Favorite state highway shields?

[formulanone]

I propose that they name it "Ri", pronounced like the bread, so that they will have a name that can actually fit inside the state on maps.

If that happened, then I want to move to Massachusetts immediately north of the state line to found a town called Pastrami.

Don't put it too close to Cape Cod, lest the Sandwich Police want a word with you about it.

Not to mention all the towns in Massachusetts that end in "ham"  (including Chatham and Eastham on the Cape).

But if you Needham, you have to leave the Cape.

[hotdogPi]

I propose that they name it "Ri", pronounced like the bread, so that they will have a name that can actually fit inside the state on maps.

If that happened, then I want to move to Massachusetts immediately north of the state line to found a town called Pastrami.

Don't put it too close to Cape Cod, lest the Sandwich Police want a word with you about it.

Not to mention all the towns in Massachusetts that end in "ham"  (including Chatham and Eastham on the Cape).

But if you Needham, you have to leave the Cape.

Ideally, Needham would find a Gotham, but there isn't one in Massachusetts. Dedham (which is adjacent) has ham, but it's dead. Stoneham has petrified ham. Wenham has some, but when are they going to deliver it? Framingham keeps theirs on display in picture frames instead of distributing it. Then Needham realized – who eats live pigs? They can get it from Dedham without any problems, which also happens to be the closest option.

[TXtoNJ]

This has been my avatar since right after I joined the board. I took the boring Texas square, made an outline of the Alamo with the border and added proper series numbers. I now think that the flag is a little overdone and can probably go away. But I hope TxDOT has a redesign contest with the Texas bicentennial coming up.

I don't think Texas will ever do a redesign. The understated quality of the signs is very much part of the culture, especially in rural areas.

Besides, the distinction between SH signs and FM/RM signs is kind of perfect - state highways are to get you from here-to-there, while FMs are for if you want to see the "real Texas".

[6a]

I propose that they name it "Ri", pronounced like the bread, so that they will have a name that can actually fit inside the state on maps.

If that happened, then I want to move to Massachusetts immediately north of the state line to found a town called Pastrami.

Don't put it too close to Cape Cod, lest the Sandwich Police want a word with you about it.

[kphoger]

hehehe

My ex-girlfriend's stepfather used to work in conjunction with the Sandwich Police during the fair every year.

[Road Hog]

hehehe

My ex-girlfriend's stepfather used to work in conjunction with the Sandwich Police during the fair every year.

Did they arrest the Hamburglar?

[Ned Weasel]

There so many opinions on what makes a good or bad sandwich that this image alone could inspire a whole song parody.

[NWI_Irish96]

Favorite: CO, MN, WY, KS, CA, SD, LA, NM, SC, VT

Next Tier: AK, DC, FL, OK, TN

Ambivalent: ID, NV, AZ, AR, MO, AL, GA, OH, MT, TX, IL, IN, WV, MD, CT, RI, MA, NH, ME

Least favorite: WA, OR, HI, UT, ND, NE, IA, WI, MI, KY, MS, NC, VA, PA, DE, NJ, NY

[Road Hog]

I used to feel that state outlines were a cop-out, taking the easy way out of design. But I have grown to like them grudgingly.

[Scott5114]

I used to feel that state outlines were a cop-out, taking the easy way out of design.

Isn't the real cop-out/easy way out using the circle marker from the MUTCD?

[plain]

I used to feel that state outlines were a cop-out, taking the easy way out of design.

Isn't the real cop-out/easy way out using the circle marker from the MUTCD?

.......yes.

[US 89]

I used to feel that state outlines were a cop-out, taking the easy way out of design.

Isn't the real cop-out/easy way out using the circle marker from the MUTCD?

.......yes.

Plus, state outline shields don't always come out looking good - it takes effort to produce a good-looking design.

[kphoger]

I used to feel that state outlines were a cop-out, taking the easy way out of design.

Isn't the real cop-out/easy way out using the circle marker from the MUTCD?

.......yes.

Plus, state outline shields don't always come out looking good - it takes effort to produce a good-looking design.

Yeah, some state outlines just don't work well for a route shield, while others do.

And I don't think it's fair to say that that using the agency-suggested route shield is a cop-out.  Maybe a better question is this:  Is it egotistical to use anything but the circle marker from the MUTCD?

[Scott5114]

And I don't think it's fair to say that that using the agency-suggested route shield is a cop-out.  Maybe a better question is this:  Is it egotistical to use anything but the circle marker from the MUTCD?

No. The way the MUTCD is worded, it says first, as a standard, in bold print:

State Route signs shall be designed by the individual State highway agencies.

Then, as a guidance statement underneath that:

The shape [...] should be circular in the absence of any determination to the contrary by the individual State concerned.

Which very heavily implies that using a circular shield is choosing to not make a choice. Or, as we say in plain English, a cop-out.

[kphoger]

With that in mind, then, only the top one of the three shields below is a cop-out.  The other two are a design other than what exists in MUTCD Figure 2D-3 (M1-5).  The wording that prescribes the dimensions for 3-digit Interstate and US Route shields is absent from the portion dealing with state route shields–unless you count the phrase "approximately the same size black numerals".  While one could say that that phrase implies the need for a wider shield for 3-digit route numbers, such is not necessarily true because no specific typeface is prescribed for the numerals.







As far as I'm aware, there is no longer any state using the MUTCD-provided shield (a circle) for 3-digit routes.

Delaware – Uses ovals for 3-digit routes, not a cop-out.
Iowa – Uses elongated circles for 3-digit routes, not a cop-out.
Kentucky – Uses elongated circles for 3-digit routes, not a cop-out.
Mississippi – Uses ovals for 3-digit routes, not a cop-out.
New Jersey – Uses ovals for 3-digit routes, not a cop-out.

[ethanhopkin14]

Has anybody realized that New Mexico really uses the standard shield with the Zia superimposed on it?

[hbelkins]

Kentucky – Uses elongated circles for 3-digit routes, not a cop-out.

Kentucky actually uses a mix of circles, elongated circles, ovals, and some weird combination of oval and elongated circle. Some districts (4, 8, and 12) still use mostly circles for three-digit routes, although exceptions can be found here and there.

Until recently, 12 was using circles for four-digit routes. Unfortunately, they've started using the wider variant, which I hate. I grew up with circles for four-digit routes and was not happy when Kentucky started using the wide markers in the 1970s, about the time we switched to the "honeycomb" reflective sheeting.

[hobsini2]

Has anybody realized that New Mexico really uses the standard shield with the Zia superimposed on it?

Yup. But it looks great.

[ethanhopkin14]

Has anybody realized that New Mexico really uses the standard shield with the Zia superimposed on it?

Yup. But it looks great.

Oh, I agree!

[Road Hog]

This has been my avatar since right after I joined the board. I took the boring Texas square, made an outline of the Alamo with the border and added proper series numbers. I now think that the flag is a little overdone and can probably go away. But I hope TxDOT has a redesign contest with the Texas bicentennial coming up.

I don't think Texas will ever do a redesign. The understated quality of the signs is very much part of the culture, especially in rural areas.

Besides, the distinction between SH signs and FM/RM signs is kind of perfect - state highways are to get you from here-to-there, while FMs are for if you want to see the "real Texas".

The FM signs are iconic for certain.