Road-Geeky Things Of The Past That You Miss...

[thenetwork]

This is a thread to reminisce about road things you remember when you were younger that aren't around anymore, either due to technology upgrades, changes to MUTCD requirements, etc...

Growing up in and around NE Ohio in the 70s and 80s, before I could drive, there were so many different types of traffic signals in use from different manufacturers all around the area.  In most cases, there were signals from the 1940s to the then-present day, mostly made out of metal with glass lenses.  I recall most towns/suburbs in my area were not completely "uniform" in the signal brands they hung at the various intersections or assembled for crosswalks.

As roads were widened or intersections that had got busier, many of these municipalities would add an additional (turning arrow) segment to the existing signal making them odd-looking "Frankensignals", or mix brands when adding additional signals due to widenings.

Back in those days in NE Ohio, it was a literal who's who of signal manufacturers and models.

By the time the 90s came about, cities were upgrading their signals en masse, using a single maker/model for all their intersections -- mostly made of non-metal and a plainer looking light than those of the past, with all 12-inch heads.

Thank goodness for all of the online sites that pay tribute to all those signal models of the past and those who took photos of the old-timer lights that are/still in the wild in places.

Other things you miss from the roadgeek past???

[hotdogPi]

The few remaining flashing greens in Massachusetts. That said, they're not quite gone yet...

[Rothman]

I-84 going to Providence/I-86 to the Pike.

[MATraveler128]

I-95 dead ending in New Jersey as confusing as it was.

[JayhawkCO]

Button copy
I-164
I-265

[1995hoo]

Virginia used to post the majority of road signs (other than street blades) that weren't on overhead assemblies using spiffy-looking white wooden posts. Those are long gone and I don't remember the last time I saw one actually in use; nowadays they use metal, which is probably better in terms of not unnecessarily cutting down trees but doesn't have the classy look that the white posts did. (Note that there is also a place in Virginia named "White Post," so a Google search would likely turn up a fair amount of irrelevant stuff.)

Cutout route shields are another bygone standard I liked.

[Rothman]

The old Mountain Parkway shield with the tree and Bert T. Combs banner.

[dlsterner]

The colorful US highway shields in Florida.

[freebrickproductions]

Concrete highways, incandescent traffic signals, and worded pedestrian signals.

[GaryV]

Wooden posts painted black and white by the side of the road, in lieu of guardrails.

[Big John]

When care was taken to make traffic signals look attractive.  Most are now ugly utilitarian clones.

[jlam]

Jokes about the duration of construction of the Union City, TN bypass

[Max Rockatansky]

The McDonald's in the middle of the Chicago Skyway.

[SEWIGuy]

The McDonald's in the middle of the Chicago Skyway.

Yes. I once had to call my wife from the outdoor payphone in its parking lot.

[SEWIGuy]

The AAA triptik that my parents used to get for long road trips.

[TheStranger]

Button copy!

[Big John]

Un-neutered shields, and I mean more than just Interstate highway signs.

[JayhawkCO]

The McDonald's in the middle of the Chicago Skyway.

How about the McDonalds over I-44?

[kphoger]

truss bridges

[hbelkins]

The old Mountain Parkway shield with the tree and Bert T. Combs banner.

The old Mountain Parkway shield without the Bert T. Combs banner.

The cutout Daniel Boone Parkway signage.

The old Kentucky parkway signs without the politicians' names or the "Unbridled Spirit" logo that were different colors (blue on white for the BG, white on blue for the WK, the oversized P for Purchase (blue) and Pennyrile (green), C for Cumberland (blue), A for Audubon (brown), etc.)

Square signs instead of rectangular ones for three-digit US routes and three- and four-digit Kentucky state routes.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Getting the tickets at the various toll roads.

BUTTON COPY SIGNAGE!

[ran4sh]

The Georgia welcome signs that mentioned the Olympics

The Old Man of the Mountain (the basis for NH's route marker)

AAA TripTiks on paper

MT Reasonable & Prudent speed limit

Metric specifications in the MUTCD

States that changed from sequential (or no numbering, as in CA) to mile/distance exit numbers non-controversially (once it got to the point where all the sequential states were Northeastern, it seems that whenever that change is proposed in any of the remaining states, it gets political opposition based on it being a "waste" of money)

Clearview font being non-existent

[mgk920]

Yellow business route shields in Wisconsin.  Also, wayside rest areas in Wisconsin.  Another is the route shields over distant mileage signs, also route shields over the big black on yellow curve 'arrow' signs in Wisconsin.

Mike

[jeffandnicole]

NJ's busy traffic circles, capable of being two or three lanes wide, with no striping whatsoever.

The traffic meters a few hundred feet before reaching the circle, which was simply a standard traffic light that would allow some traffic into the circle, turn yellow, then red, then green again to let more traffic approach the circle.

[Henry]

The Crimefighter streetlights of Chicago. Sure, a few other places also had them, but they set the Windy City apart from every other big city in the nation.