The Worst of Road Signs

[roadfro]

And maybe it's me, but the arrows just look all wrong--like they've been lifted off of the sign on the right signpost--instead of any new standard.

Actually, it looks pretty damn close to the arrow-per-lane standards introduced in the 2009 MUTCD...

[apeman33]

how frequently does Kansas add a black outline to the green-sign sunflowers?  those two signs are the first time I'd ever noticed it.

As far as I know (Route 56 would know more), those are the only two there have ever been.

They should do it more often, I think it looks good.

I saw a few more on my way to Great Bend this past weekend. One was for Spur K-251 on K-61. And it was uuuuuuugly! But there was no place for me to pull over and get a pic of it. The K-251 shield was outlined in black and then had another yellow outline around that. And the sunflower was the wrong shape.

More normal looking shields on signs posted where K-156 joins U.S. 56 and K-96 east of Great Bend. They had black outlines and looked more like the ones earlier in the thread.

[agentsteel53]

I declare the 2009 MUTCD to be "the worst of road signs", then.  those arrow-per-lane signs are hideous, and an extreme waste of material.

(then again, I consider every MUTCD newer than 1961 to be heresy, so what do I know!)

[thenetwork]

Got a new one from Colorado Springs...
(please forgive the craptastic cell phone camera quality)

Installed 5/31/12, replaced a sign that was just for the 24 exit.
Yes, the sign is already coming apart along the seam bisecting Pueblo
Yes, it's a neutered I-shield even though all the other BGS'es have the state name.
And maybe it's me, but the arrows just look all wrong--like they've been lifted off of the sign on the right signpost--instead of any new standard.

Pretty crappy install, even by Colorado standards...

IMO, there really was no reason on this sign to reverse the I-25 SOUTH title.  At least Colorado is still shunning Clearview!   

[bulkyorled]

Got a new one from Colorado Springs...
(please forgive the craptastic cell phone camera quality)

Installed 5/31/12, replaced a sign that was just for the 24 exit.
Yes, the sign is already coming apart along the seam bisecting Pueblo
Yes, it's a neutered I-shield even though all the other BGS'es have the state name.
And maybe it's me, but the arrows just look all wrong--like they've been lifted off of the sign on the right signpost--instead of any new standard.

Pretty crappy install, even by Colorado standards...

The arrows don't look right at all. Maybe because they're pointing up instead of down at the lanes, even so they seem really tall...

[Kacie Jane]

The arrows don't look right at all. Maybe because they're pointing up instead of down at the lanes, even so they seem really tall...

I had the same thought when I first saw one of these in person.  Once I saw one for the first time, I was able to appreciate its clarity and effectiveness, but those arrows are freakishly tall.

[hbelkins]

I don't find the new sign to be any more comprehensible than the old design with the down-facing arrows or the big diagrammatical arrow. I like those old designs better. An MUTCD revision is rarely a good thing.

[formulanone]

I don't understand the need for larger arrows, and thus a larger, more wasteful sign, either.

[Scott5114]

The reason these 'arrow per lane' signs exist is to more clearly illustrate the existence of 'option lanes' (i.e. lanes where one can go straight or exit). The conventional way of doing things has been said to cause people to incorrectly interpret the option lane as exiting (since there is an arrow pointing at that lane on the exit sign) so they will needlessly shift to the left. This setup, previously seen in Europe, is supposed to prevent that.

The reason the arrows are so tall is to make all the arrows the height of the "splitting arrow", which has to be that tall to legibly convey the message.

[bulkyorled]

I don't understand the need for larger arrows, and thus a larger, more wasteful sign, either.

That's true. I was more focused on the arrows haha But that sign is rather massive for the little amount of information on it.

[national highway 1]

Undersized 3dus shield for a 2dus, Weed CA

replaced this sign.

[1995hoo]

Seen this morning off Rolling Road in Fairfax County, Virginia (the sign is on Laurel Oak Drive):

[agentsteel53]

just installed within the last few days near my office.

luckily, in this case, the terrain and other clues make it easy to figure out that this is a freeway off-ramp, and therefore the arrow is correct and the text is upside down... but I still wonder how many people will think "oh, they installed the sign upside down" and go the wrong way.

[xcellntbuy]

Undersized 3dus shield for a 2dus, Weed CA

replaced this sign.

Awfully big beautiful mountain in that picture.

[agentsteel53]

Awfully big beautiful mountain in that picture.

Mount Shasta.  it's about the 20th-highest peak in the lower 48 states, despite being only about 300 feet shorter than the highest, Mount Whitney.

[Mr_Northside]

the arrow is correct and the text is upside down... but I still wonder how many people will think "oh, they installed the sign upside down" and go the wrong way.

Whoever let that slide should probably be fired.  Blanking out the words, or just taking it down, is probably better than the potential situation that could arise from possible confusion (even if common sense says not to go the wrong way)

[Ian]

Funky shaped US 301 shield at the MD 291 interchange in Millington, MD. There were several green signs throughout this interchange that had these.


I guess they ran out of lowercase 'a's?


Face palm worthy shields courtesy of the city of Baltimore!

[national highway 1]

Facepalm worthy shields courtesy of the city of Baltimore!

Wow, that MD 295 shield is one of the few shields I've seen wholly in Clearview, apart from the I-75/ I-96 shields in Michigan. Also the arrow banner is a 'straight-ahead' arrow rotated 90^o clockwise.

[flowmotion]

Odd unisign in Annapolis. The outlined US 50 is a pro, but the lack of text in the interstate shield and the Series E modified numerals looks really off...

Hmm, I kinda like this one.

[bulkyorled]

Odd unisign in Annapolis. The outlined US 50 is a pro, but the lack of text in the interstate shield and the Series E modified numerals looks really off...

Hmm, I kinda like this one.

I kinda like it too. Its bold and clean. But the others ones from this set are almost too bold and it looks a little dumboish

[Ian]

I suppose they're alright. I just dislike the font and the lack of text in the interstate shield, but to each his own I suppose...

[Takumi]

Facepalm worthy shields courtesy of the city of Baltimore!

There's another I-95 shield just like that one northbound on 295 just south of M&T Bank Stadium. It's paired with an I-395 trailblazer. It has the same directional sign, but pointing straight. For all I know, they're the same two signs, just recycled.

[on_wisconsin]

This pile is scheduled to go up in Milwaukee in the near future:

(memo to WisDOT: your NOT CalTrans, knock it off)

[national highway 1]

Odd unisign in Annapolis. The outlined US 50 is a pro, but the lack of text in the interstate shield and the Series E modified numerals looks really off...

Hmm, I kinda like this one.

I kinda like it too. Its bold and clean. But the others ones from this set are almost too bold and it looks a little dumboish

I suppose they're alright. I just dislike the font and the lack of text in the interstate shield, but to each his own I suppose...

I actually also don't mind this one, too. The US 50 shield is OK. I don't mind the I-97 shield without 'INTERSTATE' in the crown, as it could be adopted as a standard 'super-neutered' shield for BGSs. However I'd prefer the numerals to be Series D.

This pile is scheduled to go up in Milwaukee in the near future:

(memo to WisDOT: you're NOT CalTrans, knock it off)

Reminds me of this sign at Mooney Mooney, just on the northern outskirts of Sydney, taken in 2008:

The top panel is the original 'black' colour used on signs in the 1970s to late 1980s. The bottom panel is probably 'freeway green' a type of sign background manufactured with reflective polyethurane paint in the 1980s, which was used in regional NSW, Melbourne and Brisbane as depicted here and here, or it could be 'standard green' the current green colour used form the early 1990s to now as depicted  on the left sign. So I guess this sign was probably manufactured in the late 80s/early 90s.

BTW I like how you made a simulated flash effect on that button-copy sign. Looks great!

[Central Avenue]

I imagine I'm in the minority here, but I like the lack of text in the Interstate shield, at least when used on a green sign like that as opposed to a standalone shield. I think it makes it look clean and simple, and it's not as if people are reading the word "Interstate" every time anyway.

This pile is scheduled to go up in Milwaukee in the near future:

(memo to WisDOT: your NOT CalTrans, knock it off)

I notice the "shears" on the d's are backwards, as if they flipped b's...is the existing sign actually like that, or is it just a bad drawing?

Apart from that, I don't really see anything wrong with the sign. Repeating the arrow is a bit strange, though.