AARoads Forum

National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: thenetwork on November 28, 2018, 12:01:33 PM

Title: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: thenetwork on November 28, 2018, 12:01:33 PM
Just had an idle thought come into mind as I was driving  , what  Type of road sign is the most common in America?

Here are my top 3 Choices:

1. No Parking
2. STOP
3. Speed Limit xx.

I'd be curious to see if there is such a top 10 list for signs. What are your choices?
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: hotdogPi on November 28, 2018, 12:06:49 PM
What about One Way? (I would still put it below Stop).

Speed limit signs are farther down than #3.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: Hurricane Rex on November 28, 2018, 12:50:35 PM
X road?

LG-TP260

Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: formulanone on November 28, 2018, 12:51:38 PM
Stop signs have to be the most abundant. Every parking lot or suburban residential neighborhood has a bunch more of these than anything else, so that skews the numbers.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: kphoger on November 28, 2018, 12:59:17 PM
Street name blades.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: Rothman on November 28, 2018, 01:03:34 PM
NYSDOT state reference markers. :D
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: froggie on November 28, 2018, 02:13:20 PM
Quote from: kphoger on November 28, 2018, 12:59:17 PM
Street name blades.

This.  Since they now are placed in rural areas as well as suburban & urban.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: kphoger on November 28, 2018, 02:14:32 PM
Quote from: froggie on November 28, 2018, 02:13:20 PM

Quote from: kphoger on November 28, 2018, 12:59:17 PM
Street name blades.

This.  Since they now are placed in rural areas as well as suburban & urban.

But stop signs....  Gee....  Four of them at many intersections....
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: froggie on November 28, 2018, 06:01:17 PM
Counter-balanced by the sheer volume of rural intersections that lack any sort of stop sign.

BTW, I find it odd that you're trying to counter-argue your own submission to the thread.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: webny99 on November 28, 2018, 06:11:53 PM
Quote from: kphoger on November 28, 2018, 02:14:32 PM
Quote from: froggie on November 28, 2018, 02:13:20 PM
Quote from: kphoger on November 28, 2018, 12:59:17 PM
Street name blades.
This.  Since they now are placed in rural areas as well as suburban & urban.
But stop signs....  Gee....  Four of them at many intersections....

But eight street blades. Also, no stop signs at traffic signals, unsignalized intersections, or roundabouts.

Quote from: froggie on November 28, 2018, 06:01:17 PM
BTW, I find it odd that you're trying to counter-argue your own submission to the thread.

I think it might have been sarcasm... #uncertainty
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: 1995hoo on November 28, 2018, 06:16:49 PM
Eight street blades? At most intersections I encounter, there are two of them. In exceptional circumstances there might be four. Only really huge intersections generally have more.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: webny99 on November 28, 2018, 07:19:40 PM
I'll do some shopping around in street view and see what I can find. I can think of at least two intersections off-hand that have eight blades, two per corner.

Four is probably the norm, but eight is certainly more common than two (at least at four-way intersections; obviously T-intersections only need two).
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: hotdogPi on November 28, 2018, 09:50:08 PM
Quote from: webny99 on November 28, 2018, 07:19:40 PM
I'll do some shopping around in street view and see what I can find. I can think of at least two intersections off-hand that have eight blades, two per corner.

Four is probably the norm, but eight is certainly more common than two (at least at four-way intersections; obviously T-intersections only need two).

It's never 8 here. Usually 1 (the minor one only) or 2.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: formulanone on November 29, 2018, 10:18:31 AM
Quote from: 1 on November 28, 2018, 09:50:08 PM
Quote from: webny99 on November 28, 2018, 07:19:40 PM
I'll do some shopping around in street view and see what I can find. I can think of at least two intersections off-hand that have eight blades, two per corner.

Four is probably the norm, but eight is certainly more common than two (at least at four-way intersections; obviously T-intersections only need two).

It's never 8 here. Usually 1 (the minor one only) or 2.

It varies in places, and depending on the type of interchange. There's plenty with none or just one, though I figure two blades to be the norm in most places.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: kphoger on November 29, 2018, 11:27:05 AM
Quote from: webny99 on November 28, 2018, 06:11:53 PM

Quote from: froggie on November 28, 2018, 06:01:17 PM
BTW, I find it odd that you're trying to counter-argue your own submission to the thread.

I think it might have been sarcasm... #uncertainty

No, I was just waffling on what I thought might be more common.

FWIW, a lot of those rural intersections with no stop signs also have no street blades.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: jon daly on November 29, 2018, 11:53:48 AM
Quote from: kphoger on November 28, 2018, 02:14:32 PM
Quote from: froggie on November 28, 2018, 02:13:20 PM

Quote from: kphoger on November 28, 2018, 12:59:17 PM
Street name blades.

This.  Since they now are placed in rural areas as well as suburban & urban.

But stop signs....  Gee....  Four of them at many intersections....

I have no idea if this is the right way to approach this, but I'd consider what road signage is most common in major cities. How many stop signs are there on the island of Manhattan?
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: bzakharin on November 29, 2018, 02:13:55 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on November 28, 2018, 06:16:49 PM
Eight street blades? At most intersections I encounter, there are two of them. In exceptional circumstances there might be four. Only really huge intersections generally have more.
Around hear, on occasion, at signalized intersections, you'll get one per traffic light direction (4) plus a set or two of free standing ones. That makes 6-8.

But speed limit signs could outpace these because there is often one per direction per block, plus freeways have them and not (usually) blades or stop signs. Of course smaller residential neighborhoods without speed limit signs may counterbalance that.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: skluth on November 29, 2018, 02:44:38 PM
Quote from: formulanone on November 29, 2018, 10:18:31 AM
Quote from: 1 on November 28, 2018, 09:50:08 PM
Quote from: webny99 on November 28, 2018, 07:19:40 PM
I'll do some shopping around in street view and see what I can find. I can think of at least two intersections off-hand that have eight blades, two per corner.

Four is probably the norm, but eight is certainly more common than two (at least at four-way intersections; obviously T-intersections only need two).

It's never 8 here. Usually 1 (the minor one only) or 2.

It varies in places, and depending on the type of interchange. There's plenty with none or just one, though I figure two blades to be the norm in most places.

Most intersections here have only two. There might only one if it's just a cul-de-sac off the main street. Major intersections have none, but have a large sign for the cross-street hanging from the stoplight bar like here - https://www.google.com/maps/@33.7936511,-116.4951892,3a,75y,182.1h,83.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9sVit7aaPcvoW_YLOHnbSw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: hotdogPi on November 29, 2018, 02:53:54 PM
Quote from: bzakharin on November 29, 2018, 02:13:55 PM
But speed limit signs could outpace these because there is often one per direction per block, plus freeways have them and not (usually) blades or stop signs. Of course smaller residential neighborhoods without speed limit signs may counterbalance that.

Speed limit signs are definitely less common than street blades.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: froggie on November 29, 2018, 03:56:55 PM
Quote from: kphoger on November 29, 2018, 11:27:05 AM
Quote from: webny99 on November 28, 2018, 06:11:53 PM

Quote from: froggie on November 28, 2018, 06:01:17 PM
BTW, I find it odd that you're trying to counter-argue your own submission to the thread.

I think it might have been sarcasm... #uncertainty

No, I was just waffling on what I thought might be more common.

FWIW, a lot of those rural intersections with no stop signs also have no street blades.

With the advent of E911 20-ish years ago, this is becoming less and less the case, as rural roads now have street names for E911 identification purposes (also helps with "rural free delivery" for mail).  Numerous states have street blades at virtually every rural corner now...some examples I'm familiar with include Iowa, Minnesota (5th largest road network in the nation), and Vermont.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: Michael on November 29, 2018, 04:03:57 PM
Quote from: Rothman on November 28, 2018, 01:03:34 PM
NYSDOT state reference markers. :D
Even though I know you're joking, that makes me wonder if delineators would be #1.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: Mr. Matté on November 29, 2018, 04:15:31 PM
Quote from: 1 on November 29, 2018, 02:53:54 PM
Quote from: bzakharin on November 29, 2018, 02:13:55 PM
But speed limit signs could outpace these because there is often one per direction per block, plus freeways have them and not (usually) blades or stop signs. Of course smaller residential neighborhoods without speed limit signs may counterbalance that.

Speed limit signs are definitely less common than street blades.

Maybe in the nation as a whole but at least around here, there seems to be a positive correlation between the frequency of speed limit signs and the difference between the road's design speed vs. signed speed (as in the lower the dumb limit, the more signs for said dumb limit).
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: thenetwork on November 29, 2018, 05:30:27 PM
I see where you are going on street blades, but I am not really counting street or blades, because there is no uniformity (different colors, sizes, fonts...) between them like what a STOP sign or a Speed Limit xx sign (albeit there are a few number combos, sizes and fonts, the signs' black-on-white appearance is generally the same.

Let me also add into my likely top-10 list:

- WRONG WAY
- DO NOT ENTER

I believe those are safe bets as well.

Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: GaryV on November 30, 2018, 06:34:37 AM
In Michigan, "Road Work Ahead".   :-D
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: bing101 on December 02, 2018, 12:19:29 AM
Yield has to be common though for intersections.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: Bruce on December 02, 2018, 12:47:37 AM
Quote from: bing101 on December 02, 2018, 12:19:29 AM
Yield has to be common though for intersections.

A lot of places where a yield sign could be used (e.g. right turn slips) don't have signage. Probably brings the number down.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: froggie on December 03, 2018, 08:18:22 AM
^ Nevermind that many jurisdictions opt for stop signs instead.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: ipeters61 on December 03, 2018, 12:01:44 PM
Quote from: bzakharin on November 29, 2018, 02:13:55 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on November 28, 2018, 06:16:49 PM
Eight street blades? At most intersections I encounter, there are two of them. In exceptional circumstances there might be four. Only really huge intersections generally have more.
Around hear, on occasion, at signalized intersections, you'll get one per traffic light direction (4) plus a set or two of free standing ones. That makes 6-8.

But speed limit signs could outpace these because there is often one per direction per block, plus freeways have them and not (usually) blades or stop signs. Of course smaller residential neighborhoods without speed limit signs may counterbalance that.
I discovered an example with 8 street signs this weekend, I just never thought of it until I saw this post: Division Street at State Street in Dover, Delaware.  Division Street is the north/south divide for streets and State Street is the east/west divide, so technically each leg of the intersection is a "different" street.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1614996,-75.5257008,3a,67.5y,334.77h,86.16t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swVMidZ7BeasDouLWs0GSzw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

EDIT: Another example in Dover is US-13 at MLK Boulevard with 12 street signs for a four-way intersection.  There are four on the stoplight mast arms (one for each leg), then there four signs (two for US-13, two for MLK - noting there are separate signs instead of double sided signs) for the medians for both sides of MLK Boulevard.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1575418,-75.511947,3a,75y,96.91h,65.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPBZkshI3PlemS0hze_sVTg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: kphoger on December 03, 2018, 02:09:33 PM
Quote from: bing101 on December 02, 2018, 12:19:29 AM
Yield has to be common though for intersections.

If that's true in your state, then I want to move there.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: formulanone on December 04, 2018, 05:58:44 AM
Quote from: kphoger on December 03, 2018, 02:09:33 PM
Quote from: bing101 on December 02, 2018, 12:19:29 AM
Yield has to be common though for intersections.

If that's true in your state, then I want to move there.

Mississippi loves the yield sign, although they place it upon channelized right turns, where most states would just put stop signs (or nothing at all). Lots of two-lane roads where MDOT likes to facilitate truck and/or free-flowing traffic, because there's lots of 90-degree bends on the state system.

I notice more T-intersections that meet up against a cul-de-sac at one end, also get a fair number of yield signs, but this is scattered usage.

I wouldn't say they're that common, but maybe near the bottom of a top-10 standard sign list.
Title: Re: The most abundant road sign type in America.
Post by: Roadgeekteen on December 22, 2018, 11:09:21 PM
Stop signs by a wide margin. I also see a bunch of yield and do not enter signs. One way signs are common in Boston to.