Criteria for which road is chosen on an exit sign

[TheStranger]

What inspired this:

For many years, the ramp from US 101 north to the former US 101 Bypass (Bayshore Boulevard) in San Francisco's Bayview was labeled for the street it directly connects to, Bayshore Boulevard.

When exit numbers were added about 3-4 years ago, that ramp instead got renamed for a nearby cross street (Paul Avenue) which has been used for years for a random southbound offramp.  (In fact, both ramps labeled for Paul both link to longer, more important streets, with the southbound one leading into westbound Mansell Street.)

Probably not coincidentally, a few miles south in Brisbane, the former northbound "Cow Palace" exit was renamed "Cow Palace/Bayshore Boulevard" when exit numbers were installed in that area.

There seems to be three categories of labeling here:

- Destination city only (i.e. the "Albany" exit off of I-80 in the east bay)
- actual street directly conneted (the Bayshore Boulevard/Cow Palace example)
- a nearby cross street (the aforementioned Paul Avenue example); often this usually is aided with signage on surface streets to direct to the road named on the primary exit signs.

[Scott5114]

In some states, whether a city or street name is selected depends on the existence (or not) of a "City Name/NEXT X EXITS" sign. If such a sign exists, and includes that exit, the city name will be omitted from the exit signage, since it's implied by the earlier sign. I want to say during the reconstruction of I-35 between Emporia, KS and Kansas City during the late 90s—early 2000s, some exits changed from a city name to a street name due to the addition of new "NEXT X EXITS" signage.

Also, I think the MUTCD no longer allows signage with both a city name and a street name.

[roadman65]

PennDOT usually lists for large cities with multiple exits a sign with the list of the next three exits.  If more than three exist then the first three will only be listed. After the first exit is surpassed then the next sign list the next three exits afterward.  Then if five of six exits exist each new sign will add another exit name to so that every sign only features three exits.

In many cases the street names act as control city for the city name instead.  Some places like on US 15 near Gettysburg does not use the direct street name of the road being exited onto.  For example US 15 Business at its south end, is locally known as Emittsburg Road, but the sign lists it as Steinwher Avenue.  That is because US 15 Business once inside Gettysburg proper is Steinwher Avenue, so PennDOT there is considering the destination to be the Steinwher Avenue area of Gettysburg respecting that the city (or borough) is getting credit as a destination, but being broken up into the streets instead.

It all depends on the state, the region, and the signing contractors that determine what it put on a sign.
PennDOT also uses in rural area one control city on most signs with it being the one in the vicinity of the exit as supposed to many states signing two cities for each direction of travel for the exiting roadway.  NJDOT even in urban areas sign a road like it was rural, hence all of I-80's exits for Paterson which have the city name as a control point for every exit in its city limits.   Then you have here in Florida, the Florida Turnpike enterprise who had the SR 570 Polk Parkway built in three segments each allowing the contractor to sign it his way making it very inconsistent signing along its 24 mile route.  The eastern half of that particular freeway signs exit with its route number/control city while the western half of it uses route number/ street name.  For example US 98 is signed as Lakeland/Bartow while nearby FL 37 is signed as Florida Avenue.

It is all up to interpretation in general by each road agency.

[hobsini2]

In some states, whether a city or street name is selected depends on the existence (or not) of a "City Name/NEXT X EXITS" sign. If such a sign exists, and includes that exit, the city name will be omitted from the exit signage, since it's implied by the earlier sign. I want to say during the reconstruction of I-35 between Emporia, KS and Kansas City during the late 90s—early 2000s, some exits changed from a city name to a street name due to the addition of new "NEXT X EXITS" signage.

I think it depends on the DOT. For instance, I-55 in Illinois northeast of I-355 does not use a "NEXT X EXITS" but the "Highway name is used instead of the city. IL 83 is Kingery Rd, US 12-20-45 is La Grange Rd, IL 171 is 1st Ave and so on.

I do find it interesting though that there could be a Joliet "NEXT 4 EAST EXITS" (US 30, US 52, I-80, US 6) sign on I-55 but they choose not to but I-80 does indeed have Joliet NEXT 7 INTERCHANGES sign on I-80.

[roadman65]

I saw that for I-55 back in 87 when traveling from La Grange to Joliet.  I ended up exiting at US 30 because it was mentioned as control cities for that particular exit as the previous routes into Joliet did not mention the city name.  I thought that ILDOT could be trusted as far as signing the roadways, but not I guess.

As far as I-80 goes, yes I saw the street names over city names and the infamous  "Joliet Next 7 Exits" on an overpass WB approaching that city.  It did strike me odd too  that one interstate uses completely different practices than another.  Then again I was amazed at the Tri State Tollway using street names as NJDOT (I was living in NJ at the time) would use control cities for all numbered routes and of course places like MD would use both as on the Capital Beltway near Washington or even NYC with both on its expressways.

[Brandon]

IDOT is consistent inside the Tri-State Tollway and along I-74 in the Peoria area with street names.  Most other places get destinations with some exceptions.

ISTHA seems to prefer street names with the exception of freeway/tollway junctions and two interchanges along I-88 (Exits 44 and 54).