2026 Caltrans MUTCD

[Max Rockatansky]

Too many aesthetically pleasing things related to highways have been sacrificed at the alter of MUTCD compliance. 

[Quillz]

I'm not aware of any M1-4 US Route shields in California yet outside of Yosemite. 

Yes, definitely there remain a few US 395 non-cutout shields in Yosemite.

There are at least two non-cutout US 95 shields in Needles that I think date back to when Arizona Route 95 was realigned to cross into California via the K Street bridge. Not sure if these were posted by city of Needles or someone else (maybe Arizona Dept of Transportation?). Here are links to GSV showing those two shields:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Zw4J9kKhwwzy8stX9

https://maps.app.goo.gl/V6eND44pgiTAN8X18

There used to be white US 101 rectangular signs on city streets that had the cutout shield imprinted on them in Santa Rosa, but those signs were largely removed in the 2000s.

But it will be a big change to see US routes in California on black rectangular signs, but it may take me awhile even to see one... I have to drive 100+ miles to get to my nearest US highway in downtown Los Angeles.

Aren't the interstate shields also adopting the federal '70 spec, too? Those aren't as different, but there are changes to the geometry and what not. That's another change that will take a while, but is also more likely to be noticed.

Eh, my ideal scenario for shield design replaces the state name with a bear logo, so it's not like what I think would be best has ever existed to begin with.

[cl94]

For those who may not believe, Olympus has indeed fallen. I have photographic evidence of the neutered US 6 shield on a non-cutout blank. Photo mine from today.

[Quillz]

That really doesn't look that bad, since it's using Series D. If 395 uses Series C, it'll be fine. I prefer that style on BGS anyway. Wonder where the old one went, maybe it's on eBay.

Will be curious to see when the federal-style interstate shields show up (they also appear to have been adopted in the latest MUTCD). Harder to see the differences at a glance, but they're there.

[Quillz]

Too many aesthetically pleasing things related to highways have been sacrificed at the alter of MUTCD compliance. 

I agree, but it comes down to intent. Ultimately, these things exist for legibility and information. I really liked the original bear spades from 1934, but I get why they were eventually replaced. Most of these things were best left alone, but there's also bigger issues in life.

It's just weird lack of consistency. Might as well make the miner spades non-cutout at this point, at least then everything would follow a similar design language.

[Max Rockatansky]

Too many aesthetically pleasing things related to highways have been sacrificed at the alter of MUTCD compliance. 

I agree, but it comes down to intent. Ultimately, these things exist for legibility and information. I really liked the original bear spades from 1934, but I get why they were eventually replaced. Most of these things were best left alone, but there's also bigger issues in life.

It's just weird lack of consistency. Might as well make the miner spades non-cutout at this point, at least then everything would follow a similar design language.

The intent is pretty clear to me.  The Feds have been putting the screws to Caltrans for years to fully adopt the FHWA MUTCD.  The current administration has been huge on threatening to withhold Federal Aid over all sorts of things.  It probably isn't worth it to Caltrans or the state to risk losing earmarked funds over highway shields.  I'm honestly surprised the cutout state highway shield survived on this revision.

Also, I'm presently on a trip in Nevada.  Acorn US Route shields are plentiful out here.  There is no way you're going to convince me they are more legible compared to a Caltrans US Route cutout. 

Also, also, here is what the end product looks like when you have a miners spade on a 24x24 blank:

https://flic.kr/p/27hwYaG

[LilianaUwU]

For those who may not believe, Olympus has indeed fallen. I have photographic evidence of the neutered US 6 shield on a non-cutout blank. Photo mine from today.

Gavin Newsom went too far this time.

[Quillz]

Too many aesthetically pleasing things related to highways have been sacrificed at the alter of MUTCD compliance. 

I agree, but it comes down to intent. Ultimately, these things exist for legibility and information. I really liked the original bear spades from 1934, but I get why they were eventually replaced. Most of these things were best left alone, but there's also bigger issues in life.

It's just weird lack of consistency. Might as well make the miner spades non-cutout at this point, at least then everything would follow a similar design language.

The intent is pretty clear to me.  The Feds have been putting the screws to Caltrans for years to fully adopt the FHWA MUTCD.  The current administration has been huge on threatening to withhold Federal Aid over all sorts of things.  It probably isn't worth it to Caltrans or the state to risk losing earmarked funds over highway shields.  I'm honestly surprised the cutout state highway shield survived on this revision.

Also, I'm presently on a trip in Nevada.  Acorn US Route shields are plentiful out here.  There is no way you're going to convince me they are more legible compared to a Caltrans US Route cutout. 

Also, also, here is what the end product looks like when you have a miners spade on a 24x24 blank:

https://flic.kr/p/27hwYaG

Well, we'll see if replacement shields in the future "accidentally" fall back to the '61 spec.

[Quillz]

Too many aesthetically pleasing things related to highways have been sacrificed at the alter of MUTCD compliance. 

I agree, but it comes down to intent. Ultimately, these things exist for legibility and information. I really liked the original bear spades from 1934, but I get why they were eventually replaced. Most of these things were best left alone, but there's also bigger issues in life.

It's just weird lack of consistency. Might as well make the miner spades non-cutout at this point, at least then everything would follow a similar design language.

The intent is pretty clear to me.  The Feds have been putting the screws to Caltrans for years to fully adopt the FHWA MUTCD.  The current administration has been huge on threatening to withhold Federal Aid over all sorts of things.  It probably isn't worth it to Caltrans or the state to risk losing earmarked funds over highway shields.  I'm honestly surprised the cutout state highway shield survived on this revision.

Also, I'm presently on a trip in Nevada.  Acorn US Route shields are plentiful out here.  There is no way you're going to convince me they are more legible compared to a Caltrans US Route cutout. 

Also, also, here is what the end product looks like when you have a miners spade on a 24x24 blank:

https://flic.kr/p/27hwYaG

I don't mind that as much because it is what I was saying earlier: the non-cutout shields don't have enough black space around them. That looks a lot better because there's more outer white space so the shape is easier to see. If the non-cutouts allowed for a bit more black space, they'd be perfectly fine.

[Max Rockatansky]

Too many aesthetically pleasing things related to highways have been sacrificed at the alter of MUTCD compliance. 

I agree, but it comes down to intent. Ultimately, these things exist for legibility and information. I really liked the original bear spades from 1934, but I get why they were eventually replaced. Most of these things were best left alone, but there's also bigger issues in life.

It's just weird lack of consistency. Might as well make the miner spades non-cutout at this point, at least then everything would follow a similar design language.

The intent is pretty clear to me.  The Feds have been putting the screws to Caltrans for years to fully adopt the FHWA MUTCD.  The current administration has been huge on threatening to withhold Federal Aid over all sorts of things.  It probably isn't worth it to Caltrans or the state to risk losing earmarked funds over highway shields.  I'm honestly surprised the cutout state highway shield survived on this revision.

Also, I'm presently on a trip in Nevada.  Acorn US Route shields are plentiful out here.  There is no way you're going to convince me they are more legible compared to a Caltrans US Route cutout. 

Also, also, here is what the end product looks like when you have a miners spade on a 24x24 blank:

https://flic.kr/p/27hwYaG

I don't mind that as much because it is what I was saying earlier: the non-cutout shields don't have enough black space around them. That looks a lot better because there's more outer white space so the shape is easier to see. If the non-cutouts allowed for a bit more black space, they'd be perfectly fine.

The current MUTCD US Route shield looks bloated to make room for those fat numerals.  It is a hideous design.

[Quillz]

Too many aesthetically pleasing things related to highways have been sacrificed at the alter of MUTCD compliance. 

I agree, but it comes down to intent. Ultimately, these things exist for legibility and information. I really liked the original bear spades from 1934, but I get why they were eventually replaced. Most of these things were best left alone, but there's also bigger issues in life.

It's just weird lack of consistency. Might as well make the miner spades non-cutout at this point, at least then everything would follow a similar design language.

The intent is pretty clear to me.  The Feds have been putting the screws to Caltrans for years to fully adopt the FHWA MUTCD.  The current administration has been huge on threatening to withhold Federal Aid over all sorts of things.  It probably isn't worth it to Caltrans or the state to risk losing earmarked funds over highway shields.  I'm honestly surprised the cutout state highway shield survived on this revision.

Also, I'm presently on a trip in Nevada.  Acorn US Route shields are plentiful out here.  There is no way you're going to convince me they are more legible compared to a Caltrans US Route cutout. 

Also, also, here is what the end product looks like when you have a miners spade on a 24x24 blank:

https://flic.kr/p/27hwYaG

I don't mind that as much because it is what I was saying earlier: the non-cutout shields don't have enough black space around them. That looks a lot better because there's more outer white space so the shape is easier to see. If the non-cutouts allowed for a bit more black space, they'd be perfectly fine.

The current MUTCD US Route shield looks bloated to make room for those fat numerals.  It is a hideous design.

The US-6 one posted looked fine. For three-digit routes, it's more about using Series C. I think Series D makes it look too cluttered, but this is the case with almost all shields, even older cutout ones. If the outer black space was increased, I really don't have an issue with it. When you see them on BGS, they look fine. I actually prefer them to the older spec because the black outline doesn't contrast well and makes things more cluttered.

My main thing is I'd rather just see all or nothing. For the most part, I do prefer the federal specs especially when it comes to BGS layout. I find navigation in Nevada a lot nicer when you factor in the BGS and the enhanced mile markers. Aesthetically, sure, it's maybe not as nice, but when I'm driving, I don't care about that as much.

I think a lot of my liking of some California stuff is more "this is what I am used to" but most of it is at best on par, at worst well behind most federal standards. Like yeah, I would still much prefer seeing the cutout US routes when driving (and we will, for decades), but I can understand legibility issues with those. Especially among older drivers. But keep in mind I'm also someone who likes Clearview, so I certainly have unpopular opinions. And besides, my ideal world of signage never existed anyway since the stuff I'd personally like to see would be a mish-mash of different eras and standards anyway. (I'd prefer a cutout version of the '70 spec US route shield compared to the '61 spec that is retired, for example).

There was actually a really old 1940s non-cutout spec I liked, because it had more white space around the edges so you could see the shape better. The only difference was it was literally a white background instead of black.

[Scott5114]

The US-6 one posted looked fine. For three-digit routes, it's more about using Series C.

No. The shield outline itself is the problem.

In the photo below, the sign on the right uses the original US route shield outline from 1927 (as adapted with the black background in 1961). The sign on the left uses the revision from 1970, which is the same one the US 6 sign is using.

[Quillz]

But that's where I disagree. I don't have a problem with the actual shape, my issue is there isn't enough black space. And potentially the kerning, I might have reduced the spacing slightly between the digits, but then that creates legibility issues. If the black space was slightly increased to have the same amount as the older shield on the right, I have no issues. Even on cutout shields, I didn't like thinner margins, it was always better with thicker ones. That's why some cutout shields look bad, IMO, to the point that sometimes the non-cutouts look better. (But I'm getting into the aesthetic issue here).

Like take this:

Make that into a cutout by adding a black border, and I'd prefer that over the '61 spec cutouts that California was using. (Although I don't like the use of Series E there, that should be Series D).

I like this one, too:

As it's using Series C.

[Quillz]

Here's an example of a "cutout" shield:

Like if that "76" was being used as a reassurance shield, I'd be okay with that. The shape doesn't bother me, although using a wide template for two-digits is its own issue. As far as I can tell, that's just your '70 spec wide shield with an added black border. That would look fine independently mounted.

I realize I just have weird likes and unpopular opinions about this, of course.

[Scott5114]

But that's where I disagree. I don't have a problem with the actual shape, my issue is there isn't enough black space. And potentially the kerning, I might have reduced the spacing slightly between the digits, but then that creates legibility issues.

Behold, a shield that fulfills these standards!

[Quillz]

That's not quite what I was describing. What Max posted earlier was closer: https://flic.kr/p/27hwYaG - Having that amount of white/black/green space would work fine for non-cutouts. If that meant changing the standard from 24x24 to maybe 28x28, so be it.

BTW, that photo Max posted could also be a potential basis for enhanced mile markers.

[Max Rockatansky]

There are already enhanced Postmile paddles on 17 in southern Santa Clara County.  They just confuse people because almost everyone thinks they represent mile markers values.

https://flic.kr/p/2qarj26

[Scott5114]

There are already enhanced Postmile paddles on 17 in southern Santa Clara County.  They just confuse people because almost everyone thinks they represent mile markers values.

https://flic.kr/p/2qarj26

See, that wouldn't happen if instead of "MILE" it said "SC"...and the mileage was turned sideways...and it was white...

[Quillz]

There are already enhanced Postmile paddles on 17 in southern Santa Clara County.  They just confuse people because almost everyone thinks they represent mile markers values.

https://flic.kr/p/2qarj26

Oh, I like the design of those. Although they probably should just show simple mile markers, that seems to be the point, to provide simpler information.

[vdeane]

There are already enhanced Postmile paddles on 17 in southern Santa Clara County.  They just confuse people because almost everyone thinks they represent mile markers values.

https://flic.kr/p/2qarj26

I'm not sure how that's really different from how some states (*cough* Kentucky *cough*) reset mileage on non-interstates at county lines.

[The_Ginger]

Like take this:

Make that into a cutout by adding a black border, and I'd prefer that over the '61 spec cutouts that California was using. (Although I don't like the use of Series E there, that should be Series D).

So isn't that just a normal cutout with extra steps?    [/sarcasm]

On a more serious note, is what you want a California cutout with a black border stretched to the edges, like the image below?


Or do you also like it neutered, without the "U S"?

[SeriesE]

I don't find the cutout spec 1961 US shield less legible than the non-cutout US shield