The Best of Road Signs

[Zeffy]

That sign would have been better without the Branson mileage.

I find it stupid that mileages over 50 miles are even signed. I'm pretty sure I don't need to know that where I'm trying to go is 80 miles from that sign.

[kphoger]

That sign would have been better without the Branson mileage.

I find it stupid that mileages over 50 miles are even signed. I'm pretty sure I don't need to know that where I'm trying to go is 80 miles from that sign.

Definitely written by someone from back east!  I can think of places I've driven where it's been 60 miles between towns.

And, really, other than a few gas stations in Ozark, there's not a whole lot worth mentioning between Buffalo and Branson.

[Brandon]

That sign would have been better without the Branson mileage.

I find it stupid that mileages over 50 miles are even signed. I'm pretty sure I don't need to know that where I'm trying to go is 80 miles from that sign.

Definitely written by someone from back east!  I can think of places I've driven where it's been 60 miles between towns.

And, really, other than a few gas stations in Ozark, there's not a whole lot worth mentioning between Buffalo and Branson.

Hell, even in the Midwest, it can be more than 50 miles between significant towns.

[vtk]

Yeah, try driving on I-71 in Ohio.  Cincinnati to Columbus is over 100 miles with essentially nothing between but suburbs on either end; Columbus to Cleveland is farther still, with only a few small cities that aren't really on the Interstate.  If the mileage signs only listed Mansfield or Jeffersonville, most drivers would find them useless.

Or, was Zeffy only intending to refer to non-freeway mileage signs?  Still, 50 miles would be a useless upper limit out west, even on 2 lane state and US highways.

[Zeffy]

Or, was Zeffy only intending to refer to non-freeway mileage signs?  Still, 50 miles would be a useless upper limit out west, even on 2 lane state and US highways.

Yeah, I was referring to the plain destination signs on non freeway roads. But I did realize that I live on the East Coast, and everything is jam packed over here.  I just think there are situations where you can put other destinations on those signs, ones that aren't 55+ miles away.

[1995hoo]

I also think that a BGS control city ought to appear on a nearby mileage sign when realistic. For example, the BGSs for I-85 on southbound I-95 in Petersburg, VA, list Durham and Atlanta (alternating with Blackstone and South Hill, both in Virginia, but Blackstone is well off I-85's actual path). One of the early mileage signs you encounter once you exit onto I-85 states that it's 122 miles to Durham. I think including that info is reasonable because it's a major through route and the BGS mentions it.

Of course, there are limits. Everyone knows about the other famous BGS there that lists Miami. No mileage sign in the area mentions Miami, nor do I think any should. In the same vein, they don't give mileage to Atlanta either.

Long way of saying I don't think this is the sort of thing that lends itself to bright-line rules.

[cpzilliacus]

I also think that a BGS control city ought to appear on a nearby mileage sign when realistic. For example, the BGSs for I-85 on southbound I-95 in Petersburg, VA, list Durham and Atlanta (alternating with Blackstone and South Hill, both in Virginia, but Blackstone is well off I-85's actual path). One of the early mileage signs you encounter once you exit onto I-85 states that it's 122 miles to Durham. I think including that info is reasonable because it's a major through route and the BGS mentions it.

Of course, there are limits. Everyone knows about the other famous BGS there that lists Miami. No mileage sign in the area mentions Miami, nor do I think any should. In the same vein, they don't give mileage to Atlanta either.

Long way of saying I don't think this is the sort of thing that lends itself to bright-line rules.

In my fantasy world, there would be a sign panel showing the next major three (or even four - though I know the MUTCD frowns on that) control cities ahead every 50 miles or so.  Northbound I-95 between D.C. and Baltimore, such a panel would have Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia and New York.

Southbound between Springfield, Va. and Fredericksburg, such a panel would have Fredericksburg, Richmond, Rocky Mount and Wilson.

[JMoses24]

I also think that a BGS control city ought to appear on a nearby mileage sign when realistic. For example, the BGSs for I-85 on southbound I-95 in Petersburg, VA, list Durham and Atlanta (alternating with Blackstone and South Hill, both in Virginia, but Blackstone is well off I-85's actual path). One of the early mileage signs you encounter once you exit onto I-85 states that it's 122 miles to Durham. I think including that info is reasonable because it's a major through route and the BGS mentions it.

Of course, there are limits. Everyone knows about the other famous BGS there that lists Miami. No mileage sign in the area mentions Miami, nor do I think any should. In the same vein, they don't give mileage to Atlanta either.

What do you do with the one on I-70 WB in Baltimore that lists Denver, Columbus and Cove Fort?

[kphoger]

Or, was Zeffy only intending to refer to non-freeway mileage signs?  Still, 50 miles would be a useless upper limit out west, even on 2 lane state and US highways.

Yeah, I was referring to the plain destination signs on non freeway roads. But I did realize that I live on the East Coast, and everything is jam packed over here.  I just think there are situations where you can put other destinations on those signs, ones that aren't 55+ miles away.

Well, part of US-65 between that sign and Branson is freeway-grade....but the road in general is not.  The point remains, though, that probably just as many people are going to Branson from that point as are stopping at Buffalo or Springfield.  And, to expand on what I said earlier, those are the only towns between there and Harrison (AR) a driver would even have to slow down for.

So, yeah, there are situations where you can put other destinations on those signs that aren't 55+ miles away.  But, that's quite a bit different that saying "I find it stupid that mileages over 50 miles are even signed."  Because there are also plenty of situations where only putting destinations less than 55 miles away is silly.  In the region I grew up in, in fact, that would occasionally limit those signs to only one destination, since towns of any size (and I'm only talking 500+ pop.) were generally about 30 miles apart.

Oberlin to Phillipsburg, Kansas, for example, is about 65 miles on US-36.
Here are the intermediate towns:
Norcatur (accessed by county road, pop. 151);
Norton (county seat, pop. 2928);
Prairie View (accessed via county road, pop. 134);
Phillipsburg (county seat, pop. 2581).
Now, what towns should be signed?

[Mapmikey]

The number of small localities in Virginia with a mileage sign somewhere that exceeds 100 is quite extensive.  If I drop the criteria to 50 miles, hundreds of places have a sign for that length.  A lot of times it is the 3rd location of three on a sign and is often where the route ends.  Virginia needs you to know where this route ends and that it's unlikely you are driving that far.



Mapmikey

[Mapmikey]

There is something about this interstate shield in Camden, NJ that makes me think "best of..."

http://goo.gl/maps/cKGya

I think it is more than just a non-neutered narrow 3di shield.  I tink it is the symmetry of the number.  But I think it is specifically because it is sixes.  There are/were some narrow I-464 (neutered) shields in Virginia and they didn't strike me at all...

Mapmikey

[Zeffy]

There is something about this interstate shield in Camden, NJ that makes me think "best of..."

http://goo.gl/maps/cKGya

I think it is more than just a non-neutered narrow 3di shield.  I tink it is the symmetry of the number.  But I think it is specifically because it is sixes.  There are/were some narrow I-464 (neutered) shields in Virginia and they didn't strike me at all...

Mapmikey

That almost looks like a 2di shield. But there is something about that shield that definitely strikes it as a good sign, at least in my book.

[Roadgeek Adam]

I found this in Hubbard, Ohio on Sunday:



A Nebraska US 73W shield, and is legit. Looks like they turned one of the railroad depots in Hubbard (Erie one is demolished) into an antique store. Rare signs everywhere.

[nyratk1]

One of the oldest street signs I can think of around in Suffolk County...

(Haven't been up that way in a while so no actual pic of it, Google Maps went by there last year.)

[agentsteel53]

the oldest BGS on I-84 in CT, still in the field. Non reflective.

really?  older than the Austin Rd. exit 25A sign on I-84 eastbound? 

[Mergingtraffic]

the oldest BGS on I-84 in CT, still in the field. Non reflective.

really?  older than the Austin Rd. exit 25A sign on I-84 eastbound? 

I think so b/c the Exit 25A sign is riveted.  CT experimented with that in the early 1980s before going back to button copy (the reflected kind)

[agentsteel53]

got it.  I perceived the 25A as older because of the intermittent custom fonts.

[Scott5114]

https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.029684,-94.625732&spn=0.001767,0.003227&oe=utf-8&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.029681,-94.625868&panoid=zYxo2rpZrVZm3twRO7Of_w&cbp=12,28.63,,0,-8.53

Holy custom fonts!

[vtk]

Looks pretty darn close to Series D. Except for the Catholic-style lowercase a.

[Scott5114]

Looks pretty darn close to Series D. Except for the Catholic-style lowercase a.

The "y" is different too (note the curved descender). The sizes are pretty close to D, but the glyphs are somewhat different.

[WichitaRoads]

Looks pretty darn close to Series D. Except for the Catholic-style lowercase a.

Catholic-style?

ICTRds

[formulanone]

A "conn" shield

I've been always wanting to ask this: Does the "CONN." stand for Connector, or the old abbreviation for Connecticut? 

[NE2]

ecticut.

[formulanone]

ecticut.

Et cetera, I cut?

[Alps]

ecticut.

Et cetera, I cut?

If you abbreviate Et cetera as ect., I'd be happy to ban you from the English language.