of its population, but French mandates elsewhere strike me as unnecessary.



edit:

Here's my take on a symbolic "no pedestrians, cross here" sign, for what it's worth:


Pedestrians Cross Here by Jacob Root, on Flickr

[vdeane]

It's worth noting that Ontario is not officially bilingual and French road signs are hardly "everywhere".  They post then in areas designated for French language services, which includes the entire Ottawa area.  Such areas are designated when a certain amount of the local population speaks French.

New Brunswick is the only province that's officially bilingual.  Québec is French and all the others are English.

[mrsman]

I know that the answer to my question is "PQ", but I like to poke at Quebec.

I find the use of that provincial abbreviation Particularly Questionable.

It stands for "Province de Québec", but it's obsolete now, as QC is mostly used now instead. I guess it's a combination of the Parti québécois (the separatist party) using it and the fact that "PQ" is used in France to designate toilet paper.

In my context, I was using it to refer to Parti Québécois, who I believe began to institute the "no English" rules in the 70s.



The result of some brief Googling...

Ontario: About 11.5% bilingual, ~0.4% French-only; bilingual road signs everywhere
Quebec: About 50% bilingual, ~4.5% English-only; virtually no English apart from high-English concentrations

I just find that odd. Quebec absolutely needs French for the sake of its population, but French mandates elsewhere strike me as unnecessary.



edit:

Here's my take on a symbolic "no pedestrians, cross here" sign, for what it's worth:


Pedestrians Cross Here by Jacob Root, on Flickr

Given the above, it would make sense to have more bilingual signs in Quebec.  Certainly for the more wordy examples where it isn't obvious.

[NoGoodNamesAvailable]

Why does Quebec not use bilingual signs? Aren't about half of the Québécois able to speak English? Never mind all those travelling through.

Quebec is a french province. While plenty of residents can speak english, french is the first language for at least 80 percent of Quebecers. There are many places in the US with a lower percentage of native english speakers, but bilingual road signs are not standard or common in the US. People put a double standard on Quebec just because it's different from the rest of North America, but they have every right to preserve their language.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Back on topic:

Minnesota: route numbers on pavement (one of the examples is northbound US 52 at I-94 where there are three different exits)

[Rothman]

Why does Quebec not use bilingual signs? Aren't about half of the Québécois able to speak English? Never mind all those travelling through.

Quebec is a french province. While plenty of residents can speak english, french is the first language for at least 80 percent of Quebecers. There are many places in the US with a lower percentage of native english speakers, but bilingual road signs are not standard or common in the US. People put a double standard on Quebec just because it's different from the rest of North America, but they have every right to preserve their language.

But Canada requires double language signage everywhere else, it seems.