Unique, Odd, or Interesting Signs aka The good, the bad, and the ugly

[jakeroot]

WSDOT just installed this new guide sign on I-5 in Fife, WA. That inset exit tab...reminds me of another west coast state...

https://i.imgur.com/UZIhm3g.jpg

What are they doing? Can they not simply choose a sign style and stay with it?

Not these days. SW region uses legit tabs, every where else uses full-width tabs, except when they don't. And now the Olympic region feels the need to use inset partial-width exit tabs like CA.

At least the advanced signage is proper:

https://i.imgur.com/Damap1e.jpg

But even that sign is off. It's formatting just looks odd, the sign is too "squared off" for lack of a better term. It's reminiscent of some of the signs they put up circa 2003-04 when they messed with the formatting.

Yeah, it ain't perfect. The corners are a bit too square. But, not as bad some of those earlier signs, like those on 410 in Sumner approaching 167: https://goo.gl/bd3cga. The green seemed pretty dark to me, too. It might be temporary, since this has always been an optional exit. The HOV lane ends before the Fife curve now, with the idea to reduce lane switching and weaving. Once the HOV lane extends to 16, this might go back to an optional exit. A briefly-used (and horribly designed) exit-only sign for 167 on northbound 5 previously used a similar green color: https://goo.gl/63TBtB

[ErmineNotyours]

Inspired by US71's heart crosswalk post on the previous page, here is a variant of a school crossing sign.  There are no known schools on this part of First Avenue in SODO, Seattle, near the Starbucks headquarters.  In the late 1970s, Seattle had a large horizontal pictograms of the pedestrian symbol being hit by a car and sent airborne.  I'll post it if I can find it.

School crossing sign variant, SODO, Seattle by Arthur Allen, on Flickr

[ipeters61]

Found an interesting use of the "South" tag on AK-1 in Anchorage.

[Bruce]

Saw a repurposed I-670 shield in downtown Columbus recently. Apologies for the quality, as it was night and my camera is pretty bad at dark shots.

Inspired by US71's heart crosswalk post on the previous page, here is a variant of a school crossing sign.  There are no known schools on this part of First Avenue in SODO, Seattle, near the Starbucks headquarters.  In the late 1970s, Seattle had a large horizontal pictograms of the pedestrian symbol being hit by a car and sent airborne.  I'll post it if I can find it.

There's also one of these signs on 45th Street just east of I-5 (and understandably close to the UW campus). Always made me chuckle at the message they're unintentionally sending.

[fillup420]

Here is another couple from western NC



This one threw me off a bit



And I love this one in St Louis

[thefraze_1020]

Here is another couple from western NC

This one could also go in the "Unusual Hill Signage" thread.

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/goEcpJQs12m
Contractor goof here.  Forgot to move the sign when NJ 23 was realigned.  The sign should really be moved a short distance further like after NJ 23 SB Traffic is on this road as the sign was intended for that sole purpose.  Grant NJ 23 SB did use the road heading from this signal and also behind it where its now a one way, but when the intersection and the new SB alignment was created the sign should have been moved then.

[jakeroot]

https://goo.gl/maps/goEcpJQs12m
Contractor goof here.  Forgot to move the sign when NJ 23 was realigned.  The sign should really be moved a short distance further like after NJ 23 SB Traffic is on this road as the sign was intended for that sole purpose.  Grant NJ 23 SB did use the road heading from this signal and also behind it where its now a one way, but when the intersection and the new SB alignment was created the sign should have been moved then.

Besides the sign, that link reminds me just how good NJ is at signal placement, compared to much of the east coast.

[djlynch]

This sign went up in Austin a few months ago. Two lines of negative-contrast Clearview, two of FHWA. Strangely, there's an almost-identical sign a little bit further down that's all FHWA.

In addition to the font issue, I'm also pretty sure that the "EXIT" should match the rest of the text rather than being in small caps. As it is, it implies that the message ends after "must."

[Roadsguy]

This sign went up in Austin a few months ago. Two lines of negative-contrast Clearview, two of FHWA. Strangely, there's an almost-identical sign a little bit further down that's all FHWA.

In addition to the font issue, I'm also pretty sure that the "EXIT" should match the rest of the text rather than being in small caps. As it is, it implies that the message ends after "must."

Maybe TxDOT decided to switch back to FHWA for five minutes and this sign was halfway through being assembled when they did that.

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/goEcpJQs12m
Contractor goof here.  Forgot to move the sign when NJ 23 was realigned.  The sign should really be moved a short distance further like after NJ 23 SB Traffic is on this road as the sign was intended for that sole purpose.  Grant NJ 23 SB did use the road heading from this signal and also behind it where its now a one way, but when the intersection and the new SB alignment was created the sign should have been moved then.

Besides the sign, that link reminds me just how good NJ is at signal placement, compared to much of the east coast.

Yup only California and Illinois have set ups like it.  Of course, they both are not on the east coast as from Maine to Florida all the  states use standard placements. Most use span wires too.  Up until recently NJ and NH was the only east coast states that used mast arms.  However, DE and MD have switched, with VA and FL using them quite often, but still use standard over lane placements.  Even New Hampshire with its mast arms is not like NJ, CA, or IL placements.

[Bruce]

New sign near SR 99 in Seattle:

https://twitter.com/dongho_chang/status/1055902826461782016

[jakeroot]

Besides the sign, that link reminds me just how good NJ is at signal placement, compared to much of the east coast.

Yup only California and Illinois have set ups like it.  Of course, they both are not on the east coast as from Maine to Florida all the  states use standard placements. Most use span wires too.  Up until recently NJ and NH was the only east coast states that used mast arms.  However, DE and MD have switched, with VA and FL using them quite often, but still use standard over lane placements.  Even New Hampshire with its mast arms is not like NJ, CA, or IL placements.

Other states too, like Nevada, Arizona, Minnesota, and others. But NJ definitely sticks out on the east coast, though I seem to recall Massachusetts being pretty good on occasion, and NYC too, but, again, only occasionally.

This sign went up in Austin a few months ago. Two lines of negative-contrast Clearview, two of FHWA.

I seem to remember seeing quite a bit of negative-contrast Clearview last time I was in Texas.

[kphoger]

And I love this one in St Louis

My dad used to commute by bicycle in Saint Louis when my parents were first married.  He was very frustrated by the longitudinal storm drain bars there.  Death traps lying in wait.

[paulthemapguy]

And I love this one in St Louis

My dad used to commute by bicycle in Saint Louis when my parents were first married.  He was very frustrated by the longitudinal storm drain bars there.  Death traps lying in wait.

A few of the bridges in Portland, OR are notorious for having signs like this.  When I was in Portland this past August, I bought a coaster with a photo of one of these signs on it!  I wonder if they're for sale online anywhere...

[ipeters61]

My dad used to commute by bicycle in Saint Louis when my parents were first married.  He was very frustrated by the longitudinal storm drain bars there.  Death traps lying in wait.

When I was in grad school, I was (admittedly, illegally) riding the wrong way (for less than 100 feet!) on this one road that made it a lot easier to get to school from my apartment (this was in Newark, Delaware).  One day, I struck the storm drain and fell off my bike.  This was about a year and a half ago and I still have the bruises!  It took them several months to heal.

[Bruce]

And I love this one in St Louis

My dad used to commute by bicycle in Saint Louis when my parents were first married.  He was very frustrated by the longitudinal storm drain bars there.  Death traps lying in wait.

A few of the bridges in Portland, OR are notorious for having signs like this.  When I was in Portland this past August, I bought a coaster with a photo of one of these signs on it!  I wonder if they're for sale online anywhere...

For future reference, they're generally for streetcar and light rail tracks. Crossing at an acute angle can mean getting your wheel stuck in the running rail and going over the handlebars.

[Max Rockatansky]

From my own shield collection, a CA 99 on a white blank.  This was posted on a connecting road to CA 99 in Fresno:

IMG_7686 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[TBKS1]

At least you can get the point across on this one.

[Google Street View]

[D-Dey65]

Another question; what's the MUTCD's position on oddly-colored crosswalk signal signs?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grant_City,_Staten_Island;_Orange_Cross_Signal_Sign.jpg

Because in some parts of Staten Island, they're orange.

[ipeters61]

Another question; what's the MUTCD's position on oddly-colored crosswalk signal signs?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grant_City,_Staten_Island;_Orange_Cross_Signal_Sign.jpg

Because in some parts of Staten Island, they're orange.

When I served on the bike committee in Newark, DE, I remember there was a proposal for salmon-colored bikeway signs, which DelDOT said would be appropriate to use for special signage, in line with MUTCD.  Not sure about ped signs though.

[Tonytone]

Another question; what's the MUTCD's position on oddly-colored crosswalk signal signs?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grant_City,_Staten_Island;_Orange_Cross_Signal_Sign.jpg

Because in some parts of Staten Island, they're orange.

When I served on the bike committee in Newark, DE, I remember there was a proposal for salmon-colored bikeway signs, which DelDOT said would be appropriate to use for special signage, in line with MUTCD.  Not sure about ped signs though.

Wouldnt an odd color make you look at something more often, then lets say the typical yellow or green sign?


iPhone

[roadfro]

Another question; what's the MUTCD's position on oddly-colored crosswalk signal signs?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grant_City,_Staten_Island;_Orange_Cross_Signal_Sign.jpg

Because in some parts of Staten Island, they're orange.

The MUTCD position in a word: No.

Signs like that (the "press button for walk signal" family of signs) are to be white on black as a standard; no options to modify.

[ipeters61]

Found some interesting photos from Hartford that I took a few years ago (2015).  These were in the vicinity of the Connecticut State Library:

[KEVIN_224]

With the Bushnell Theater in the background of the last picture. The state capitol is with that lawn BTW.