The Worst of Road Signs

[vtk]

This is at the gore, which makes it an exit direction sign. The white arrow stays; the black one goes.

[sammi]

Depending on where VCB02 is from, this might be considered a "worst of". If the sign was in Washington State, for example, this type of error is extremely rare, so I would consider it a worst of.

VCB02 is from around the DC area I think (which makes his avatar a rather accurate indicator of his location). It's bad, but I don't think it's a worst of in any state (or DC); I'd rather see it in the Department of Redundancy Department.

[PurdueBill]

This is at the gore, which makes it an exit direction sign. The white arrow stays; the black one goes.

Is the new MUTCD demand that the white arrow goes and the black arrow becomes an upward-slanted one?  Or is it just guidance?  I thought they didn't want white arrows on EXIT ONLY signage at all anymore.

[roadfro]

This is at the gore, which makes it an exit direction sign. The white arrow stays; the black one goes.

Is the new MUTCD demand that the white arrow goes and the black arrow becomes an upward-slanted one?  Or is it just guidance?  I thought they didn't want white arrows on EXIT ONLY signage at all anymore.

It's a standard, so the black, upward-slanted arrow in the yellow exit only field is required.

[jakeroot]

This is at the gore, which makes it an exit direction sign. The white arrow stays; the black one goes.

Is the new MUTCD demand that the white arrow goes and the black arrow becomes an upward-slanted one?  Or is it just guidance?  I thought they didn't want white arrows on EXIT ONLY signage at all anymore.

It's a standard, so the black, upward-slanted arrow in the yellow exit only field is required.

I wish WashDOT would stop doing the white dancing arrows. I think the black arrow in the exit-only field looks much cleaner.

[1995hoo]

Alright guys, I'm sure you can already tell what the problem is with this sign.

That sign is on northbound I-295 in the District of Columbia near the sewage plant. All the times I've passed it and I've never noticed the duplicative arrows, probably because I almost never use that exit (I think I've used it twice in the 40 years I've lived in this area, and both times were due to traffic backups).

On the whole, as far as a lot of DC's signs have gone over the years that one isn't all that bad even if the arrows are redundant. At least the sign is accurate and legible. The new speed limit signs posted in various places on that same road are far worse in my opinion (this one is just to the north of the exit shown above):

[Zeffy]

What in the hell is that? Did someone think stretching the numerals would be the same as using Series E? Protip: It isn't.

[sammi]

Looks a lot like this one.

[Zeffy]

That one looks like stretched Clearview, which if it is, should be immediately taken down and processed in a high-intensity incineration facility.

[Scott5114]

It's not. It's stretched Series C. Maybe they got it from alanDOT.

[jbnv]

BTW, small correction: I-10 eastbound.

This assembly is actually off the loop ramp from I-10 westbound. I probably should have elaborated that in my description.

I realized my error as I headed towards this very interchange this weekend. Because of the railroad tracks, the westbound ramp passes over US 165 and loops around, and both "Kinder/Alexandria" signs point to the left. Pardon me as I remove this foot from my mouth.

[FLRoads]

I realized my error as I headed towards this very interchange this weekend. Because of the railroad tracks, the westbound ramp passes over US 165 and loops around, and both "Kinder/Alexandria" signs point to the left. Pardon me as I remove this foot from my mouth.

If I hadn't had taken the ramp I would have thought the same thing! No sweat, man!

Did you get to see those shields when you passed by there? I was curious as to how far north they signed that particular style.

[jbnv]

Did you get to see those shields when you passed by there? I was curious as to how far north they signed that particular style.

I didn't get the chance to exit and see the signs for myself. Westbound it was already late in the evening, and eastbound we were 1.5 hours behind schedule due to heavy rain in Texas.

[route56]

And I thought Clearview couldn't get any uglier....


48865 by richiekennedy56, on Flickr

[jakeroot]

And I thought Clearview couldn't get any uglier....

^^ (clipped)

IMO, the Clearview isn't the problem here...the kerning is way off. If they set it back to standard, things would look just fine.

[bassoon1986]

Did you get to see those shields when you passed by there? I was curious as to how far north they signed that particular style.

I didn't get the chance to exit and see the signs for myself. Westbound it was already late in the evening, and eastbound we were 1.5 hours behind schedule due to heavy rain in Texas.

I think that is the only instance of an ugly sign like that in that area. I actually saw that sign last August and kicked myself for not getting a photo but I was already on 165 after a long trip. Everything else on 165 north of there was Louisiana standard. Today I was even as far south on 165 as Kinder and didn't see anything hit with the ugly stick.

[Android]

re: the Broadmoor sign - quite definitely fugly and certainly deserving of a spot in this thread, more so than some recent entries, but with that tight kerning I don't know if I'd have even recognized it as Clearview.!   

[Zeffy]

Passed this... shit today:


From GMSV, CR 514 in New Brunswick

It honestly attracted my attention even when the light was green. Yiiiiick.

[jakeroot]

Passed this... shit today:


From GMSV, CR 514 in New Brunswick

It honestly attracted my attention even when the light was green. Yiiiiick.

I'm not skilled enough to tell if that's Arial or Helvetica, but if the former, the sign needs to be burned at the stake. If Helvetica, good on them. Re-align the damn thing, though.

[vtk]

I think that's Helvetica or some other clone besides Arial.  Could use a lot more interletter space.  Also, that border looks a little sloppy, with too much of a gap between border and edge: should be no gap for positive contrast, but in any case the gap should be thinner than the border itself.

[Zeffy]

I think that's Helvetica or some other clone besides Arial.  Could use a lot more interletter space.  Also, that border looks a little sloppy, with too much of a gap between border and edge: should be no gap for positive contrast, but in any case the gap should be thinner than the border itself.

I did a font comparison and looks like the font is indeed Helvetica (or damn close). I know we've had multiple discussions on Helvetica vs. Arial for quite a while now, but I don't see any of the usual characters which would clearly show which one it is.

[sammi]

I think that's Helvetica or some other clone besides Arial.  Could use a lot more interletter space.

Must be Helvetica then. Helvetica is rather well known for tight letter spacing.

[okroads]

DSC04057 by okroads, on Flickr

On I-65 North in Homewood, AL, there is this unusual merge sign. Photo taken by me on 3-22-14.

[Gnutella]

Gross. Who even thought that was a good idea?

Probably the same person who gave us THIS one several years prior, just around the corner on I-90:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/virtual_freeway_tours/1329471181/in/set-72157601881959953/

There's a sign fabricator somewhere in northern Pennsylvania (I'm guessing) that fabricates some seriously ugly signs. You can tell which signs are theirs by looking at how they're assembled. Here's what I'm talking about:


Inferior sign (back)


Inferior sign (front)



This sign appears to be assembled in large, uneven segments, and the kerning seems to be rather condensed. They also used Clearview over most of the sign, instead of just the destination text like they're supposed to. These kinds of signs seem to be common in the Erie and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre areas. Now compare that sign to this one, which is much better crafted:


Superior sign (back)


Superior sign (front)


This sign appears to be assembled in small, even segments, and the kerning isn't as condensed, which makes it look better. They also limit Clearview to the destination text, with the rest of the sign in some series of FHWA, which is how it's supposed to be done. These kinds of signs seem to be common in the Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia areas. Whoever fabricates them should get the contract for highway signage all across the Commonwealth, because they do an excellent job of it.

(I captured both signs from Google Street View, so there is some mild distortion in each image.)

[hbelkins]

The bottom sign is an extruded panel sign. Not sure exactly what term describes the top sign, but it's more like the signage used in North Carolina and in a majority of Virginia installations (a few extruded panel signs have started to pop up in Virginia).