The Worst of Road Signs

[StogieGuy7]

Courtesy route56.

What, the watermark doesn't give it away?

Image Page on route56.com
(I could use some image comments, people )

That BGS on the left is Gawd Awful!  Truly ugly font, font size and horrid layout.  A total cluster.  Definitely belongs in this thread.

What is up with Oklahoma and horribly ugly signage anyway? 

[kphoger]

And this whole time I thought y'all were talking about the Mingo Rd sign!!  (not)

[Kacie Jane]

And this whole time I thought y'all were talking about the Mingo Rd sign!!  (not)

Funnily enough, that one is dang near perfection in my eyes.

[CentralCAroadgeek]

So on a thread I just started up, I decided to post my ideas in replacing that Creek Turnpike sign. Here they are:

To start, I'll post my ideas to replace this sign:

Courtesy route56.

Solution 1:


Solution 2 (California style)*:


Solution 3:


* I don't think California would make signs this tall, but I just did that for the sake of trying to fit everything in. I had to kick out Broken Arrow...

And yes, I do make a difference between Highway Gothic and Clearview on these.

[Billy F 1988]

I've whipped up this rendition based on your first solution to fix that gawky Creek Turnpike BGS. Sorry, my Creek Turnpike logo isn't the best because I could not find an acutal Creek Turnpike logo. Is there an actual Joplin, OK or was that second line meant for "Joplin, MO"?

[apeman33]

It's Joplin, MO. The Creek Turnpike is connected to I-44 at both ends.

[Billy F 1988]

Oh, so I-44 goes through Joplin, MO then, huh?

[route56]

* route56 gives Billy F 1988 a Gibbs-slap

* route56 revokes Bill F 1988's Roadgeek Card (TM)

[myosh_tino]

* route56 gives Billy F 1988 a Gibbs-slap

* route56 revokes Bill F 1988's Roadgeek Card (TM)

Hey, Billy F isn't the only one who tried to fix that monstrocity. Here's a Caltrans version of that gantry...

[Billy F 1988]

This would be an alternate since Joplin is about 2 hours from Broken Arrow, OK. So, instead of line two being "Joplin", I made that the Creek Turnpike's eastern end point of Catoosa at I-44 (Will Rogers Turnpike) so that you'd have an idea that you're on your way to Jopln, MO via I-44 after you cross the junction of I-44 and Creek Turnpike. Not a likely candidate to replace that monstrocity, but, at least you know you're heading due east to Joplin via I-44 and not the Creek Turnpike.



However, this would make better sense. If you were to head to E 96th Street S, you have to use South Memorial Drive to get there because there is no exit ramp to E 96th Street S.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

DSC03216 by okroads, on Flickr

[amroad17]

DSC03216 by okroads, on Flickr

Is there a natural gas line near this sign?

[Bud8Amp88]

Another sign that deserves to be blown into oblivion. Located on Northwest Arm Drive in Halifax.

[route56]

As if the first sign gantry was bad... the second one is even worse:

EDIT: My photo of said gantry has been lost to the anals of history. Maybe that's a good thing.

[Alps]

As if the first sign gantry was bad... the second one is even worse:

me fail kindergarten? that's unpossible!

[myosh_tino]

As if the first sign gantry was bad... the second one is even worse:

Oh dear god! 

Mis-aligned letters... lower-case letters of different heights (e.g. the word "Arrow")... letters with different stroke widths... ugh! 

Here's something a bit more tolerable...

[StogieGuy7]

As if the first sign gantry was bad... the second one is even worse:

Horrendous!  This shows a total lack of pride/craftsmanship on the part of whoever created this disaster.   

Ironically, I actually like the sign to the left with the black border around the U.S. 169 badge.  That one looks sharp. 

[Brandon]

As if the first sign gantry was bad... the second one is even worse:

Just when you though it was safe to get back on the road (cue "Jaws" music).

That ranks as some of the shittiest Clearview I've seen.  Let's go through what's wrong, shall we...

1. Misaligned letters.  The "T" in Turnpike is significantly below the line of the other letters.
2. Mixed letter sizes.  Did they get a steal on larger r's and k's?
3. Letter squareness.  Really, is it all that hard to keep the letters vertical instead of drunk?
4. Screwy fractions.  Last time I looked, the 1 should be slightly above the 4 for 1/4.
5. Tack-on shields.  The Creek Turnpike shield looks like an afterthought tacked on in the corner.

Somehow they managed to come up with a worse sign than the previous atrocity.

[PHLBOS]

Courtesy route56.

For the BGS on the left:

As if the first sign gantry was bad... the second one is even worse:

For the BGS in the middle:

Ironically, I actually like the sign to the left with the black border around the U.S. 169 badge.  That one looks sharp. 

Ditto.

[kurumi]

As if the first sign gantry was bad... the second one is even worse:

Oh dear god! 

Mis-aligned letters... lower-case letters of different heights (e.g. the word "Arrow")... letters with different stroke widths... ugh! 

Here's something a bit more tolerable...

Outclassed by a California-style sign; that's gotta sting

[Brandon]

Outclassed by a California-style sign; that's gotta sting

California's biggest problem is that they stick to that one-size fits all rule that crams the information rather than using differing heights for differing signs.  IDOT is just as guilty of that from time to time as well.  Otherwise, they're really not all that bad.  This on the other hand is fugly as all hell.

[myosh_tino]

Outclassed by a California-style sign; that's gotta sting

California's biggest problem is that they stick to that one-size fits all rule that crams the information rather than using differing heights for differing signs.  IDOT is just as guilty of that from time to time as well.  Otherwise, they're really not all that bad.  This on the other hand is fugly as all hell.

Ah, but in this case the actual sign looks far more "crammed" than the California-style sign I created.

[Takumi]

On my way into work this morning I passed a VDOT truck on I-95 (going the other way) that had new signage similar to that...Clearview and improperly sized letters. It was for an exit 80 miles away, so I don't know when it'll be installed...but it'll be too soon.

[1995hoo]

On my way into work this morning I passed a VDOT truck on I-95 (going the other way) that had new signage similar to that...Clearview and improperly sized letters. It was for an exit 80 miles away, so I don't know when it'll be installed...but it'll be too soon.

For what exit was it destined? Maybe someone here can watch for it?

[Brandon]

Outclassed by a California-style sign; that's gotta sting

California's biggest problem is that they stick to that one-size fits all rule that crams the information rather than using differing heights for differing signs.  IDOT is just as guilty of that from time to time as well.  Otherwise, they're really not all that bad.  This on the other hand is fugly as all hell.

Ah, but in this case the actual sign looks far more "crammed" than the California-style sign I created.

Agreed.  However, an interesting note, your California sign could also pass for a Michigan sign on a freeway without exit numbers.