Signs that are too broad and could be more specific

[roadman65]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Woodbridge+Township,+NJ/@40.54005,-74.297462,3a,37.5y,140.74h,82.66t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sRPLssxwC1cyRP2A8U9MQxw!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c3b5b758c6349b:0x938c0e659e3a78da
This one here(located below the green sign on the brown face) lets motorists entering the NJ Turnpike from Exit 11 to use Exit 4 for the State Aquarium, however it does not say whether to go North or South on the Turnpike.

[roadman]

Why are they even posting for the State Aquarium at Exit 11 in the first place?  That to me is the real issue here - overuse and indiscriminate use of unnecessary signing.

[NE2]

Did the NJ Turnpike originally use signs that said EXITS 1-10 and EXITS 12-18 instead of just south and north?

[jeffandnicole]

When the Camden Aquarium first opened I believe the state funded it or operated it, so signs went up all over the state for it. 

As for the GSV, pan to the left, and all the signs say is 'North' & 'South'.  If your destination was Exit 2 or Exit 12, you still wouldn't have any idea where to go.

Did the NJ Turnpike originally use signs that said EXITS 1-10 and EXITS 12-18 instead of just south and north?

I don't recall seeing them.  The PA Turnpike had them though.

[Pink Jazz]

I would think a separate ATTRACTION logo sign with the aquarium's logo would be better than a brown sign from such a distance.

[roadman65]

Why are they even posting for the State Aquarium at Exit 11 in the first place?  That to me is the real issue here - overuse and indiscriminate use of unnecessary signing.

I believe there are signs on the NB GSP at I-195 in Wall Township also mentioning the attraction as well.  There it is even more broader as it did say "At Camden" in a separate sign beneath the main sign.  No mention  at all to use I-195 West to the SB NJT or even SB I-295 which is even more direct to Camden from I-195 than the turnpike is.

[SidS1045]

The most annoying sign ever:  THRUWAY.

OK if you're a local and know where you're going.  Otherwise...

[1995hoo]

I remember when I growing up there were pull-through signs on northbound I-81 that used a control point of simply "Canada." I remember thinking even as a kid that they were utterly vague and unspecific because Canada's a big place. I suppose there's nowhere of note in reasonable proximity on the other side of the border there, though.

I don't know whether those signs are still there because the only time I've been on that segment in the past 20 years was a southbound trip coming home from Mont-Tremblant and Ottawa.

[roadman65]

When I was there back in 12, some of the ramp signs in the Watertown area still had Canada as control point for I-81 N Bound.

[1995hoo]

When I was there back in 12, some of the ramp signs in the Watertown area still had Canada as control point for I-81 N Bound.

I thought about clicking through Street View but quickly decided it'd take forever and isn't worth the trouble. I assume vdeane probably knows whether they're still there.

[Pete from Boston]

"Canada" was still around in Watertown, N.Y., last time I was there.  It pops up a lot in northern Vermont. 

I felt this dumbed-down vagueness reflected poorly on our awareness beyond our borders until the last time I was heading for I-89 from Montréal and ended up on A-15 instead of A-10 because the latter is signed "U.S.A."

[NE2]

from http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ma/i-90/

Thread over.

[roadman]

from http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ma/i-90/

Thread over.

+ 1 million for that post.

[roadman65]

from http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ma/i-90/

Thread over.

+ 1 million for that post.

Obviously you cannot get more broader than that.

[Zeffy]

from http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ma/i-90/

Thread over.

I'm inclined to think that nothing is topping this. No way.

[1995hoo]

from http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ma/i-90/

Thread over.

Outstanding find. Thanks for the Friday afternoon laugh.

[vdeane]

When I was there back in 12, some of the ramp signs in the Watertown area still had Canada as control point for I-81 N Bound.

I thought about clicking through Street View but quickly decided it'd take forever and isn't worth the trouble. I assume vdeane probably knows whether they're still there.

Still around when I went through there and I'm not aware of any sign rehabs, but I don't have the chance to get up to Region 7 nearly as often since I graduated.  There's not much in the way of street view past NY 12; just some of the old bad imagery southbound, but the youtube user roadwaywizwny has real time videos of I-81.

[kendancy66]

I noticed that in word points the button copy O looks like most of the buttons are missing and the letter is about too fall off. Is there some reason that particular letter has that problem. Of all the button copy sings with that kind of defect it seems like O is the letter with that problem

[machias]

The most annoying sign ever:  THRUWAY.

OK if you're a local and know where you're going.  Otherwise...

About 10 years ago NYSDOT Region 3 and I had a long discussion about signs that just said "Thruway" for the interchanges in the Syracuse area. The logic was that the Thruway was the destination and the motorist would see additional destinations once they were through the toll booth. I countered that people would not be happy if every interchange was just signed with the route number and about a year later new signs appeared with the control destinations of Albany and Buffalo.

Originally I-81 signed the interchange as (90) (Thruway shield) "Thruway". When the interchange was rebuilt around 1983 or so, they went with (90) Thruway. They'll eventually have all signs in the area showing "Albany - Buffalo".

It doesn't bother me as much when you're entering the Thruway from a two-lane road, but for interstate to interstate connections there definitely should be control destinations.

I'm eager to see what Region 2 does when they replace the button copy "To 90" signs (with nothing else on them) from 1989.

As far as "Canada", I think that's too broad as well, but I don't know what you'd put on the signs along I-81... Kingston? Ottawa? I-81 basically takes you the Canadian border and then you have to figure out where you want to go from there.  I think Canada does the job.

[Pete from Boston]

[TEG24601]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Woodbridge+Township,+NJ/@40.54005,-74.297462,3a,37.5y,140.74h,82.66t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sRPLssxwC1cyRP2A8U9MQxw!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c3b5b758c6349b:0x938c0e659e3a78da
This one here(located below the green sign on the brown face) lets motorists entering the NJ Turnpike from Exit 11 to use Exit 4 for the State Aquarium, however it does not say whether to go North or South on the Turnpike.

Since the sign is on the right, I would assume that you need to go North (as that is the right hand exit/through lanes).  If you needed to go South, that sign should be on the Left. - And now that I have checked the map, it tells me that whomever erected that sign is an idiot.  If they aren't going to add anymore information is should be on the Left, since you need to go South to reach exit 4, or it should actually be a reassurance sign on the Southbound ramp.

[Zeffy]

Since the sign is on the right, I would assume that you need to go North (as that is the right hand exit/through lanes).  If you needed to go South, that sign should be on the Left. - And now that I have checked the map, it tells me that whomever erected that sign is an idiot.  If they aren't going to add anymore information is should be on the Left, since you need to go South to reach exit 4, or it should actually be a reassurance sign on the Southbound ramp.

The only reasoning I could have is that the Turnpike Authority assumed people would know to go south since Camden (where the Aquarium is located) is located south of Woodbridge (where this gantry is). But still, not everyone is a local.

[txstateends]

I guess they'll never have the chance to be more specific since all the stores are gone now.

[txstateends]

The most annoying sign ever:  THRUWAY.

OK if you're a local and know where you're going.  Otherwise...

About 10 years ago NYSDOT Region 3 and I had a long discussion about signs that just said "Thruway" for the interchanges in the Syracuse area. The logic was that the Thruway was the destination and the motorist would see additional destinations once they were through the toll booth. I countered that people would not be happy if every interchange was just signed with the route number and about a year later new signs appeared with the control destinations of Albany and Buffalo.

Originally I-81 signed the interchange as (90) (Thruway shield) "Thruway". When the interchange was rebuilt around 1983 or so, they went with (90) Thruway. They'll eventually have all signs in the area showing "Albany - Buffalo".

This reminds me of how approaches used to be signed for the DFW Turnpike and the Dallas N. Tollway.  On signs SB on I-35E and on signs leading west out of downtown Dallas, they would sign the DFW Turnpike as simply "Turnpike"--no specifics, no shield.  I guess they thought that there was only one Turnpike in the area, why be more specific?  Same with the Dallas N. Tollway; the NB exit to it from I-35E as well exits each way to it from I-635, all had "Tollway" (nothing more, except for arrows and directions) on the BGSes.  To my knowledge, the approaches to the DFW Turnpike never were more specific than "Turnpike", but fortunately, all the BGSes referencing the Dallas N. Tollway now say it in full.

[Pete from Boston]

I guess they'll never have the chance to be more specific since all the stores are gone now.

Admittedly, I stole this joke from Eugene Mirman, who suggested that being more specific might have been a good idea in retrospect.