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

[pderocco]

Never seen one of these before:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/DtXCWT7LjYZ4y1hFA

[Big John]

Never seen one of these before:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/DtXCWT7LjYZ4y1hFA

This has since been removed from MUTCD as not well understood.

[kphoger]

Never seen one of these before:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/DtXCWT7LjYZ4y1hFA

I've been familiar with them for a long time, but I think I've only ever seen a couple of them in real life.

[Rothman]

Never seen one of these before:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/DtXCWT7LjYZ4y1hFA

Seen a bunch of those.

[formulanone]

Never seen one of these before:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/DtXCWT7LjYZ4y1hFA

This has since been removed from MUTCD as not well understood.

That explains why I recall seeing a few in the 1990s, but can't recall the last time I've seen one.

[TheCatalyst31]

Seen in Murray City, Ohio. I didn't go down the road to find out what the risk was.

[Jim]

A wordy way to say "Handicap Parking Only".  But then they couldn't be bothered to fill in the details at the end.  This was in a parking lot in Santa Ana, California, on July 25, 2025.

[Max Rockatansky]

California
99
Business

IMG_4720 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Spotted this on northbound Union Avenue near the Bakersfield city limit yesterday.

[pderocco]

A wordy way to say "Handicap Parking Only".  But then they couldn't be bothered to fill in the details at the end.  This was in a parking lot in Santa Ana, California, on July 25, 2025.

That probably means they had to put up some sort of sign, but don't really care, and have no intention of towing anybody.

[pderocco]

California
99
Business

IMG_4720 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Spotted this on northbound Union Avenue near the Bakersfield city limit yesterday.

You need binoculars to see that you're not actually on route 99.

[Max Rockatansky]

California
99
Business

IMG_4720 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Spotted this on northbound Union Avenue near the Bakersfield city limit yesterday.

You need binoculars to see that you're not actually on route 99.

To be fair Kern County does a solid enough job maintaining Union Avenue between CA 99 and CA 58.  The casual non-highway fan driver really wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the CA 204 section of CA 99 BL.

[kphoger]

Seen in Murray City, Ohio. I didn't go down the road to find out what the risk was.

It's a white rectangle.  It's regulatory.  You were required to travel that road at your own risk.  You disobeyed the law.

[ClassicHasClass]

California
99
Business

IMG_4720 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Spotted this on northbound Union Avenue near the Bakersfield city limit yesterday.

You need binoculars to see that you're not actually on route 99.

To be fair Kern County does a solid enough job maintaining Union Avenue between CA 99 and CA 58.  The casual non-highway fan driver really wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the CA 204 section of CA 99 BL.

It might be a Kern County thing. ISTR that Business 58 in Boron is posted with the same sort of shield.

[Scott5114]

A wordy way to say "Handicap Parking Only".  But then they couldn't be bothered to fill in the details at the end.  This was in a parking lot in Santa Ana, California, on July 25, 2025.

That probably means they had to put up some sort of sign, but don't really care, and have no intention of towing anybody.

Or they don't have any intention of letting you get anything back after they towed it.

California
99
Business

IMG_4720 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Spotted this on northbound Union Avenue near the Bakersfield city limit yesterday.

You need binoculars to see that you're not actually on route 99.

You know, I always thought the CA shield was kind of perfect for this sort of thing, but the way I'd do it is like this:

[WillWeaverRVA]

You know, I always thought the CA shield was kind of perfect for this sort of thing, but the way I'd do it is like this:

Yeah, to be honest I kind of like what Kern County was going for here. Reminds me a bit of what Maryland does with some of its business routes. Your mockup is a lot better looking though.

[1995hoo]

I'm not sure where to put this, so I'll put it here. This past Sunday morning I drove my mother to Dulles Airport. I hadn't been to the airport since April 2023. As we were passing the Herndon area, I noticed some odd-looking signs to my right over the Dulles Toll Road that looked pretty non-standard for Virginia signage, though I recognize they might have been posted by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (I'm not sure who has the responsibility there these days). The lack of an exit tab, and the black border around the circular route marker, are both unusual here.

But the main thing I wondered was, what typeface are these two signs?

[Scott5114]

But the main thing I wondered was, what typeface are these two signs?

Vanilla Series D with Series E(M) spacing.

"657" is Series D horizontally compressed to approximately Series C width.

[freebrickproductions]

Series D with Series E(M) spacing.

Ain't that what Georgia used to use, or did they just use straight Series D?

[1995hoo]

Series D with Series E(M) spacing.

Ain't that what Georgia used to use, or did they just use straight Series D?

It definitely didn't look like Georgia's signs, at least not to my eye at 65 mph.

[Scott5114]

Series D with Series E(M) spacing.

Ain't that what Georgia used to use, or did they just use straight Series D?

It is, but they used a different variant of Series D (because the vanilla federal lowercase had not been invented yet).

[freebrickproductions]

Series D with Series E(M) spacing.

Ain't that what Georgia used to use, or did they just use straight Series D?

It definitely didn't look like Georgia's signs, at least not to my eye at 65 mph.

It definitely looks a bit similar at a glance (and they certainly reminded me of them when I first clicked that link), but they do have several differences that stand-out, such as the signs not being the same height like Georgia requires.

[Amaury]

Interstate 90 in Spokane Valley, Washington, just before the Exit 286 on-ramp:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/NmRyQbUfom58bhtN9 (front)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WC1rgHfZEMbNdRMR6 (back)

Specifically, the fact that the sign for eastbound I-90 is held up using a lamppost on one side and a wooden post on the other side. I've never seen this before. Normally, you'd see two standalone posts—wooden or otherwise—or the entire sign connected to the lamppost using the back center of the sign.