Exit Tabs

[shadyjay]

Couple things to note:

Connecticut only just started adding right sided exit tabs, those appear largely on the Conn Turnpike (I-95) from NY state line up to Fairfield in the most recent sign replacement project.  Another is currently going on in Milford, up to West Haven.  Outside of a few replacement signs scattered throughout the state, the rest of the BGSs all have centered tabs.

Now Massachusetts seems to have borderless exit tabs on their second generation of non-turnpike signage.  The white border around the sign extends up and over the tab, vs going across the bottom of the tab.  Signs of this vintage also have the outline state route marker and button copy interstate numerals.  Masspike's current signage, and new installations now seem to have the bottom exit tab border, and traditional interstate numerals.  State route markers are non-outline variety on the MassPike, but I think are outlined still on new installations.

Vermont, NH, and Maine largely have border all around their signs, and exit tabs on the right.  Exception to the rule is those signs in VT which carry no exit tabs ... I-89 north of Burlington and I-91's north end for 2 exits.

[froggie]

Correct, Vermont signs without exit tabs are the exception now, but even on the segments you mentioned.  Exit 29 (Derby Line) on I-91 doesn't have them, but Exit 28 does.  As does I-89 north of Burlington now (at least at/north of St. Albans).

[shadyjay]

Even new signs they replaced in Burlington when they added a lane SB to one ramp of VT's only cloverleaf [Exit 14] don't have exit tabs.  I think they also kept the button copy gore sign, too.  Doesn't make a lot of sense. 

Exit 13 SB to I-189 has no exit tabs, Exit 12 is missing 1, Exit 17 I think is missing them as well.  I-91... Exit 24 has 2 decrepit signs NB, with no tabs.  Exit 23-SB is same way.  They did do a good job Exits 11-23, though that sign replacement was the last large stretch of original button copy remaining in New England.

[Brandon]

And the Phoenix area. Some of those signs have tremendously excessive abounts of blank space just for vertical uniformity.

Might as well add IDOT [Illinois] District 1 to that list as well.  They have some rather tall signs with a lot of green space for the same reason.  Other districts don't stick to height uniformity as much as District 1.  The ISTHA on the other hand prefers to center signs horizontally.

[thenetwork]

My favorite exit tabs of the past were the older ones in PA where the BGS outline traced only the edge of the entire sign, so the exit tab looked to be part of the main sign (It looked like Colorado also did this in the past as well).

My LEAST favorite exit tabs are the newer ones in PA which look more like "race-track ovals" than actual rectangles.

My favorite modern day tabs are the full length tabs found in areas of Illinois. 

[froggie]

I'm almost always exiting I-91 at Exit 23, so anything north of there is hit-or-miss as far as my catching it.  Often take back roads into Burlington, so whatever I catch on I-89 is heading east out of town.  Still, I've caught enough to where I'd say it's more "hit or miss" than consistent for interchange signage lacking exit tabs in Vermont.

[rickmastfan67]

While it's a fine example of efficiency, it's a bad example of consistency.

The idea of PennDOT ever being consistent. 

Well, PennDOT looks to be now "up to standards" when it comes to new Left Hand Exit signs.  Just saw this on the webcams for the PA-130 Left Exit on I-376.

[PAHighways]

While it's a fine example of efficiency, it's a bad example of consistency.

The idea of PennDOT ever being consistent. 

Well, PennDOT looks to be now "up to standards" when it comes to new Left Hand Exit signs.  Just saw this on the webcams for the PA-130 Left Exit on I-376.

They have done that with all of the left exits along the current length of I-376.  Even the new community exit sign on westbound Parkway Central before Second Avenue has a yellow box with "LEFT" next to the Grant and Stanwix exits.

[Mr_Northside]

Well, PennDOT looks to be now "up to standards" when it comes to new Left Hand Exit signs.  Just saw this on the webcams for the PA-130 Left Exit on I-376.

The yellow "Left" in the tab does seem a bit redundant on signs with "Exit Only" already pointing that out.  That and on diagrammatic signs (like the signs for Grant St. traveling Eastbound).
Of course, I suppose the standard is the standard.  Better safe than sorry.

They have done that with all of the left exits along the current length of I-376.  Even the new community exit sign on westbound Parkway Central before Second Avenue has a yellow box with "LEFT" next to the Grant and Stanwix exits.

As an asides, I've always thought that particular sign (both the previous version and the current one) should say "Downtown Exits" instead of "Pittsburgh Exits". 
There are plenty of other exits within the city limits on the Parkway, and that kind of ignores that fact.

[PAHighways]

The yellow "Left" in the tab does seem a bit redundant on signs with "Exit Only" already pointing that out.  That and on diagrammatic signs (like the signs for Grant St. traveling Eastbound).
Of course, I suppose the standard is the standard.  Better safe than sorry.

The "LEFT" notation keeps consistency between the left lane drops (Grant WB) and plain left hand exits (Stanwix WB).

[J N Winkler]

The yellow "Left" in the tab does seem a bit redundant on signs with "Exit Only" already pointing that out.  That and on diagrammatic signs (like the signs for Grant St. traveling Eastbound).
Of course, I suppose the standard is the standard.  Better safe than sorry.

The "LEFT" notation keeps consistency between the left lane drops (Grant WB) and plain left hand exits (Stanwix WB).

Just to clear up a couple of things:

*  Both ordinary left exits and lane drops on the left attract exit tabs mounted to the left of the main sign panel.  The MUTCD says (§ 2E.28) the exit tab should have the word "LEFT" (in other words, the provision is Guidance rather than a Standard--meaning it has to be done unless there is a good reason not to).

*  It is an option (same section) to place the word "LEFT" in black against yellow on the exit tab.  It is left completely to designer discretion and is not related to any special conditions such as left lane being dropped, etc.

The main distinction in diagrammatic signs for left exits and left-lane drops relates to the use of an "EXIT ONLY" black-on-yellow patch on the main sign panel (§ 2E.19) for signs indicating that the left lane drops.  (The MUTCD however avoids the question of what to do in situations where the left exit is a lane drop with optional lane but the agency prefers not to treat it as a split, generally because the exit is part of a service rather than a system interchange.  Some agencies address this situation by using a black-on-yellow patch with "LEFT LANE EXIT ONLY" on the lane-drop diagrammatic.)

[Mr_Northside]

These signs were just redone quite recently.  Probably before the whole "Left"-in-the-tab thing.
But you'd think they would've at least left-aligned the tab they used.

[joseph1723]

Ontario used to use exit tabs that had the word "Exit" on them before they omited the word "exit" on new tabs because of the switch to bilingual signs although quite a few of the older ones still exist.

Most of them were just a standard tab like the other ones here but there were a few internally drawn out ones on a white tab with black lettering and one on a separate BGS/BBS.

The 407 uses a lot of these old style exit tabs even though it was built pretty recently.

The modern exit tab just have the exit number on them.  

On most of our left hand exit we left align the exit tab on the BGS.

As for borders they used to be rounded but the modern ones use 90 degree borders. I think the borders were always the same width as the ones on BGSs and completely surrounded the exit tab though,

Update: Here's some pictures of Ontario's exit tabs(first two from vintagekinghighways.com and shows older sign standards):

A left aligned old style exit tab that has the EXIT and km on it:  


Here's the internally drawn out black on white exit tab:


The newer exit tab style that shows the km only but still has a rounded border:


And finally the latest exit tab style that shows the km only and the rectangular border:  

[OracleUsr]

I noticed British Columbia, or at least the BGS's on the web I've seen, use EXIT + the KM marker.  Anyone know if that's a more recent standard, or is the trend like Ontario?

[deathtopumpkins]

Noticed an oddity I drive by frequently the other day...
This exit tab is left-aligned for a right exit (I-64 eastbound at exit 258, US-17/J Clyde Morris Blvd).

[joseph1723]

I noticed British Columbia, or at least the BGS's on the web I've seen, use EXIT + the KM marker.  Anyone know if that's a more recent standard, or is the trend like Ontario?

Ontario used to use EXIT and the km marker but now they just post the km marker and omit the word EXIT on the tab.  I don't know about the standard in BC but from the pictures I've seen they use EXIT and the km number. Maybe someone else here knows more about BC.

===
I've updated my previous post on Ontario exit tab to include some pictures of the exit tabs.

Quebec post exit tabs in a quite interesting way in my opinion they also number by km post only but their tab is internally drawn out in a yellow trapezoid symbol.   

(picture from canhighways.com)

[OracleUsr]

I-85 near Norlina has the same thing as that I-64 BGS.  At the US 1/158 connector interchange on northbound I-85, the EXIT 220 is left-aligned, though the exiit is to the right.

Interestingly, southbound on the same highway, the last I-85 sees of US 1 before US 1 goes to Raleigh, EXIT 218, is a left exit (and until NC started with directional tabbing, was untabbed).

I remember being in PQ and noticing the same thing (the yellow "exit tab") back in 1989.  Loved Quebec City.

[vdeane]

From what I've seen in Google streetview it looks like all of Canada except QC does exit tabs similar to Ontario.

[wytout]

Couple things to note:

Connecticut only just started adding right sided exit tabs, those appear largely on the Conn Turnpike (I-95) from NY state line up to Fairfield in the most recent sign replacement project.  Another is currently going on in Milford, up to West Haven.  Outside of a few replacement signs scattered throughout the state, the rest of the BGSs all have centered tabs.

...

I noticed that on MOST new installations, including all those blanket replacement signs on I-95NB in CT are going similar to the way of MA and putting the state route shield on the BGS as it appears stand alone, with the CT Thick border and US route signs are as they should be... cutout style with no borders etc, per MUTCD.

[shoptb1]

I like the way Georgia does it.  Their signs just all seem to be neat and tidy.

Based on what I've seen...I would have to say that I like Georgia's approach the best as well.

[shoptb1]

ODOT's approach is apparently "no exit tab variation left behind", as we seem to have every variation on exit tabs here in the Columbus area.  I'm pretty sure that Ohio's tag line is 'Yep, we got at least one of them'.  

Right-Side Tab



Middle-Tab (on the same exit sequence!)



Left-Tab (and not necessarily on a left-hand exit)



Integrated Exit Number - Right-Aligned (and some funky stack of the I-670/US-23)



No Exit Numbers at all (on a Interstate Route that should have them)



Yep, that's how we roll up here.

[joseph1723]

Ontario also has some exit tab oddities, there are a couple exit tabs I've seen that are right aligned but don't actually reach the edge of the BGS:

(picture from onthighways.com)

Here's a another faux right aligned tab but this time for a left exit, I guess this one and the one before where part of the same sign contract:

(picture from google streetview)

The one is missing the exit tab on a highway with exit numbers:


and finally this one has a sheet of overlay covering the word "EXIT" on it(click to enlarge):

(picture from onthighways.com)

[Michael]

^^ Canada has unusual BGS supports, as shown in that last picture.