Just a quick question. What're your thoughts on painting signs on freeway lanes? For example, if you're in an exit only lane to head onto 91 East, do you like/dislike the idea of 91 EAST ONLY being painted on the road surface?
I saw this being used a lot on a recent trip to the Phoenix metro area. thoughts on it?
I think it is an excellent idea, especially when curves in the road make overhead signs with lane arrows not quite intuitive.
This is common enough to be covered by the MUTCD.
Quote from: NE2 on May 04, 2012, 10:15:38 AM
This is common enough to be covered by the MUTCD.
Wasn't this just added in the 2009 edition? I seem to recall it being novel in the 90s–my family thought it was neat when Kansas did it.
I don't really think anyone has a problem with it. It's only annoying when not kept up–paint flaking off, not being updated when ramps are moved, etc.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on May 04, 2012, 10:04:33 AM
I think it is an excellent idea, especially when curves in the road make overhead signs with lane arrows not quite intuitive.
Exactly what I was thinking. A few instances popped into my head right away. East CA-118 where the 405 comes off, you come around the corner and if you're in the middle its not quite clear if you're gonna be forced onto the 405 or not.
Saw an example on the inner loop of I-465 at I-70 on Indy's east side recently.
Texas uses a lot of them at Interstate-to-Interstate ramps.
Yeah they have tricolor interstate shields painted on the pavement at the intersection of Interstates 10, 12, and 59 in Louisiana. I've always thought those were neat.
I've also seen them at the northbound 75/85 split in Atlanta and the southbound 64/77 split in WV, though those were just white block letters on pavement.
Quote from: MrDisco99 on May 04, 2012, 01:07:26 PM
Yeah they have tricolor interstate shields painted on the pavement at the intersection of Interstates 10, 12, and 59 in Louisiana. I've always thought those were neat.
I've also seen them at the northbound 75/85 split in Atlanta and the southbound 64/77 split in WV, though those were just white block letters on pavement.
Louisiana also has them painted on the I-10/12 Split in Baton Rouge.
I like them when they're actual shields, but not when they're text only. I've seen both speed limits and route numbers painted as only text in México, and I have to stare at it, then think about it for a while to determine which one I'm actually seeing (sometimes the km/h part has rubbed off the pavement). But, were route numbers always in shields outlines, there'd be no mistaking them.
I really like the way Texas handled the pavement shields on I-35/410 southbound north of San Antonio right before they split.
Ohio has shields but they are outlines, not colored.
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/OH/OH20050701i2.jpg)
We have tricolor Interstate shields on an arterial street near my house–Bing Maps view here (http://binged.it/JYKcHN). Plenty of drivers ignore the fact that the left lane becomes left-turn only onto the Interstate and proceed to attempt to shove their way across into the thru lanes at the last second, though.
These markings are augmented with small green signs on the side of the road. One of them is visible at the top center of that image.
ODOT did do tricolor pavement shields (http://g.co/maps/tmfvx) a few years back--before they appeared in the MUTCD--in Akron, but they didn't make them very durable.
Not too fond of them. They're obscured if there's someone in front of you. They'll have to repaint them every couple of years and close the lanes, one at a time, to do it. Better to do an overhead sign.
Quote from: kkt on May 04, 2012, 03:25:26 PM
Not too fond of them. They're obscured if there's someone in front of you. They'll have to repaint them every couple of years and close the lanes, one at a time, to do it. Better to do an overhead sign.
It would be as often as repainting the normal pavement markers.
I had pictures of I-70 heading west toward Downtown Columbus back in '09 and then driving through last year in March I saw that stretch had been repaved and I couldn't find the shields on it anymore. I'm not sure if they just got rid of them or if the shields were repainted later on.
Oh, since no one had mentioned it up to this point, there's also this thread: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=2747.0
Shreveport has them too. Especially helpful for out of towners on I-20 east after I-49 merges in, some quick exits make the lanes go from 5 down to 2. I find them extremely helpful in DFW now when I'm on an interstate I've not been on before looking for thru lanes.
Quote from: KEK Inc. on May 04, 2012, 04:50:57 PM
Quote from: kkt on May 04, 2012, 03:25:26 PM
Not too fond of them. They're obscured if there's someone in front of you. They'll have to repaint them every couple of years and close the lanes, one at a time, to do it. Better to do an overhead sign.
It would be as often as repainting the normal pavement markers.
Except that painted shields are where vehicles' tires typically travel, whereas lane striping is only crossed when changing lanes or avoiding hazards. In the Ohio example above, pretty much every vehicles tires will travel over at least part of the shields, which I assume would warrant more frequent repainting.
Not all that fond of them for the reasons below:
1. They will get scraped up eventually by snow plows over several winters. The ones ISTHA has seem to be fine after a couple of winters, but I doubt they'll last more than five intact.
2. Paint tend to be slick when wet.
3. During snow events, they get covered up by the snowfall anyway.
Quote from: mcdonaat on May 04, 2012, 01:17:01 PM
Quote from: MrDisco99 on May 04, 2012, 01:07:26 PM
Yeah they have tricolor interstate shields painted on the pavement at the intersection of Interstates 10, 12, and 59 in Louisiana. I've always thought those were neat.
I've also seen them at the northbound 75/85 split in Atlanta and the southbound 64/77 split in WV, though those were just white block letters on pavement.
Louisiana also has them painted on the I-10/12 Split in Baton Rouge.
And at the I-10/I-12/I-59 junction, the I-10/I-610 split and at the I-10/Bus US 90 split.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on May 04, 2012, 02:09:37 PM
Ohio has shields but they are outlines, not colored.
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/OH/OH20050701i2.jpg)
Thanks for posting my photo.
http://www.roadfan.com/strpant.JPG
Make sure my name and roadfan.com is mentioned.
When Oregon can't even put down reflective striping, or striping that will last more than one winter (and I'm talking in the Willamette Valley, not up in the passes or in the eastern part of the state)...
Quote from: sp_redelectric on May 05, 2012, 10:51:33 PM
When Oregon can't even put down reflective striping, or striping that will last more than one winter (and I'm talking in the Willamette Valley, not up in the passes or in the eastern part of the state)...
What is it about ODOTs? Oklahoma DOT has trouble with paint durability too, and we get snow once a year...
Quote from: brownpelican on May 05, 2012, 03:46:02 PM
And at the I-10/I-12/I-59 junction, the I-10/I-610 split and at the I-10/Bus US 90 split.
Right, but I don't understand why they can't put down a US 90 marker at that split. They have Hurricane Evacuation markers painted on to I-10 through Slidell and a LA-1 marker painted in Baton Rouge, but they can't put one for 90. They even have them in a random section of I-10 west where a lane ends and all of the through lanes get a I-10 shield and the ending lane gets an merge arrow.
I do think they look better in Texas where they accompany them with arrows and directions.
I like them, and find them very useful where I have seen them, mostly in TX.
They are probably less practical in the northern states.
--
Brian Reynolds
Hastings Michigan
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on May 05, 2012, 09:22:40 PM
Quote from: agentsteel53 on May 04, 2012, 02:09:37 PM
Ohio has shields but they are outlines, not colored.
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/OH/OH20050701i2.jpg)
Thanks for posting my photo.
http://www.roadfan.com/strpant.JPG
Make sure my name and roadfan.com is mentioned.
That seems like a bit much but at the same time I bet its useful when you have 4 different routes with 5 different directions coming up