I wouldn't be surprised if most road signs are recycled; however, there are some instances where it's pretty obvious that the sign is recycled.
In Seattle, I noticed a freeway-sized speed limit sign was turned into a mini-guide sign. Both sides look pretty old.
Front of sign (current sign):
http://goo.gl/maps/vVv0t
Back of sign:
http://goo.gl/maps/U200i
Here is a STOP sign recycled into a US 3 shield...
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi166.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fu102%2Fctsignguy%2FSigns%2520for%2520Sale%2520or%2520Trade%2Fnhus3ccord.jpg&hash=d1ed10dceaebaea9c5229633e14dcee4aa09eda1)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi53.tinypic.com%2F2nhm91w.jpg&hash=266f044690e785852f1b5008e2f0d6e35224b734)
:bigass:
Quote from: KEK Inc. on March 22, 2013, 07:14:10 AM
I wouldn't be surprised if most road signs are recycled; however, there are some instances where it's pretty obvious that the sign is recycled.
In Seattle, I noticed a freeway-sized speed limit sign was turned into a mini-guide sign. Both sides look pretty old.
Front of sign (current sign):
http://goo.gl/maps/vVv0t
Back of sign:
http://goo.gl/maps/U200i
if the speed limit was patched from 60 to 50, it would predate the 1974 national speed limit.
the front of the sign features a '70 spec shield, but with the custom Washington font for number 5.
Quote from: NE2 on March 22, 2013, 08:53:13 AM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi53.tinypic.com%2F2nhm91w.jpg&hash=266f044690e785852f1b5008e2f0d6e35224b734)
:bigass:
So you're supposed to keep right of the barrier but still pretend you're in the UK when going around the circle?
Pre-existing topic: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=7203.msg161535#msg161535
Quote from: vdeane on March 22, 2013, 11:45:03 AM
Quote from: NE2 on March 22, 2013, 08:53:13 AM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi53.tinypic.com%2F2nhm91w.jpg&hash=266f044690e785852f1b5008e2f0d6e35224b734)
:bigass:
So you're supposed to keep right of the barrier but still pretend you're in the UK when going around the circle?
That median needs to see the underside of a lawn mower, too.
Albany County, NY likes to reuse their old signs by creating a new one on the back of the former one. In most cases, they do a very poor job of cleaning the sheeting off of the old message. Here is an example of a CR 201 shield in Voorheesville. Front:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7170%2F6540276335_9a08d0993e_z.jpg&hash=5003a895749c39c9fc89ff7bce4d06acfaf6c961)
Back:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7143%2F6540276631_5c194ecd62_z.jpg&hash=06c2a4e9f13c64edbb8cece5b3a395732296f2fb)
Not going to lie, the old sign looks better than the new sign.
The South Hills region of Missoula has some white shoulder markers made by recycled street blades. You can see some of the lettering on them, too. They're right in front of the Lewis and Clark Square.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash4%2F299312_4683816534631_1512361857_n.jpg&hash=6660cf89c35ff3ad133501c215ce5150b448b5d1)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash4%2F430484_4683823254799_243781776_n.jpg&hash=1a8abebc520f9b11a4d98e4217f2af75b8d585a0)
Quote from: NE2 on March 22, 2013, 08:53:13 AM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi53.tinypic.com%2F2nhm91w.jpg&hash=266f044690e785852f1b5008e2f0d6e35224b734)
:bigass:
Lends whole new meaning to "Recycling" ;)
This pic of mine on Steve's web site (http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/in/us_31/) shows a very recycled pair of signs on old US 24 between Peru and Logansport, Indiana.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alpsroads.net%2Froads%2Fin%2Fus_31%2F24wb.jpg&hash=416431fc11f5b081a0a6a8a0ef939f5e65e5881d)
The fronts of the signs (http://goo.gl/maps/aqExE) look completely normal; only from the back (http://goo.gl/maps/VxetT) can you tell they are recycled.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alpsroads.net%2Froads%2Fma%2Fus_44%2Feglobe.jpg&hash=846eb97bb4d23ddf4e871a71ecca86189bbb609b)
from http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ma/us_44/
The former Triborough Road sign on NJ 24 WB for never-completed Exit 5 (built as a cloverleaf, overpasses now used as an ATV trail) was chopped up and brought over to NJ 3, as I only discovered a few years ago after despairing I was just barely too late to see it on 24:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alpsroads.net%2Froads%2Fnj%2Fnj_3%2Fwsecc.jpg&hash=9f8c650d314aac46eb7e9dbdff414099837631e5)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi699.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fvv358%2FMdcastleman%2FIMG_0098.jpg&hash=965b03802c3945f0a2672d2ec9b79ac446cdf6b3)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi699.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fvv358%2FMdcastleman%2FIMG_0165.jpg&hash=7f4213252cf57e794db28353d705d043243aec3c)
http://www.cosmos-monitor.com/mo/main/kc-frontst.html
http://www.cosmos-monitor.com/mo/main/recycled-cutout-shield.html
Quote from: NE2 on March 22, 2013, 08:53:13 AM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi53.tinypic.com%2F2nhm91w.jpg&hash=266f044690e785852f1b5008e2f0d6e35224b734)
:bigass:
Wrong logo, wrong positioning, and wrong direction.
Perfect.
Re-use of a VA 160 cutout...this was gone in GMSV
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vahighways.com%2Fcutouts%2Fimages%2Fva091lodi_02.jpg&hash=ce1c613e6c161a79fbc766c354b57b86261dcb69)
Mapmikey
Need to weight-post your town roads to keep trucks off them during spring thaw? Don't have the right signs? Don't have signposts to put them on? Just improvise!
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FqsOCiQ7l.jpg&hash=2bffa96a2745a7b0a31f3e07ab94bb6eebca6e8a)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FpBrERTSl.jpg&hash=4dc26406d991ba0911056d1091c9c8e538847a09)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FP68Hg5Tl.jpg&hash=878cb9f12c345d91d2a8578b8e1e92ac64990464)
Plenty more like 'em around here, too...a lot of them could certainly qualify as "the worst of road signs"...fortunately they're only up for a few weeks of the year...
Tigard, Oregon frequently re-uses old signs with new retro-reflective sheeting for speed limit signs, as well as recycle signs for No Parking signs. You can often see the old sign on the back of a No Parking sign, or underneath the new sheeting layer.
At the Dubuque meet last weekend, we saw some shields (US 61, I think) that used to be Do Not Pass and Pass With Care signs.
A "Push to Cross" / "No Parking" hybrid...located in Margate, Florida:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc6.staticflickr.com%2F1%2F491%2F19303871173_7b79a367b6_c.jpg&hash=b1e83c88971d3cd931417e8740392119ff35a7d9) (http://flic.kr/p/vpPon4)
Quote from: getemngo on May 09, 2013, 06:15:59 PM
At the Dubuque meet last weekend, we saw some shields (US 61, I think) that used to be Do Not Pass and Pass With Care signs.
I went back after the meet tour and got photos. I plan to post them in the "Recycled Signs" thread.
Oh wait, this is that thread! :biggrin:
These are on the old road that runs north of the WI 11/WI 35 intersection.
Looks like these used to be US 10 shields
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7290%2F8741222651_8da584edeb.jpg&hash=fa8012fe538d11476c195099e30e212fd20edb5b) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbelkins/8741222651/)
IMG_2436 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbelkins/8741222651/) by hbelkins (http://www.flickr.com/people/hbelkins/), on Flickr
This one is the top two-thirds of an old "Pass With Care" sign
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7292%2F8742338678_6739557e7b.jpg&hash=0ab29eba28d195feaec08d7b3d65ae1fe56ebcaf) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbelkins/8742338678/)
IMG_2439 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbelkins/8742338678/) by hbelkins (http://www.flickr.com/people/hbelkins/), on Flickr
Kinda hard to see, but this one is the top two-thirds of an old "Do Not Pass" sign
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7293%2F8742338884_897f19cf13.jpg&hash=6f80bae480b870a6a38cc4e9121429d050ebd06d) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbelkins/8742338884/)
IMG_2440 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbelkins/8742338884/) by hbelkins (http://www.flickr.com/people/hbelkins/), on Flickr
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fk4Rllusl.jpg&hash=84421e4f518af0316ade29a8ad7d4d171d252158)
Also some things I've seen on my bike ride today but didn't get to photograph: I saw on the back of a road name plaque what was definitely once a diagrammatic "STOP AHEAD" sign and like this (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=7203.msg162273#msg162273), Mercer County DOT loves to repurpose old county route shields by pasting over new numbers.
Quote from: Mr. Matté on June 09, 2013, 06:46:24 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fk4Rllusl.jpg&hash=84421e4f518af0316ade29a8ad7d4d171d252158)
Thanks to the photo quality, I'm pretty gosh-darn (but not 100%) sure that the 2 is on top, but I don't know how I'd be expected to figure that out driving past, even at only 25 mph.
There's some road work signs for some work going on in my town, and I swear there are at least 10 layers of orange tape on it.
Barnwell County's Public Works Department (now called the Engineering Department) used to recycle their old Street Name signs. They won't be able to do that anymore as the sign blanks and lettering of the signs now fall below the new minimum requirements.
"Slow" (or, perhaps "slaw"? :awesomeface: ) sign repurposed to a stop sign. Middletown, KY.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/gallery/13639_12_12_16_3_19_47.jpeg)
That's supposed to be a flagger paddle.
Some sign recycling near the Tugaloo River on an old alignment of US 123, near the Georgia-South Carolina border:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc5.staticflickr.com%2F6%2F5523%2F30955701380_e445343776_c.jpg&hash=22a2673efa27b7858cf842e985192c72a4477a73) (http://flic.kr/p/Pas4xj)
They took both them down and replaced them, and i can't find pictures, but they recycled a mile marker off I-55 and used it as a traffic light street sign, and they used an old US-67 shield for a US 61 shield.
It appears that this service sign on Hwy 85 SB just off the Northfield on-ramp was placed on top of an old exit sign. You can see part of the original sign on the bottom left:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fhvtl5xh.jpg&hash=0dc81fb0e95628ee30554ee88900334ddab8fc15)
The GSV from Oct 2015 doesn't have the bottom-left tab section fallen off
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fb1ZLtr1.png&hash=4e5849a0d3000d8d1e16f1b1723f03cae04c374a)
This GSV image from the side shows the two layers of signage
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FzaiUpp4.png&hash=12223aaa1151a279f1699c907f73b04b78637a50)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5270/5730673397_885abce4c3_z_d.jpg)
Not sure if this counts as "recycled" per se, but it's been renumbered several times.
Quote from: US71 on April 22, 2017, 12:27:29 PM
Not sure if this counts as "recycled" per se, but it's been renumbered several times.
Perhaps more than just renumbered–I see the ghost of a circle underneath the Missouri shield. Perhaps this is a contractor's sign that had originally been used as an Iowa or Kentucky route marker then re-skinned for Missouri (where that company also operates)?
Since this is the more current thread, I'll just leave these here. Pass With Care -> Speed Limit 30 -> Speed Limit 5 at the Post Office in Brownsboro, AL, likely supplied by Madison County:
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2832/34232461636_f0313b67f0_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Ua1jcN)Re-used signs (https://flic.kr/p/Ua1jcN) by freebrickproductions (https://www.flickr.com/photos/96431468@N06/), on Flickr
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2838/34232459696_0837ca8aaf_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Ua1iCm)Re-used signs (https://flic.kr/p/Ua1iCm) by freebrickproductions (https://www.flickr.com/photos/96431468@N06/), on Flickr
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2946/34232458826_a60f203e1b_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Ua1inm)Re-used signs (https://flic.kr/p/Ua1inm) by freebrickproductions (https://www.flickr.com/photos/96431468@N06/), on Flickr
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2821/33889020620_0502d35db6_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/TCE69Y)Re-used signs (https://flic.kr/p/TCE69Y) by freebrickproductions (https://www.flickr.com/photos/96431468@N06/), on Flickr
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2875/34273022765_5dd6c596ac_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/UdAcBB)Re-used signs (https://flic.kr/p/UdAcBB) by freebrickproductions (https://www.flickr.com/photos/96431468@N06/), on Flickr
What'd you do, unbend the signpost?