A rather unique way of wayfinding was the use of numbered traffic signals at many intersections is several places in eastern Tennessee. specifically along Parkway in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville, extending up to I-40. Are these used anywhere else. Would this be a potentially good way to help people find their way around especially in cities with one or 2 main drags. Heres an example or three
Somerset, KY (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indyroads.com%2Fsomersetsignal28.jpg&hash=3624150567f781d206f8a3f8ac641e45876e1144)
Pigeon Forge (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indyroads.com%2Fpfdollywood.jpg&hash=2264584278ede78636b446a6a693ddbc5205242b)
Sevierville (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indyroads.com%2Fsevierville.jpg&hash=79b2d4952d777e0ce84205298ea10c671b35d328) signal # 13.4 (posted as mile marker equivalent)
Seems kind of stupid to me... for wayfinding, stick with the name of the cross-street.
ICTRds
Only reason I could see it as being useful is along a limited-access expressway, perhaps with interchanges mixed in, so as to maintain the continuity of exit numbering.
Gatlinburg's had them for decades and was the first place I ever saw them. Pigeon Forge borrowed the idea from Gatlinburg, and I didn't know that Sevierville had adopted them as well.
I think they're handy for directions.
I see the OP has an example from Somerset, Ky. There are other examples in Kentucky as well, but on state-maintained roads, the signage is requested and paid for by the cities. In some places with two main thoroughfares, one route gets numbered signals and the other route gets lettered signals.
Port St. Lucie, FL has numbers painted on the road in the middle of intersections. I suspect they are for assisting in post-hurricane cleanup.
https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=27.268844,-80.36754&spn=0.000917,0.001772&gl=us&t=k&z=20&layer=c&cbll=27.268844,-80.36754&panoid=PBBYKWM_bLL3q1h9H1giiA&cbp=12,18.79,,0,3.25
Highway 111* through Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley has sequentially numbered traffic signals:
http://goo.gl/maps/57fuU
http://goo.gl/maps/5jNdp
* The numbering scheme uses the original, now "business," 111 route through central Palm Springs and not the newer bypass route.
I've seen numbered traffic signals in Bowling Green, KY and Springfield, TN. In and of themselves they're no more help than the name of the cross street, but if there were signs beforehand saying something like "Junction 23, ABC Street, Junction 1/2 Mile" it would be a help.
Either Newfoundland or Nova Scotia (or both) uses numbered intersections along main highways, that are signed with a standard exit tab on advance signage.
In a similar vein, there are roads in a couple places (the Outer Banks of NC come to mind) where the mileposts are used as a point of reference. Businesses advertise themselves by the nearest milepost, and the signs are much more prominent than usual.
The signals along US 90 in Gulfport and Biloxi used to be numbered pre-Katrina (possibly extending further west and east); I'm not sure they've reinstalled the numbers since, however. I haven't noticed them on my last couple of visits.
Only place I've personally encountered this other than in the Gatlinburg area is in Abingdon, Virginia - http://goo.gl/maps/ncqeq
Only signals along Main Street/U.S. 11 are numbered.
One problem is that similar to sequental numbering of freeway exits: How do you handle the numbering scheme when a signalized intersection is added or removed?
Quote from: Big John on August 31, 2013, 07:24:57 PM
One problem is that similar to sequental numbering of freeway exits: How do you handle the numbering scheme when a signalized intersection is added or removed?
In the Palm Springs area, they added an intersection 'nnA', where 'nn' is a number I can't recall at the moment ... just like on the old NY Thruway et al.
Quote from: Kniwt on September 01, 2013, 12:38:46 AM
Quote from: Big John on August 31, 2013, 07:24:57 PM
One problem is that similar to sequental numbering of freeway exits: How do you handle the numbering scheme when a signalized intersection is added or removed?
In the Palm Springs area, they added an intersection 'nnA', where 'nn' is a number I can't recall at the moment ... just like on the old NY Thruway et al.
They did the same thing in Pigeon Forge. They add an A or B to the signals added in between. such as Signals 4A and 4B
Also since Sevierville uses milepost numbers on their signals it allows them to add as many signals as they want. Their mileage is based on the milepost along Parkway/Great Smoky Mountains Parkway from the state/county line in the national park.
Where I've seen numbered signals, the number tends to be a little marker (blue or green most common) somewhere on the signal pole or mast arm, and not co-located with the street name or otherwise in a position that people would wonder if the number meant anything, unlike the OP.
NY 9A in New York City has 'exits' as marked intersections:
(https://www.aaroads.com/northeast/new_york001/ny-009a_sb_at_canal_st.jpg)
(https://www.aaroads.com/northeast/new_york001/ny-009a_nb_at_10th_av.jpg)