"Clean" vs. "Dirty" signage?

[hbelkins]

So which states have clean signage and which have dirty signage?

By "clean" I mean no markings, logos, etc. on the front of the sign. By "dirty" I mean DOT logos, installation dates, other markings on the face of the signs.

Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia have "clean" signage.

Ohio ("ODOT" lettering), West Virginia (logo), Missouri (logo) and Arkansas (MUTCD reference number) have "dirty" signage.

[corco]

Wyoming has the installation year in large letters on the shield

[agentsteel53]

I've always wondered why signs need an MUTCD reference number.  at what time does one need to know that a sign is an M1-4?

and I also think that date codes belong on the back of the sign.  Really, what else are you putting on there?

apart from such riffraff, I prefer "dirty" signs, simply because classic California signage was as dirty as they get.



and some other states too.  California later took over signing their own state highways, and added the Division of Highways logo.  Nevada also had signs with their State Highway Dept logo.  Many states, especially out west, wore the logos of various AAA's (Auto Club SoCal, Cal State Auto Assn, etc - see Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, etc).  

More recent issues from Arizona, Idaho, and maybe other places have a sticker on the front with the state outline and date information.  Pennsylvania used to feature a small keystone.

But, the question is, do any other states have a logo as part of the design, as opposed to an unintrusive element in the corner?  I cannot think of any state logos offhand aside from California and Nevada, but I am probably just failing to recall something obvious.

as an example of just about the least intrusive possibility that can exist, the older Ohio DOT signs had the "O Dot" - a small circle, as seen here.  see to about 7 o'clock of the bottom mounting hole, on the blue background, just inside of the white margin.



they stopped that practice in the mid-60s, I think.  if you find a sign in the wild with an O Dot, you've got something special indeed.

[Ian]

Would signs with dating/theft stickers on the backs of the sign be considered "dirty" or "clean?"

Pennsylvania likes to use the PennDOT logo along with the year, quarter of the year, and type of sheeting. I've seen New York put the little NYSDOT "T" logo on the bottom of their signs.

[J N Winkler]

I've always wondered why signs need an MUTCD reference number.  At what time does one need to know that a sign is an M1-4?

That information is required for sign summary sheets (which are bound with the construction plans) and for ordering the signs.  If signs are ordered through a statewide signs supply contract, as Caltrans used to do for its permanent signing for decades, and still does for warning and regulatory signs of standard design, then the sign codes are also used on requisition forms and the like.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

as an example of just about the least intrusive possibility that can exist, the older Ohio DOT signs had the "O Dot" - a small circle, as seen here.  see to about 7 o'clock of the bottom mounting hole, on the blue background, just inside of the white margin.

www.aaroads.com/shields/img/OH/OH19570901i1.jpg

they stopped that practice in the mid-60s, I think.  if you find a sign in the wild with an O Dot, you've got something special indeed.

Something from ODOT in the 1960s would be special. Considering they were called ODOH from 1905 till 1972.

[hbelkins]

Would signs with dating/theft stickers on the backs of the sign be considered "dirty" or "clean?"

Clean.

[Eth]

The only "dirty" state I can think of based on personal experience is Vermont; BGSes in that state include both a date (month/year) and the dimensions of the sign in feet in small lettering on the front.

[Ian]

The only "dirty" state I can think of based on personal experience is Vermont; BGSes in that state include both a date (month/year) and the dimensions of the sign in feet in small lettering on the front.

I've noticed this is also true in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and a handful of Rhode Island's BGSs.

[deathtopumpkins]

Looks like I was beaten to it, but MassHwy (or MassDOT or whatever the hell it is today)'s use of that text on the front of signs has always bothered me. It stands out so much to someone not used to it. And it seems pointless to put it on the front when it's not legible from the perspective of a driver anyway.

[roadfro]

More recent issues from Arizona, Idaho, and maybe other places have a sticker on the front with the state outline and date information.  Pennsylvania used to feature a small keystone.

But, the question is, do any other states have a logo as part of the design, as opposed to an unintrusive element in the corner?  I cannot think of any state logos offhand aside from California and Nevada, but I am probably just failing to recall something obvious.

Do recent Nevada signs have a logo? I haven't seen anything on any NDOT signs.

The only "dirty" signs I can recall seeing in Nevada are newer street name signs in the City of Las Vegas, which have the month number and year of installation in very tiny print underneath the street direction. The only other things I've seen are Las Vegas and Reno stickers on the backs of signs.

[agentsteel53]

Do recent Nevada signs have a logo? I haven't seen anything on any NDOT signs.

not since the 50s.

the latest sign marking on the front I can think of is a strip of tape for the installation date and location, the most recent of which I've ever seen is an 03/71.  There is a historic marker advance notice sign in Caliente that has such a feature; it is the only such sign I know of left in the state.  cutout, steel.

[hbelkins]

Just thought that Wisconsin can be added to the list of "dirty" states.

[Michael]

I've seen New York put the little NYSDOT "T" logo on the bottom of their signs.

I've seen that on a stop sign, completely contained within the outer white border.  I usually see "WARNING - SIGNS SAVE LIVES" stickers with the installation date punched out on the backs of signs.

[US71]

Arkansas used to have "A.H.D." (Arkansas Highway Department) printed on the backs of their STOP signs back in the 60's and 70's. Now it's on the face of the sign

[vtk]

A lot of signage on or near freeways in Ohio has a tiny blue sign mounted just below it, with information about (I think) the sign's location.  I don't think it's meant for the public to use.  It's almost like the sign shop makes the sign, and packages with it the little plate telling crews where to install it, then they install the little plate with the big sign for some reason.

And then there's the Franklin County Engineer's Office.  They certainly make every effort to do things better than ODOT.  Their signs all have a little "FCE" just inside or outside of the border.

[Scott5114]

Oklahoma DOT standard markings are as follows: "ODOT" and the manufacture date, toward the bottom center on Interstate and US shields and the bottom right on meat cleavers. (My meat cleaver shows "ODOT 05 06", for example.) Then, on the back, the date of installation is written in grease pencil. (A lot of them in Goldsby had "CB" on the back as well–initials of the guy who installed it, perhaps?)