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The Worst of Road Signs

Started by Scott5114, September 21, 2010, 04:01:21 AM

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J N Winkler

Quote from: kphoger on May 15, 2018, 05:00:36 PMBut if you were the employee who took it down, wouldn't you feel an acute desire to blow it up with dynamite?

Give it time.  If all the pieces of construction debris that were called "fragments of the Berlin Wall" were put together, they would amount to more concrete than in the whole of the former DDR.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini


barcncpt44

ALDOT installed a new BGS sign in Birmingham, and well got some Interstate shields swapped.
https://twitter.com/WBRCtraffic/status/996851878708367361

A bland smile is like a green light at an intersection, it feels good when you get one, but you forget it the moment you're past it. -Doug Coupland

US71

Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

freebrickproductions

Quote from: barcncpt44 on May 16, 2018, 06:27:14 PM
ALDOT installed a new BGS sign in Birmingham, and well got some Interstate shields swapped.
https://twitter.com/WBRCtraffic/status/996851878708367361
Not really "worst of", IMHO. More like just erroneous, as the sign is pretty well made otherwise. But it does show no-one was paying attention when it was made...
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

Brandon

Quote from: freebrickproductions on May 16, 2018, 08:49:38 PM
Quote from: barcncpt44 on May 16, 2018, 06:27:14 PM
ALDOT installed a new BGS sign in Birmingham, and well got some Interstate shields swapped.
https://twitter.com/WBRCtraffic/status/996851878708367361
Not really "worst of", IMHO. More like just erroneous, as the sign is pretty well made otherwise. But it does show no-one was paying attention when it was made...

It is; however, just a tad fucking huge.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

jakeroot

Quote from: Brandon on May 17, 2018, 05:53:00 AM
Quote from: freebrickproductions on May 16, 2018, 08:49:38 PM
Quote from: barcncpt44 on May 16, 2018, 06:27:14 PM
ALDOT installed a new BGS sign in Birmingham, and well got some Interstate shields swapped.

Not really "worst of", IMHO. More like just erroneous, as the sign is pretty well made otherwise. But it does show no-one was paying attention when it was made...

It is; however, just a tad fucking huge.

It's a dumb-design. The "20"/59 shields could have easily been on one line, which would have greatly reduced the sign height.

APLs are large by their very nature, but it's up to individual agencies not to exacerbate the situation.

paulthemapguy

Quote from: jakeroot on May 17, 2018, 03:15:41 PM
It's a dumb-design. The "20"/59 shields could have easily been on one line, which would have greatly reduced the sign height.

APLs are large by their very nature, but it's up to individual agencies not to exacerbate the situation.

I 200% agree. The 20/65 swap is stupid, but the failure to prevent the inclusion of that extra space makes this extra facepalm-inducing.
Avatar is the last interesting highway I clinched.
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National collection status: 361/425. Only 64 route markers remain

TBKS1

#5132
Quote from: Brandon on May 17, 2018, 05:53:00 AM
Quote from: freebrickproductions on May 16, 2018, 08:49:38 PM
Quote from: barcncpt44 on May 16, 2018, 06:27:14 PM
ALDOT installed a new BGS sign in Birmingham, and well got some Interstate shields swapped.
https://twitter.com/WBRCtraffic/status/996851878708367361
Not really "worst of", IMHO. More like just erroneous, as the sign is pretty well made otherwise. But it does show no-one was paying attention when it was made...

It is; however, just a tad fucking huge.

ARDOT basically did the same thing at the west end of I-630...



GIANT Big Green Sign by TheInstrumentalist, on Flickr
I take pictures of road signs, that's about it.

General rule of thumb: Just stay in the "Traffic Control" section of the forum and you'll be fine.

odditude

Quote from: TBKS1 on May 17, 2018, 06:36:11 PM
Quote from: Brandon on May 17, 2018, 05:53:00 AM
It is; however, just a tad fucking huge.

ARDOT basically did the same thing at the west end of I-630...

GIANT Big Green Sign by TheInstrumentalist, on Flickr

there's a big difference. while the ARDOT sign is stupidly large, it's not stupidly large for an APL. you can't condense anything further without violating spec or screwing legibility.

the screwup sign, on the other hand, is stupidly large even for an APL.

formulanone

#5134
Quote from: odditude on May 18, 2018, 08:25:41 AM
Quote from: TBKS1 on May 17, 2018, 06:36:11 PM
Quote from: Brandon on May 17, 2018, 05:53:00 AM
It is; however, just a tad fucking huge.

ARDOT basically did the same thing at the west end of I-630...

GIANT Big Green Sign by TheInstrumentalist, on Flickr

there's a big difference. while the ARDOT sign is stupidly large, it's not stupidly large for an APL. you can't condense anything further without violating spec or screwing legibility.

the screwup sign, on the other hand, is stupidly large even for an APL.

It's huge because of the I-20/59 overlap, and the way the shields must be laid out, presumably so that thru traffic stays in the center (maybe there's unaware travelers who think that 20 and 59 will split immediately after this interchange). Ideally, you could just align the two shields side-by-side in that middle section and eliminate one-third of the sign panel height; APLs permit the white vertical stripes to denote the exits.

Not a fan of APLs and the wasted space, although it has nothing to do with the errors.

PHLBOS

Quote from: formulanone on May 18, 2018, 08:48:20 AM
Quote from: odditude on May 18, 2018, 08:25:41 AM
Quote from: TBKS1 on May 17, 2018, 06:36:11 PM
Quote from: Brandon on May 17, 2018, 05:53:00 AM
It is; however, just a tad fucking huge.

ARDOT basically did the same thing at the west end of I-630...

GIANT Big Green Sign by TheInstrumentalist, on Flickr

there's a big difference. while the ARDOT sign is stupidly large, it's not stupidly large for an APL. you can't condense anything further without violating spec or screwing legibility.

the screwup sign, on the other hand, is stupidly large even for an APL.

It's huge because of the I-20/59 overlap, and the way the shields must be laid out, presumably so that thru traffic stays in the center (maybe there's unaware travelers who think that 20 and 59 will split immediately after this interchange).
However, given the width of the APL sign-board; it looks to me that the 20 WEST/59 SOUTH layout could've been done differently.  Either a single-line (20 WEST 59 SOUTH) layout or have the direction cardinals on one line and the route shields on the other (stacked layout as shown below)

WEST   SOUTH
   20        59


would've reduced the overall sign height.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

odditude

Quote from: PHLBOS on May 18, 2018, 08:54:42 AM
Quote from: formulanone on May 18, 2018, 08:48:20 AM
Quote from: odditude on May 18, 2018, 08:25:41 AM
Quote from: TBKS1 on May 17, 2018, 06:36:11 PM
Quote from: Brandon on May 17, 2018, 05:53:00 AM
It is; however, just a tad fucking huge.

ARDOT basically did the same thing at the west end of I-630...

GIANT Big Green Sign by TheInstrumentalist, on Flickr

there's a big difference. while the ARDOT sign is stupidly large, it's not stupidly large for an APL. you can't condense anything further without violating spec or screwing legibility.

the screwup sign, on the other hand, is stupidly large even for an APL.

It's huge because of the I-20/59 overlap, and the way the shields must be laid out, presumably so that thru traffic stays in the center (maybe there's unaware travelers who think that 20 and 59 will split immediately after this interchange).
However, given the width of the APL sign-board; it looks to me that the 20 WEST/59 SOUTH layout could've been done differently.  Either a single-line (20 WEST 59 SOUTH) layout or have the direction cardinals on one line and the route shields on the other (stacked layout as shown below)

WEST   SOUTH
   20        59


would've reduced the overall sign height.
precisely.

jakeroot

Quote from: formulanone on May 18, 2018, 08:48:20 AM
It's huge because of the I-20/59 overlap, and the way the shields must be laid out, presumably so that thru traffic stays in the center (maybe there's unaware travelers who think that 20 and 59 will split immediately after this interchange). Ideally, you could just align the two shields side-by-side in that middle section and eliminate one-third of the sign panel height; APLs permit the white vertical stripes to denote the exits.

I've had trouble with this in my APL designs in the past (over on the illustrations board). I generally prefer shields to be between arrows, but when you have two through routes, it's tough to decide where to place the two shields. Do you place two between each arrow? Align them respective to their eventual split? Throw them up there without any thought? I personally prefer the "aligned based on eventual split", since it reduces the number of shields, and lets traffic know how the split will eventually line up.

The last time I faced this issue, I placed two shields between each arrow. But this looks rather crowded in retrospect:


KEK Inc.

https://goo.gl/maps/FeKtkpLdwbG2

These freeway entrance signs look like they were vomited out of MS Paint.
Take the road less traveled.

hotdogPi

Quote from: KEK Inc. on May 19, 2018, 04:00:33 AM
https://goo.gl/maps/FeKtkpLdwbG2

These freeway entrance signs look like they were vomited out of MS Paint.

What am I looking at? The signs look perfectly normal to me.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

KEK Inc.

The freeway entrance sign and shield.


iPhone
Take the road less traveled.

jakeroot

Quote from: KEK Inc. on May 19, 2018, 04:00:33 AM
https://goo.gl/maps/FeKtkpLdwbG2

These freeway entrance signs look like they were vomited out of MS Paint.

Yikes, that is bad. Typically Californian in that it uses a slightly wider text than a typical WSDOT style freeway entrance sign, but it's still nowhere near standard. Never mind that US-50 shield.

Techknow

I cringed when I saw that Freeway Entrance sign. Since California signs practically every freeway entrance, you could tell it looks very different than what it should be. Also the US 50 shield has no black outline and no direction placard, and the font is wrong. If you go to exit 39 those signs are correct.

hotdogPi

The freeway entrance sign still looks perfectly normal to me. Maybe a bit of wasted space at the top and bottom, but that's it.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: jakeroot on May 18, 2018, 01:25:33 PM
Quote from: formulanone on May 18, 2018, 08:48:20 AM
It's huge because of the I-20/59 overlap, and the way the shields must be laid out, presumably so that thru traffic stays in the center (maybe there's unaware travelers who think that 20 and 59 will split immediately after this interchange). Ideally, you could just align the two shields side-by-side in that middle section and eliminate one-third of the sign panel height; APLs permit the white vertical stripes to denote the exits.

I've had trouble with this in my APL designs in the past (over on the illustrations board). I generally prefer shields to be between arrows, but when you have two through routes, it's tough to decide where to place the two shields. Do you place two between each arrow? Align them respective to their eventual split? Throw them up there without any thought? I personally prefer the "aligned based on eventual split", since it reduces the number of shields, and lets traffic know how the split will eventually line up.

The last time I faced this issue, I placed two shields between each arrow. But this looks rather crowded in retrospect:



With signage, clarity is important; maybe more important than size.   Think of the normal STOP sign.  One could cut over 50% of the material out by getting rid of the part above and below 'STOP' and just make it a 4 sided rectangle sign.  The importance of the shape, combined with the red material, encourages the larger sign.  Now, before anyone says "but stop signs aren't that big"...you're right.  But they're plentiful.  If a town has several hundred STOP signs throughout the town, material usage could be significantly reduced on those hundreds of signs.

So, that said, sometimes bigger is perfectly fine.  An APL has a lot of wasted space, but they are very clear to understand.  I don't know of anyone who's actually had a problem with the understanding of such a sign; they just want a smaller sign.  By reducing the height of the arrows by a foot or so, the same clarity can be received.

noelbotevera

Quote from: jakeroot on May 18, 2018, 01:25:33 PM
Quote from: formulanone on May 18, 2018, 08:48:20 AM
It's huge because of the I-20/59 overlap, and the way the shields must be laid out, presumably so that thru traffic stays in the center (maybe there's unaware travelers who think that 20 and 59 will split immediately after this interchange). Ideally, you could just align the two shields side-by-side in that middle section and eliminate one-third of the sign panel height; APLs permit the white vertical stripes to denote the exits.

I've had trouble with this in my APL designs in the past (over on the illustrations board). I generally prefer shields to be between arrows, but when you have two through routes, it's tough to decide where to place the two shields. Do you place two between each arrow? Align them respective to their eventual split? Throw them up there without any thought? I personally prefer the "aligned based on eventual split", since it reduces the number of shields, and lets traffic know how the split will eventually line up.

The last time I faced this issue, I placed two shields between each arrow. But this looks rather crowded in retrospect:


(NOTE: image halved in size)

Here's my take on the APL (in text):


  • Separate exit 124B onto its own sign
  • Widen the APL a little to create some separation
  • Align I-20 and Atlanta between the left arrow (on the pull-through) and the middle arrow
  • Align I-59 and Gadsden between the middle arrow and the right arrow
That way, traffic knows I-20 goes to the left, and that's the way to Atlanta, while I-59 goes to the right, and that's the way to Gadsden.

US71

Quote from: TBKS1 on May 17, 2018, 06:36:11 PM

ARDOT basically did the same thing at the west end of I-630...



GIANT Big Green Sign by TheInstrumentalist, on Flickr

Considering Big Rock Interchange was just rebuilt a couple years ago, the signs may have been made larger so motorists were aware of the changes.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

jakeroot

Quote from: noelbotevera on May 19, 2018, 07:15:36 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on May 18, 2018, 01:25:33 PM
Quote from: formulanone on May 18, 2018, 08:48:20 AM
It's huge because of the I-20/59 overlap, and the way the shields must be laid out, presumably so that thru traffic stays in the center (maybe there's unaware travelers who think that 20 and 59 will split immediately after this interchange). Ideally, you could just align the two shields side-by-side in that middle section and eliminate one-third of the sign panel height; APLs permit the white vertical stripes to denote the exits.

I've had trouble with this in my APL designs in the past (over on the illustrations board). I generally prefer shields to be between arrows, but when you have two through routes, it's tough to decide where to place the two shields. Do you place two between each arrow? Align them respective to their eventual split? Throw them up there without any thought? I personally prefer the "aligned based on eventual split", since it reduces the number of shields, and lets traffic know how the split will eventually line up.

The last time I faced this issue, I placed two shields between each arrow. But this looks rather crowded in retrospect:

https://i.imgur.com/dIAlxNA.png
(NOTE: image halved in size)

Here's my take on the APL (in text):


  • Separate exit 124B onto its own sign
  • Widen the APL a little to create some separation
  • Align I-20 and Atlanta between the left arrow (on the pull-through) and the middle arrow
  • Align I-59 and Gadsden between the middle arrow and the right arrow
That way, traffic knows I-20 goes to the left, and that's the way to Atlanta, while I-59 goes to the right, and that's the way to Gadsden.

To address each point...

1) Can't separate Exit 124B because the exit involves an option lane. The #4 lane can either exit or go straight, so the exit sign and the through sign (as per APL regulations) must be one.
2) Could, but wouldn't be necessary if...
3 & 4) I originally did this, but was worried about traffic needlessly using the left lane. Alas, it's probably not a big deal.

chays

This is exiting the Legoland Florida parking lot.

PHLBOS

Quote from: jakeroot on May 18, 2018, 01:25:33 PM
The last time I faced this issue, I placed two shields between each arrow. But this looks rather crowded in retrospect:


Something got lost in translation in your alternate design.  If the Left Exit 124C does not have an additional shared-lane with the through-I-20/59 movement; it should not be an APL (nor part of one).
GPS does NOT equal GOD



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