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

[wanderer2575]

When a speed advisory just won't be enough.  I took this photo in 2014; I think somewhere on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park but I can't be sure.

[jakeroot]

Okay, so this isn't on a road, so bear with me. But it is a rather unique sign.

This boardwalk sign has Clearview, which I have never seen anywhere in Japan until now:


American Village Boardwalk Speed Limit by Jacob Root, on Flickr

Kinda reminds me of some form of Calibri to me.

It does seem to have elements of various fonts. Though the overwhelming design inspiration is still very clearly Clearview, to me at least.

[bootmii]

This one, intended for installation on I-45, comes from a just-advertised TxDOT Houston District guide sign replacement contract that has about 400 sheets (!!!) of sign panel details.



Both the exit tab and the main sign panel have the word "EXIT."  This is allowed under the current MUTCD, though not encouraged--normally the word is omitted in the distance expression on the main sign panel if the freeway has exit numbering with tabs.  In the next edition of the MUTCD, FHWA proposes to require that "EXIT" appear only once.  This is far from the only instance of redundant "EXIT" in this plans set, so I wonder if this change is being misunderstood as encouragement to do what FHWA wants to ban.

Also Clearview has its place but that place is mixed-case. Numbers other than "Nth St" etc should be in a FHWA series, as should all/small caps.

[Scott5114]

Yeah, but Texas can do what it wants cause it's a whole other planet.

[kphoger]

Yeah, but Texas can do what it wants cause it's a whole other planet.

Honestly, Texas is so head-and-shoulders above most other states when it comes to signing, that I'm only about two inches away from trusting their judgment over that of the FHWA.

[JoePCool14]

Yeah, but Texas can do what it wants cause it's a whole other planet.

Honestly, Texas is so head-and-shoulders above most other states when it comes to signing, that I'm only about two inches away from trusting their judgment over that of the FHWA.

Nah. Texas is kind of a shitshow to me after my trip to Austin last year. Their level of expansion is great, but some of it is really not thought out well at all. And I question the quality of the construction itself as well.

I dislike their attachment to Clearview as well.

[Bobby5280]

Okay, that's a new one seeing the Frutiger typeface used on a highway advisory sign.

[Dirt Roads]

When a speed advisory just won't be enough.  I took this photo in 2014; I think somewhere on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park but I can't be sure.

Okay, that's a new one seeing the Frutiger typeface used on a highway advisory sign.

Indeed, as the National Park Service has used Frutiger in addition to NPS Rawlinson since 2006.  They didn't have any font preferences for transit signage when I worked on a few NPS projects back in the 1990s.

[Mr. Matté]

So I guess Princeton is closed before this sign?

[sprjus4]

Yeah, but Texas can do what it wants cause it's a whole other planet.

Honestly, Texas is so head-and-shoulders above most other states when it comes to signing, that I'm only about two inches away from trusting their judgment over that of the FHWA.

Nah. Texas is kind of a shitshow to me after my trip to Austin last year. Their level of expansion is great, but some of it is really not thought out well at all. And I question the quality of the construction itself as well.

I dislike their attachment to Clearview as well.

I have a love or hate with Clearview, and to be honest it's dependent on how it's installed... sometimes it looks okay, other times it's hideous. Overall, I still prefer FHWA and it looks far better, but I can tolerate Clearview.

Texas has done it mostly decent, to be honest, to the point it hasn't bothered me anymore. My biggest gripe about Texas would be their work zones... they are seemingly always dangerous, narrow lanes, abrupt shifts, barely visible lines, poor signage, barriers that are never straight (random bounce back and forth and jut out into the small "shoulder"  space randomly, etc.

Sometimes speed limits are inconsistent, but that's more of a small gripe than anything. I'd rather deal with a random 65 mph or 70 mph rural zone (as opposed to 75 mph), then a 55 mph in another state.

And that leads to probably one of my more favorable qualities about Texas... speed limits. The inconsistent, and oddball areas aside, you will most likely see consistent 70-75 mph speed limits in rural areas, regardless of being a two lane road or 6 lane urban interstate. Most states, on the other hand, simply artificially restrict speed based on classification - if there's an intersection, can be no higher than 55 mph, etc. which is incredibly annoying.

[kphoger]

Yeah, Texas is ultimately what stopped me disliking Clearview.

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/Yx4SZEzeCCSip3rx9
The two side by side enhanced mile markers for the transition of I-290 west into I-395 south in Auburn, MA.

[bzakharin]

https://goo.gl/maps/Yx4SZEzeCCSip3rx9
The two side by side enhanced mile markers for the transition of I-290 west into I-395 south in Auburn, MA.

There used to be similar mile markers where NJ 55 ends 20 miles early and transitions to NJ 47. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3278654,-74.995212,3a,21y,170.19h,84.44t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWoh3o5M0y1NRcIFYQgoSkg!2e0!5s20111001T000000!7i13312!8i6656
At the time enhanced mile markers were not the norm in NJ. In 2018 NJDOT upgraded that area to all enhanced mile markers removing the above setup in the process, moving the two mile markers further apart, and making the NJ 47 one no longer visible to traffic entering rom NJ 55, presumably to more accurately reflect where the actual 20 and 35 mile points are. Personally I find the END 55 JCT 47 sign that was always there more than adequate. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3488942,-74.9992764,3a,75y,138.41h,84.38t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s-LTu3gfeqwcC0oHoQrAEig!2e0!5s20221001T000000!7i16384!8i8192

[CovalenceSTU]

Two irregular speed signs in Astoria: one with "MILES" that doesn't look particularly old, and a black and white advisory speed that replaced a regular speed sign on a school zone assembly.

Unfortunately I didn't think of taking a pic of the "MILES" one and GSV hasn't been there since 2007.

[tckma]

a black and white advisory speed that replaced a regular speed sign on a school zone assembly.

"WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT" implies it's regulatory, not advisory, but that's just my interpretation.

[kphoger]

a black and white advisory speed that replaced a regular speed sign on a school zone assembly.

"WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT" implies it's regulatory, not advisory, but that's just my interpretation.

The others around the area still have the Oregon-standard regulatory speed limit sign, so yes, I'd say that's the intention.  But what it really is?  It's a sign with no legal definition.

[CovalenceSTU]

a black and white advisory speed that replaced a regular speed sign on a school zone assembly.

"WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT" implies it's regulatory, not advisory, but that's just my interpretation.

The others around the area still have the Oregon-standard regulatory speed limit sign, so yes, I'd say that's the intention.  But what it really is?  It's a sign with no legal definition.

If you go back to 2007 there was a speed sign there too (so it's should be regulatory), but a warning sign with a regulatory background is rather ambiguous and isn't supposed to be created anyways.

[wanderer2575]

a black and white advisory speed that replaced a regular speed sign on a school zone assembly.

"WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT" implies it's regulatory, not advisory, but that's just my interpretation.

The others around the area still have the Oregon-standard regulatory speed limit sign, so yes, I'd say that's the intention.  But what it really is?  It's a sign with no legal definition.

I'm not the expert (surprise), but I would think in the absence of undisputable verbiage (e.g. SPEED LIMIT) the background color takes precedence over the sizing dimensions.  I read this one as regulatory.

[74/171FAN]

I just found a yellow YIELD sign (unsure that it is still there) from 2013 GSV near US 17 BUS in Williamston, NC. 

[TBKS1]

How about a red pentagon?



Never seen this before, I should make a trip up here at some point to get a picture of it lol

[Hunty2022]

Not a normal road name sign near Culpeper, VA:

[ClassicHasClass]

How about a red pentagon?



Never seen this before, I should make a trip up here at some point to get a picture of it lol

And it's marked E-911, not as a county route (presumably some sort of emergency services locator, maybe some identifier you give the 911 operator?).

[kphoger]

How about a red pentagon?



Never seen this before, I should make a trip up here at some point to get a picture of it lol

And it's marked E-911, not as a county route (presumably some sort of emergency services locator, maybe some identifier you give the 911 operator?).

I think so.  Here is the sequence of signage:

https://goo.gl/maps/jjtBV7Ch1zrwb4hWA – Blue 'GREENE COUNTY 560' pentagon shield
https://goo.gl/maps/ThZ5aCzrZJbfcg678 – Small red '560' rectangle
https://goo.gl/maps/6V9ckpqVR3YB5KvKA – Red 'E 911 560' pentagon shield

I see more than one news article online complaining about stolen E911 signs in Greene County.

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/BANJRGG8FxfRYUpi6
The way the Massachusetts Turnpike is abbreviated as one word Masspike.

[tckma]

How about a red pentagon?

How about a green one?
How about regular blue one, but with a weird county route number?
What about a pair of them?
7WC, 1AB, and 8WC not weird enough county route numbers for ya?
County Route 3 what?