AARoads Forum

National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: shoptb1 on June 21, 2010, 08:25:56 AM

Title: Custom county route shields
Post by: shoptb1 on June 21, 2010, 08:25:56 AM
I was driving back from West Virginia this weekend, and I noticed that Scioto county in SE Ohio seems to have their own custom county route shields.  They even feature an outline of the county shape!  Has anyone noticed this sort of thing elsewhere in the US?  I guess I've always just seen the standard blue & gold county route signs like those prevalent in New Jersey.  

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flh5.ggpht.com%2F_vV2-Fg-7T40%2FTB9ZiYW4QCI%2FAAAAAAAAB28%2FPBelmPSc5lk%2FScioto_11.jpg&hash=04b1835cea2a1b7574c7c113bb15ea1cb2ee2379)
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: froggie on June 21, 2010, 08:29:05 AM
Orange County, NY does something similar.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: agentsteel53 on June 21, 2010, 09:58:14 AM
I can think of these offhand:

Utah:
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/UT/UT19754411i1.jpg)

New York:
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/NY/NY19620351i1.jpg)

(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/NY/NY19620491i1.jpg)

(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/NY/NY19620511i1.jpg)

many other countries use the older white-square standard, especially in Minnesota, where the white square is still on the books for a road that is maintained entirely with county funds, while the pentagon is used for routes that have some state funding. (because the average driving public cares about the distinction!)

(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/MN/MN19510371i1.jpg)

also, Iowa has an older green-square standard that floats around, and before that, they too used white squares.

(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/IA/IA19560161i1.jpg)

there are lots of other options out there too; I just can't think of them offhand.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: froggie on June 21, 2010, 10:09:36 AM
Quotemany other countries use the older white-square standard

Assuming you mean "many other states".

Quoteespecially in Minnesota, where the white square is still on the books for a road that is maintained entirely with county funds, while the pentagon is used for routes that have some state funding. (because the average driving public cares about the distinction!)

This is actually on a county-by-county basis.  Some counties do as you mention...using pentagon shields for state-aid routes and the white square shields for non-state-aid routes (Stearns and Freeborn come to mind).  However, there are some counties that use the pentagon shield exclusively (such as Hennepin or Anoka), while other counties use the white square exclusively (like Olmsted and Carver).

There was also a time, at least up until about 2 decades ago, when you could find green square county shields in Minnesota...particularly in Freeborn and Steele Counties.  Alas, that was back before I started taking road photos.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: agentsteel53 on June 21, 2010, 10:29:39 AM
Quote from: froggie on June 21, 2010, 10:09:36 AM

Assuming you mean "many other states".

oops!

QuoteThere was also a time, at least up until about 2 decades ago, when you could find green square county shields in Minnesota...particularly in Freeborn and Steele Counties.  Alas, that was back before I started taking road photos.


I certainly have never seen such a thing.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: florida on June 22, 2010, 07:43:12 PM
Don't recall seeing one with the county outline, but there are a few variations down here. Green pentagons, an outline of Florida with "Holmes" at the top and "County at the bottom with the number in between, and county-made state route shields all dot the roadsides in Holmes County. Walton County uses vertical rectangles that plainly state, "CR 1883" (as an example). And of course, there are those old Secondary Route markers that were converted for County Routes.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: ctsignguy on June 22, 2010, 08:14:35 PM
Ohio varies by county....some do their own route shields, and others....well they place the county road number in tiny font on the green road-name blades (some counties, tinier than others)...a few have only main roads so marked, and township roads are just as varied
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: roadfro on June 22, 2010, 09:48:24 PM
The non-Interstate portion of the Las Vegas Beltway uses this custom pentagon shield. The diamond outline and shape is based on the Clark County logo.

Image from the AARoads Shield Gallery:
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/NV/NV19972151i1.jpg)

The five sides of the pentagon on older shields were much closer to being equal on all sides. Some newer shields are using a darker blue color, which provides a better contrast.


The shields used for "county routes" in northwestern Washoe County near Gerlach vary from standard pentagons, standard circles, and (old) Nevada state route shields. Nobody's put any logical thought into signs out there...
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: golden eagle on June 22, 2010, 10:03:42 PM
I've always seen the customary blue and gold pentagon-shaped signs.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: cjk374 on June 23, 2010, 03:40:05 PM
Here in Lincoln Parish, LA we used to have blue-square-w/white-lettering for our parish roads.  Then in the early '90s (?) they were replaced with names on standard street signs like you would find in a town or city--blue w/white lettering.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: agentsteel53 on June 23, 2010, 03:43:28 PM
I don't suppose you have a picture of such a thing?
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: florida on June 23, 2010, 06:15:38 PM
This was on somebody's mailbox.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi696.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fvv321%2FFLroadgeek%2FPicture1381.jpg&hash=f9aa09b7ebdae1766c3007ca4ce5c6fa3a78de7d)

And a random one.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi696.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fvv321%2FFLroadgeek%2FIM008688.jpg&hash=1f1755bfa6d2b9935da5af5dba17f57f2ce32886)
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: vdeane on June 24, 2010, 01:46:08 PM
Franklin county, NY has a green square:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/W8I83w_STDpfZSn-1kPbfg?feat=directlink
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: cjk374 on June 24, 2010, 04:05:05 PM
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 23, 2010, 03:43:28 PM
I don't suppose you have a picture of such a thing?

I wish I did.  I don't have any technology available to post pics with.  also, I forgot to mention that the change from numbers to names occured when Lincoln Parish installed their E-911 system.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: formulanone on June 12, 2012, 04:49:46 PM
I know, necro-post...but here's what the original poster was talking about: Looks like a cross between a machine gun and a transmission housing, but I also think they are pretty neat.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc4.staticflickr.com%2F8%2F7339%2F27211762883_97f6a0d44f_o.jpg&hash=1d969d3755b8a39d5d48e3f1a5cdbb973da83f26) (http://flic.kr/p/HsBp4z)

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc6.staticflickr.com%2F8%2F7124%2F27823296245_e37172fca7_c.jpg&hash=842c3527d3b2df44727d44c87e43f609293731a5) (http://flic.kr/p/JoDECe)

Quote from: florida on June 23, 2010, 06:15:38 PM
This was on somebody's mailbox.

Seen that one outside of Keystone Heights...that's one of the oddest signs I've ever seen in the field, but it's definitely a piece someone crafted themselves!

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc4.staticflickr.com%2F8%2F7763%2F17372778115_c92623ccca_c.jpg&hash=0c6b5271aa174c3b0d962f78fcd02e2ff1932f15) (http://flic.kr/p/stb2Fa)

Palm Beach County job.


Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: the49erfan15 on June 14, 2012, 02:19:50 AM
Not exactly a county route, but Charlotte, NC has one specified route - Charlotte Route 4.

(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/NC/NC19950041i1.jpg)

It's a partial loop around the city, all four-lane secondary roads, except for a limited-access expressway known as Billy Graham Parkway which (along with I-485) connects I-77 to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. There are no other Charlotte Routes (1, 2, 3, 5, etc) - it gets its name because it has a radius of roughly 4 miles.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F0%2F02%2FCharlotte_Route_4_shield.svg&hash=0248439f1b9d465212b77105b400f8557d57cec2)
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: national highway 1 on June 14, 2012, 08:25:04 PM
A special shield that New Mexico uses on its frontage roads - a state outline compared with the usual Zia that's conventionally used on its state highways:
This one is similar to a neutered AZ outline:
(credits to Corco)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.davidjcorcoran.com%2F117.jpg&hash=44e47d425da56004afd591bfba5e0d47f01fe666)
Another inverted color variant:
(credits to Alex)
(https://www.aaroads.com/west/new_mexico400/nm-404_eb_at_fm-1035.jpg)
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: the49erfan15 on June 14, 2012, 08:50:19 PM
^That NM marker looks really good. If the Zia wasn't such a good symbol, I'd say go for that for the state markers.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: Coelacanth on June 15, 2012, 11:22:10 AM
Quote from: froggie on June 21, 2010, 10:09:36 AM
However, there are some counties that use the pentagon shield exclusively (such as Hennepin or Anoka), while other counties use the white square exclusively (like Olmsted and Carver).
Hennepin still uses the white square on some construction signing, marking detours, etc. There are a lot of white square 153's around the Lowry Bridge, for example.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: froggie on June 16, 2012, 11:31:41 AM
QuoteHennepin still uses the white square on some construction signing, marking detours, etc. There are a lot of white square 153's around the Lowry Bridge, for example.

I think that's more the contractor than anything with the county.  Note how many of those white 153 shields are woefully out of standard.  Mdcastle has a photo of one in another thread (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=6312.msg143563#msg143563).
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: hbelkins on June 16, 2012, 12:25:48 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5290%2F5344560638_192dd10db2.jpg&hash=e945409f74229081029255899709ea727bb08d1d)

Orange County, NY.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: bjrush on July 01, 2012, 04:49:03 PM
Pemiscot County in the Missouri Bootheel is phasing these out. They are supposed to look like the county outline, but they don't really resemble it at all.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.routemarkers.com%2Fusa%2FMissouri%2FPemiscot_Co_217.jpg&hash=7bb398c042464d7fb45cdd6de0d5afab121e3e2a)
(not my picture)
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: NE2 on July 01, 2012, 07:02:03 PM
Picasso sign?
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: US71 on July 01, 2012, 08:02:29 PM
Quote from: NE2 on July 01, 2012, 07:02:03 PM
Picasso sign?

Sorta looks like it ;)
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: vtk on July 01, 2012, 08:42:22 PM
Quote from: formulanone on June 12, 2012, 04:49:46 PM
I know, necro-post...but here's what the original poster was talking about: Looks like a cross between a machine gun and a transmission housing, but I also think they are pretty neat.

Love that description!

IIRC, Paulding County OH uses a square with huge helvetica bold numbers, in the colors of yellow or white on green.  Delaware County OH falls into the tiny-number-on-name-blade category, but its official county map uses an outline of the county for its county route numbers.  That map makes a lot of design choices I strongly disagree with...
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: Hot Rod Hootenanny on July 02, 2012, 10:28:40 PM
Quote from: vtk on July 01, 2012, 08:42:22 PM
Quote from: formulanone on June 12, 2012, 04:49:46 PM
I know, necro-post...but here's what the original poster was talking about: Looks like a cross between a machine gun and a transmission housing, but I also think they are pretty neat.

Love that description!

IIRC, Paulding County OH uses a square with huge helvetica bold numbers, in the colors of yellow or white on green.  Delaware County OH falls into the tiny-number-on-name-blade category, but its official county map uses an outline of the county for its county route numbers.  That map makes a lot of design choices I strongly disagree withÂ…
But it's better than the B/W with names, sans route number, versions they did from 1933 to 1995.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: Alps on July 11, 2012, 08:08:23 PM
Quote from: bjrush on July 01, 2012, 04:49:03 PM
Pemiscot County in the Missouri Bootheel is phasing these out. They are supposed to look like the county outline, but they don't really resemble it at all.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.routemarkers.com%2Fusa%2FMissouri%2FPemiscot_Co_217.jpg&hash=7bb398c042464d7fb45cdd6de0d5afab121e3e2a)
(not my picture)
Luckily, somehow, as I was traveling on I-55 this past weekend, Lou pointed out "oh, hey, county pentagons!" I quickly realized they didn't look like pentagons, and somehow remembered this thread, and realized I was in THE COUNTY. I got a bunch of snaps once I got off the Interstate. The other thing Pemiscot used to do is pentagons with straight (not angled) sides. Hideous stuff, really. They don't know what they're doing there.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: national highway 1 on July 20, 2012, 11:13:03 PM
Scanned by Polaroid Roadgeek Michael Summa:
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/TX/TX19820081i2.jpg)(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/TX/TX20041221i2.jpg)


(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/TX/TX19691961i1.jpg)
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: xcellntbuy on July 21, 2012, 02:46:27 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 16, 2012, 12:25:48 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5290%2F5344560638_192dd10db2.jpg&hash=e945409f74229081029255899709ea727bb08d1d)

Orange County, NY.
Ulster County, New York uses a similar blue and yellow diamond sign with that County's outline, too.
Title: Re: Custom county route shields
Post by: Alps on July 21, 2012, 04:49:05 PM
Quote from: xcellntbuy on July 21, 2012, 02:46:27 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 16, 2012, 12:25:48 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5290%2F5344560638_192dd10db2.jpg&hash=e945409f74229081029255899709ea727bb08d1d)

Orange County, NY.
Ulster County, New York uses a similar blue and yellow diamond sign with that County's outline, too.
Used. There are very few of the old Ulsters left, compared to the number you'll see in Orange. However, there are very few old OC shields - they clearly kept using the county outline longer than Ulster.