Unique, Odd, or Interesting Signs aka The good, the bad, and the ugly

[ClassicHasClass]

Here's one I pass by pretty often coming home, where the "business" part is inside the shield
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2517803,-80.4111805,3a,19.1y,48.75h,94.5t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sN1_l-gb9T6MQnLlH9bRTaA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

^^ Georgia does that all the time for state routes that are BUS, ALT, LOOP etc.

Seen it once in/near Panama City, FL, as well.

Maryland also does it (also note the redundancy with this particular sign)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/57TfhtSb1sjVns7q6

And there's US 1 BY-PASS in NH and Maine. Sometimes you feel like a hyphen, sometimes you don't. http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/1byp/

[roadman65]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/T5mvYkygJbCTNASP8
The PA state name next to the PA 611 shield.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XCxu2ouuFWzA5B2x9
How about the Keep Right where the median barrier ends.

[freebrickproductions]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XCxu2ouuFWzA5B2x9
How about the Keep Right where the median barrier ends.

I'm assuming that was mounted the wrong-way around.

[roadman65]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XCxu2ouuFWzA5B2x9
How about the Keep Right where the median barrier ends.

I'm assuming that was mounted the wrong-way around.

Most likely.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dHD12mCN5y7pUL2t8
This Exit in the gore shield guide is odd, but not uncommon.

This, though, is not common. Exit tab but no exit number.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RRZMwVSTP5EWkv2G8

[Rothman]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XCxu2ouuFWzA5B2x9
How about the Keep Right where the median barrier ends.

I'm assuming that was mounted the wrong-way around.

Most likely.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dHD12mCN5y7pUL2t8
This Exit in the gore shield guide is odd, but not uncommon.

This, though, is not common. Exit tab but no exit number.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RRZMwVSTP5EWkv2G8

Depends on what you mean by common.  Sure, the majority of exit gore signs have exit numbers, but there are plenty of limited access highways still that do not.

[kphoger]

Have to admit, Rock doesn't look like a road but a town

Technically, Rock is a town.  Well, it's an unincorporated community, just south of Douglass.  But that's not what the highway sign is pointing to, and Rock Road doesn't actually go there.

These green signs here in Wichita drive me nuts:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/UiqP8uEo23RPC89n6

I'm bothered by this one nearby

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZJDpk98ogvLzz6AS8

What about it, specifically?

For what it's worth, here's a closeup.  This is in my neighborhood.

[WhyLifeIs4]

Neat

[74/171FAN]

A collage of non-MUTCD Compliant photos (and other photos of course) from my recent drive through Powhatan State Park (unsigned VA 410).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/199744333@N06/albums/72177720315286524/ 

(https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10220044966074957&set=a.10220045064317413)

[plain]

These green signs here in Wichita drive me nuts:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/UiqP8uEo23RPC89n6

I'm bothered by this one nearby

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZJDpk98ogvLzz6AS8

What about it, specifically?

For what it's worth, here's a closeup.  This is in my neighborhood.

It's a neat sign, but one of the arrows (either one) is unnecessary.

[boilerup25]

Here's an ugly County Route 569 shield in Mercer County, NJ:



And this isn't even the most egregious thing about CR 569 in New Jersey. This one is missing the directional banner, (this should say NORTH 569 because it is along CR 569 NB), and CR 569 is poorly signed throughout its length (just like CR 583, which has all but disappeared from signs, there are still one NORTH 583 sign, but most new signs don't even mention 583).

[kphoger]

It's a neat sign, but one of the arrows (either one) is unnecessary.

While it doesn't match the illustrations in the MUTCD, I cannot actually find any verbiage that says the white-on-green arrow has to be eliminated when using an EXIT ONLY plaque.  Maybe it's in there, but I'm not seeing it.  But anyway, I agree that it's unnecessary.  The downward-pointing black arrow should be a right-and-upward-pointing black arrow.

I wondered if you were talking about the border being the wrong color.

[kphoger]

Here's an ugly County Route 569 shield in Mercer County, NJ:

I don't think it's all that ugly, to be honest.

[74/171FAN]

Heading slightly north on US 522:

By the Beaumont Correctional Center along VA 313 (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10220044986835476&set=a.10220045064317413)



On US 522 SB looking south from VA 313 (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10220044988075507&set=a.10220045064317413)

[roadman65]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/u8Bh2D489H66RN6B9
What's up with Sidney, NE having a West Entrance?

[kphoger]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/u8Bh2D489H66RN6B9
What's up with Sidney, NE having a West Entrance?

West Entrance is the name of a nearby unincorporated community.  Back in the late 1870s and early 1880s, it was predicted to outgrow Sidney, but then the Cowboy Line railroad was constructed, and the rest is history.  West Entrance is practically a ghost town nowadays, with hardly anything but an old grain elevator to show for its history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Entrance,_Nebraska

[AABattery]

Here's an ugly County Route 569 shield in Mercer County, NJ:



And this isn't even the most egregious thing about CR 569 in New Jersey. This one is missing the directional banner, (this should say NORTH 569 because it is along CR 569 NB), and CR 569 is poorly signed throughout its length (just like CR 583, which has all but disappeared from signs, there are still one NORTH 583 sign, but most new signs don't even mention 583).

Is it me or is the 569 debossed?

[D-Dey65]

Misspelled city name

https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/428703204_387705837225636_3126411556521517647_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg_s600x600&_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=3635dc&_nc_ohc=FHnT6apWa2cAX8TEfEw&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=00_AfA0mxIPyRsSTADBD1ORYGrjvqN4KtRihUir_s4yaWP50Q&oe=65EB69A1

I once reported the misspelling of "Clermont" as "Clearmont" on a destination/distance sign in Weeki Wachee to the FDOT back when they were widening SR 50 from four lanes to six. I even sent a picture of the error sign in my e-mail, and I read a reply that was intended for the construction crew from the regional director saying "Everybody got that?" They replaced it with a correct one.

Of course, I believe I've told this story before.

[Scott5114]

Okay, I've seen NO RE-ENTRY and PAY TOLL yellow banners on toll road exit signs, but I've never before seen NO REFUNDS.

This is due to the particularly weird toll system in use on the Turner and Will Rogers turnpikes. The way it works is that there is no barrier toll plaza at the termini of the turnpike, just one around the midpoint of the turnpike. If you enter at a terminus and exit before the toll plaza, you pay for the mileage you've traveled, as you would on any other toll road. If you pass through the toll plaza, you pay the full toll as though you were going terminus to terminus. And then if you exit before the terminus, you get a refund for the portion of the turnpike you didn't travel. The NO REFUNDS banner is to indicate that the toll for Tulsa to Wellston is the same as for Tulsa to OKC, and so you should not expect a refund.

This screwy, complicated system exists because some politician thought it looked bad for traffic from Missouri to be immediately greeted by a toll plaza upon crossing the state line. (Not like that was a problem for Kansas, or any other state that has a toll road connecting to the state line...)

[roadman65]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XCxu2ouuFWzA5B2x9
How about the Keep Right where the median barrier ends.

I'm assuming that was mounted the wrong-way around.

Most likely.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dHD12mCN5y7pUL2t8
This Exit in the gore shield guide is odd, but not uncommon.

This, though, is not common. Exit tab but no exit number.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RRZMwVSTP5EWkv2G8

Depends on what you mean by common.  Sure, the majority of exit gore signs have exit numbers, but there are plenty of limited access highways still that do not.

You don't usually see an exit tab without an exit number. Unnumbered exits just have a guide with no tabs. 

[Rothman]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XCxu2ouuFWzA5B2x9
How about the Keep Right where the median barrier ends.

I'm assuming that was mounted the wrong-way around.

Most likely.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dHD12mCN5y7pUL2t8
This Exit in the gore shield guide is odd, but not uncommon.

This, though, is not common. Exit tab but no exit number.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RRZMwVSTP5EWkv2G8

Depends on what you mean by common.  Sure, the majority of exit gore signs have exit numbers, but there are plenty of limited access highways still that do not.

You don't usually see an exit tab without an exit number. Unnumbered exits just have a guide with no tabs.

Ah, okay.  The link you provided fuzzed the tab out.

[WillWeaverRVA]

On US 522 SB looking south from VA 313 (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10220044988075507&set=a.10220045064317413)

I actually had no idea there were more of these. They're carbon copies of Chesterfield County's "Chesterfield Keep It Clean" signs, with the county name replaced. I believe at one time there was a "Powhatan Keep It Clean" sign on SR 711 that said "Keep Chesterfield Clean" in the logo.

[hotdogPi]

Your typical Massachusetts "thickly settled" sign... in New Hampshire. No "30 mph" to go with it because New Hampshire doesn't have that law.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7435955,-71.1930226,3a,45.5y,95.34h,91.75t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2afNq3X102aBmvkKGJ_A-A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

This one's actually from Massachusetts, but someone stuck "30 mph" letter by letter at the top of the sign in tiny print. (The speed limit would be 30 whether the sign was there or not.)

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7334565,-71.1449836,3a,75y,312.74h,89.44t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbooRrH03a13Td3WDWe52cw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[WhyLifeIs4]

What is that law about the thickly settled sign?

[hotdogPi]

Massachusetts law says that if a place is thickly settled (which is defined by density of housing, not the presence or absence of a sign), the default speed limit is 25 or 30 depending on what each municipality chooses to do (most municipalities outside highly urban areas choose 30). If it's not thickly settled, it's 40 (for surface roads).

Municipalities that choose 25 typically post a notice (thickly settled 25 unless otherwise posted) at the city or town line, even if the road in question is otherwise posted. I don't know if this is actually a requirement.

These are all default limits; any standard speed limit sign overrides these numbers.

[J N Winkler]

I'm bothered by this one nearby

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZJDpk98ogvLzz6AS8

What about it, specifically?

For what it's worth, here's a closeup.  This is in my neighborhood.

Both of these signs are original to the respective interchange construction contracts--the exit direction sign to Woodlawn Boulevard and the advance guide sign to Rock Road.  They were designed by engineering consultants working for the City of Wichita, which also handled letting, contract award, and construction, though the plans sets have the same look and feel as those for KDOT-administered projects.

The exit direction sign uses demountable copy while the other two use direct-applied copy.  KDOT transitioned away from the former after construction finished on Woodlawn but before it started on Rock.

The two arrows on the exit direction sign are definitely a mistake.  At the time Woodlawn was undergoing design, the MUTCD called for no arrow on the bottom yellow panel and just one arrow on green for an exit direction sign for a simple lane drop.  The last two editions (2009 and 2023) have also called for just one arrow in this situation, positioned on the bottom yellow panel.

And yes, the border treatment is wrong.  The white border is supposed to run out to the edge, not to be inset on the green background.  Usual practice in Kansas is to provide a black border along the bottom and sides of a yellow bottom panel and run it out to the edge as well.  (Texas uses a white border that runs out to the edges of the whole sign panel, but insets the yellow panel on the green background so that the white and yellow do not actually touch, let alone overlap.)

KDOT and they're leaving off the descriptor of the road name.  I believe they're putting it back from what I've read here on this forum.

KDOT put descriptors back on when it re-did signs on I-135, I-235, and K-96 about a decade ago, but has yet to come through and update signs on Kellogg.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/u8Bh2D489H66RN6B9

What's up with Sidney, NE having a West Entrance?

Quite a few other I-80 corridor towns in Nebraska have a "W. Entrance" and an "E. Entrance."