Green signs pointing to towns - which states have distances, which ones don't?

[KCRoadFan]

So I was recently thinking about those green signs at highway junctions - the ones that have arrows pointing the way left, right, or straight ahead to nearby towns or other highways. I know that in some states, those signs include the distance to the destinations, whereas in other states, they do not. (I much prefer the ones that have the distances on them.) I was wanting to know which states had which preferences.

I know that in my state of Missouri, as well as in neighboring Iowa, these signs have the distances on them; on the other hand, Minnesota and Illinois do not (there are a few I've seen in both states that do have distances, but they seem to be the exception). Kansas is more inconsistent in that regard, but they seem to lean towards not including distances. I know that Ohio does include the distances; Indiana, though, I'm not sure about.

That's as much as I know regarding Midwestern states; among other states, I know that New York State has the distances on their signs (I remember from driving the back roads of that state on a family trip in 2007). Pennsylvania does as well.

Out west, when we visited Oregon in 2012, I remember seeing signs in that state, both with distances and without.

What are those green "pointing to towns" signs at junctions like in other states? Which states tend to include distances or exclude them, and which ones seem to be more mixed in that regard? I would be very interested to know.

[ftballfan]

Michigan doesn't include distances

[michravera]

So I was recently thinking about those green signs at highway junctions - the ones that have arrows pointing the way left, right, or straight ahead to nearby towns or other highways. I know that in some states, those signs include the distance to the destinations, whereas in other states, they do not. (I much prefer the ones that have the distances on them.) I was wanting to know which states had which preferences.

I know that in my state of Missouri, as well as in neighboring Iowa, these signs have the distances on them; on the other hand, Minnesota and Illinois do not (there are a few I've seen in both states that do have distances, but they seem to be the exception). Kansas is more inconsistent in that regard, but they seem to lean towards not including distances. I know that Ohio does include the distances; Indiana, though, I'm not sure about.

That's as much as I know regarding Midwestern states; among other states, I know that New York State has the distances on their signs (I remember from driving the back roads of that state on a family trip in 2007). Pennsylvania does as well.

Out west, when we visited Oregon in 2012, I remember seeing signs in that state, both with distances and without.

What are those green "pointing to towns" signs at junctions like in other states? Which states tend to include distances or exclude them, and which ones seem to be more mixed in that regard? I would be very interested to know.

In California, generally, exit signs from freeways have only cities. Most "T" intersections (which have the destinations in smaller type) have distances.

[US 89]

Utah largely leaves distances off, but there are a handful of signs - mostly older - that do include them.

[tdindy88]

Hawaii uses these but it depends on the island.

Kauai - very common and as a bonus the signs are in miles and kilometers
Oahu - not common but there are some
Maui - very mixed, Central Maui had them but West and South Maui did not
Hawaii - very common, seems to be the only mileage signs used on the island

[GenExpwy]

New York mostly has the mileage, but for a while (late 1970s thru at least the mid-'80s) new installs were mileage-free. Most of the ramp signage on I-390 in Livingston County, built during that era, is like that.

A strange example is on the exit 7 northbound off-ramp.
When this section opened in 1982, a pair of signs pointed to Geneseo and Batavia, both without distances. A few years later, the Batavia one was removed. Later, a Mount Morris sign was added – by then, NYSDOT started using distances again.

So a couple of years ago, it was replacement time. Even though this was a completely new sign drawing (changing two separate signs into a single two-line sign), the engineers must have thought there was some special reason for leaving off the distance to Geneseo (4 miles), and that they would be in a heap of trouble if they added it. 

[SectorZ]

Both Massachusetts and New Hampshire have removed distances from their signs over the years.

[thenetwork]

Colorado wayfinders do not include mileage.  However, CDOT is pretty good at placing separate mileage signs just past the intersections in most non-urban areas.

In New Mexico, most wayfinders only have directional arrows.  But considering how inconsistent and haphazard NMDOT's signing practices are, I wouldn't be surprised if they did have a few out in the wild.

[webny99]

A strange example is on the exit 7 northbound off-ramp.

That is strange. I don't know why they wouldn't have just posted the 4.

NY is usually pretty good about posting the mileage... here's one of the more profound examples in the state, if not the entire country. There's no missing that monster!

[-- US 175 --]

TX used to include distances on pre-intersection advance guide signs.  They transitioned away from doing that in the 1970s-1980s.  You might see an occasional freeway/interstate off-ramp with one, but now it's primarily a wait until the reassurance guide signs after an intersection before you see any distances.

[STLmapboy]

Newer MO signs don't include distances. Like at the Ballas/40 interchange near my house.

Old sign:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6379959,-90.4436456,3a,58.6y,204.12h,91.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sM4OihUZ6IjMJm8X2w5p2TQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

New BGS:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6379761,-90.4436116,3a,75y,204.12h,91.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scVPuqLkAPARoIM5MCY-rzA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[bassoon1986]

Louisiana used to include the mileage with the destinations at the end of off ramps but they do not now. I can't find a picture anywhere of the old style. Many of the signs at interstate on ramps used to include mileage to control cities, too.


iPhone

[renegade]

Ohio uses these.

[Crown Victoria]

As the OP mentioned, Pennsylvania does include distances, with the exceptions being when a destination is less than a mile away, and also often when pointing to a freeway on-ramp.

I will say that South Carolina has a mixture of signs that do include distances and some that don't.

[hobsini2]

Wisconsin does not use them. The mileage signs in none urban areas are usually right after the interchange like this for WIS 23 off I-39. https://www.google.com/maps/@43.7914824,-89.4799911,3a,48.1y,114.9h,75.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4QK7ktV0PS9cRrXcoqba3Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

[TheHighwayMan3561]

To expand on Minnesota a bit it seems to be up to each MnDOT district. District 3 (central Minnesota) and I think District 8 (southwest Minnesota) are the two that tend to use them regularly.

[Mapmikey]

As a rule Virginia and North Carolina do not put distances on these signs.

South Carolina used to always have the mileages but new installs in the 21st century often do not.

[formulanone]

Alabama usually includes distances if they're on the same through route, but the distances are omitted at a junction.





There's also signs with a single destination in a few places; "major" cities usually get a distance listed (when used on a through route), whereas minor places typically just get a left or right arrow.

[SSOWorld]

Iowa does. 
IL does - At least District 2.  As each district has their own set of rules, I can't speak to others.

[thspfc]

Most of Wisconsin's don't, but some on county highways do.

[kphoger]

(I much prefer the ones that have the distances on them.)

What benefit is it to have the distances on them?

Does the distance help you know which way to turn?  No.

[vdeane]

They tell you how far it is to the town after you turn.  If the distance signs are posted religiously I suppose it could be redundant, but often those signs are used sparingly or not at all.

[roadman]

Both Massachusetts and New Hampshire have removed distances from their signs over the years.

Massachusetts stopped posting distances on their secondary road guide signs beginning in 1994, at the same tome they revised the sign formats to provide route shields instead of numbers.

[jp the roadgeek]

CT is a mix of haves and have nots.  Typically, the ones prior to an intersection do not contain the mileage, but the ones at and post-intersection (usually with the first reassurance shield) have the mileage.  Newer ones in Clearview mixed case typically omit the mileage.

[hbelkins]

Kentucky is inconsistent. Mostly no, but some places do.

West Virginia does not.