The Best of Road Signs

[mightyace]

the sign is, amazingly enough, old enough to date to "O." being the standard abbreviation for Ohio.

okay, maybe not quite - zip codes and standard postal abbreviations came about in 1966, and the shield certainly looks like it is newer than 1970, but it may be sufficiently old that the new abbreviation standard wasn't much in use yet.

Or, it may simply be a carbon copy of an earlier sign.

[74/171FAN]

I found this old and damaged button copy sign in Downtown Atlanta last week.  Bryant5493 probably has seen this one before at some point.  It would look much better but I took this on my phone because I did not have my camera on me.


Fixed spacing -DTP

[Ian]

A few from the Buckeye State...

[vtk]

Are there any text "Divided Highway", "Divided Highway Ends" or "Merging Traffic" signs left in the state? Are there even "No Center Stripe" signs in the state?

Not sure if it's the sign type you're thinking of, but "Divided Highway" is actually fairly common in Ohio -- on the cross-road approach to an intersection with a divided highway.  I can't think of any specific examples right now, but I think they're particularly common at the ends of exit ramps.

[vtk]

On EB (SB) US 33 between 5th Ave and the I-670 ramps (US 33F):

Full size: http://vidthekid.info/misc/signaltimes.jpg

I really don't know if this was posted by ODOT, Marble Cliff, or Columbus.  Really how helpful is this information, though?

[mightyace]

^^^

Seems to me that it is helpful to know when a signal is in use of not.  Depending on the circumstances, I might then want to avoid the intersection on either its inactive or active phase.

[roadfro]

^^^

Seems to me that it is helpful to know when a signal is in use of not.  Depending on the circumstances, I might then want to avoid the intersection on either its inactive or active phase.

Yeah, maybe. However, given its position in relation to the signal, by the time you could read the sign you would already be able to tell whether the signal was functioning in stop-and-go (normal) mode vs. red-yellow flash (or some other non-standard/non-operational mode)...

[US71]

Tulsa 2003

[Quillz]

I've got to get a picture of it, but there is a US-101 shield near my house that appears to be a 1961 cutout (with black outer border) but at a width to accommodate 2dus. The shield is really faded so it must be rather old.

[mightyace]

^^^

Seems to me that it is helpful to know when a signal is in use of not.  Depending on the circumstances, I might then want to avoid the intersection on either its inactive or active phase.

Yeah, maybe. However, given its position in relation to the signal, by the time you could read the sign you would already be able to tell whether the signal was functioning in stop-and-go (normal) mode vs. red-yellow flash (or some other non-standard/non-operational mode)...

I was thinking of using that info from the sign for route planning purposes.  Knowing whether the signal was active or not might decide whether I travel a route that would hit that signal or not.  For example, if the signal is not operating at 11pm and I'm would be coming from the side street, I might not want to go there if it would take too long to get a break in traffic.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Here's a rare sight - state-name shields in Richmond.

[yakra]

This is the only Business I wanna see on MY road sines!
I bet this is gov. LeHay's favorite r00t.

[froggie]

Wrong direction.  Go west, not east.

[agentsteel53]

I've got to get a picture of it, but there is a US-101 shield near my house that appears to be a 1961 cutout (with black outer border) but at a width to accommodate 2dus. The shield is really faded so it must be rather old.

take a picture, please.  every so often, a narrow 101 shield is born.  I photographed a construction-company issued example the other day in Morgan Hill - and there are some narrow official Caltrans issues in Ventura on the side streets to the 101 just north of the end of 126.

[Quillz]

And on the flip side, there is another 2dus 101 shield near my house that appears to be virtually brand new, but this time based on the '70 spec.

[agentsteel53]

And on the flip side, there is another 2dus 101 shield near my house that appears to be virtually brand new, but this time based on the '70 spec.

the ones I see tend to be '57 spec pretty universally.  would really like to see a '61 spec US shield cutout.  I've only seen one and it is from Missouri.

[Quillz]

Well it's not a standalone cutout, it's on a guide sign. It looks like the other one I was talking about earlier except for the spec differences.

[agentsteel53]

Well it's not a standalone cutout, it's on a guide sign. It looks like the other one I was talking about earlier except for the spec differences.

I'd like pictures of both.  I know of a few green sign shields for 101 which use the narrower (28x24) shield.  The example that comes to mind offhand is on 110 southbound approaching the Four-Level.

[US71]

the ones I see tend to be '57 spec pretty universally.  would really like to see a '61 spec US shield cutout.  I've only seen one and it is from Missouri.

Like this ?:.

[agentsteel53]

nope, that is a '57.

the 40 has the 1926 shape, which was used on the 1961 spec black shields.

[US71]

nope, that is a '57.

OK. I was going by the Shield Gen that said 1961.

Only other one I can think of is the outline on white squares

[Quillz]

A '61 cutout would look something like this:



Obviously the color isn't correct and the dimensions are somewhat off, but it's fairly close. The '57 cutout on the shield generator was some kind of generic shield that was used in California, Virginia and a few other states. Modern California shields today are still based somewhat on the '57 design, though there are a few changes.

[agentsteel53]

OK. I was going by the Shield Gen that said 1961.

you're right.  it is a 1957 California design that was adopted as a federal standard in 1961.  Same year as the black squares, so when I say "1961 spec US shield" I tend to mean the black square.  The cutout style I tend to call a "California-style cutout"

Only other one I can think of is the outline on white squares

that is federal 1948 spec.

[mobilene]

Here are a couple things I spotted in Cambridge, Ohio, recently.  Hard to believe this one has survived so long.  Right across from the courthouse.


Cambridge, Ohio by mobilene, on Flickr

And then this, an illuminated No Left Turn sign.  I have a very dim memory that one of these used to be somewhere downtown in my hometown (South Bend, IN).


Cambridge, Ohio by mobilene, on Flickr

[agentsteel53]

Here are a couple things I spotted in Cambridge, Ohio, recently.  Hard to believe this one has survived so long.  Right across from the courthouse.

that looks like older Scotchlite, too... 1950s