The Worst of Road Signs

[route56]

Someone didn't get the memo on what they memo about how to properly center the number in the shield.

[kphoger]

It appears they worked outward from the 9, as that digit appears to be perfectly centered.

[Takumi]

The eastbound US 58 trailblazer has some unnecessary space between the numbers.

[hbelkins]

There are all sorts of US route markers that look like that US 58 sign in southwestern Virginia -- including, not surprisingly, more than a few US 58 signs.

[flowmotion]

New at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. This wasn't a graft onto an existing sign structure that had to fit an old size; this is all-new. (Not my photo)

Not only does this signage look awful, it's not even going to be accurate. The roadway will be reconfigured so that Marina Blvd will be off a half-diamond exit. I wonder if they're going to end up greening-out a brand new sign.

http://www.presidioparkway.org/pdfs/Dec2010_CorridorOverview.pdf

[KEK Inc.]

Source

EDIT:  CONFIRMED TO BE FAKE!!!

[xonhulu]

April Fool's, KEK Inc?

[KEK Inc.]

Unfortunately no.  :<

http://www.flickr.com/photos/raymondyue/6044529290/in/photostream/

I was just in Portland a week ago, and I didn't notice some of these

[myosh_tino]

Unfortunately no.  :<

http://www.flickr.com/photos/raymondyue/6044529290/in/photostream/

I was just in Portland a week ago, and I didn't notice some of these

I smell something fishy here.  On the Flickr page, it says the photo was taken on July 31, 2011 and was uploaded on August 13, 2011.  The fact that KEK says he was in Portland a week ago and didn't notice these signs makes me wonder... 

[rickmastfan67]

That one so looks photoshopped to me. lol.

[KEK Inc.]

I smell something fishy here.  On the Flickr page, it says the photo was taken on July 31, 2011 and was uploaded on August 13, 2011.  The fact that KEK says he was in Portland a week ago and didn't notice these signs makes me wonder... 

It's odd too, since I left for college in late September 2011, and I don't recall seeing those signs over the summer.  I was in California for winter break, but I was back in the Portland-Vancouver area for Spring Break and didn't notice.  I'll call a friend and ask them to take a picture for me for confirmation. 

I honestly stopped paying attention to local road signs, since I'm used to them, and figured they wouldn't change, but I figure Clearview would pop up in my peripherals.   

That one so looks photoshopped to me. lol.

Well if it is, I didn't do it.  Raymond Yu posts most of his pictures from the LA area, so I doubt he'd take the time to photoshop a bunch of Oregonian signs.  It is odd that I didn't catch them, but I'm fairly certain they're real. 

[rickmastfan67]

That one so looks photoshopped to me. lol.

Well if it is, I didn't do it.  Raymond Yu posts most of his pictures from the LA area, so I doubt he'd take the time to photoshop a bunch of Oregonian signs.  It is odd that I didn't catch them, but I'm fairly certain they're real. 

Well, any idea what highway that might be on?  Maybe StreetView has a picture of it.

[KEK Inc.]

I checked Streetview, and it's out of date, but both shots were on I-5. 

[xonhulu]

I'll probably go through Portland this upcoming weekend, and I'll try to make it a point to check out that I-84/US 30 sign.

To set the record straight, if these are legit they would be the first Clearview signs I'm aware of that ODOT put up; but IIRC some counties, I want to say Clackamas in particular, have installed some Clearview signs, so the scourge is already here in Oregon!

Still, these definitely look PhotoShopped, hence my original question.

[agentsteel53]

I don't remember any Clearview in Portland on Feb 4th, 2012, which is when I drove through it... but I may have repressed the trauma.

[thenetwork]

The brightness on the Mt. Ashland sign, compared to the surrounding background is so off.  Maybe if it were a cloudy day or near dusk, a flash camera would get that sign that bright, but it was a clear day. I call Balderdash!!!

On the other hand, The Dalles sign for 84/30 looks legit, but I have my doubts there too -- especially when the upper 2/3rds of the sign looks squeaky clean while the Exit Only 1/3rd looks weathered.

[NE2]

It doesn't help that all his dates are off - July 31, 2011 for one and July 31, 2009 for the next.

[PurdueBill]

Real or not, there are some incredibly ugly signs in that album....negative contrast Clearview, Clearview in route shields of all types (OR, US, and I), white border around yellow fields......¡Ay, caramba!  

[J N Winkler]

And Raymond Yu is the source of the photos of the California guide signs with external tabs, isn't he?  I sense a common theme here:  Photoshop fakery to wind up the Clearview purists and goad the Caltrans critics.

[Alps]

And Raymond Yu is the source of the photos of the California guide signs with external tabs, isn't he?  I sense a common theme here:  Photoshop fakery to wind up the Clearview purists and goad the Caltrans critics.

Judging from the age of the panels on the Exit 301 sign, I'm in full agreement with you.

[luokou]

Source

Totally 'shopped. Notice on the Mt. Ashland sign where there aren't any extruded panel lines (a.k.a. "corrugated" panels). I don't think ODOT ever signed Last Exits in the state anyway, or would even have that much info cluttered on such a small space.  On the I-84 US-30 sign, it seems a bit too weathered to be a brand-new installation. Plus, if the crappy fonts were consistent, the EXIT ONLY would be atrociously applied in Clearview as well.

[AsphaltPlanet]

Oh yeah, photoshopped for sure.  There is no way the signs in the photos could appear so bright while the background of the photo (particularly behind 'exit 6') is so obviously washed out.

[PurdueBill]

Oh yeah, photoshopped for sure.  There is no way the signs in the photos could appear so bright while the background of the photo (particularly behind 'exit 6') is so obviously washed out.

The Exit 6 one is a particularly bad offender for that--it's too bad (if you were hoping he'd fool everyone) that he let that one be so obvious, because others of the fakes are fairly convincing.  Even the exit tab in that picture looks much more like it belongs there than the main sign. 

[KEK Inc.]

Well, here's some more.  I'm not really going to draw a conclusion until we get some more evidence.

He supposedly did a trip from LA to the Canadian Border and back, and all of the Washington and California signs seem legit.  I make the Portland-Seattle drive quite often.  Below are the pages with the Oregon signs (many of which are clearview, and [if real] awfully executed I might add...) 

Pages 51-64 & 100-119
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raymondyue/page51/

I must say, if he really did photoshop them, kudos, because that's a lot of work to put into about 300 photos.

[Duke87]

The Exit 6 sign is glaringly fake the instant you look at it.

The Exit 301 sign is a better job - it actually looks believably real. But it's also fake. Consult street view and note the same exact sign on the same exact gantry in place except in Highway Gothic rather than Clearview. Gap below the tab and all.