The Worst of Road Signs

[formulanone]

Not my pic but it has to be here..

Saves time, money, reduces electric shock.

[Central Avenue]

Not my pic but it has to be here..

It's ugly as hell but I love it just because it's so weird.

[kharvey10]

003 by Kimmy1978, on Flickr
Florida stupid fonts in action


065 by Kimmy1978, on Flickr

067 by Kimmy1978, on Flickr

068 by Kimmy1978, on Flickr
Northbound I-75 at I-10 is not only a how not to do highway signage, but also a how not to do a highway ramp without a deceleration lane.


070 by Kimmy1978, on Flickr
The size of the font for the cardinal directions take the cake.

[6a]

 

[national highway 1]

.


070 by Kimmy1978, on Flickr
The size of the font for the cardinal directions take the cake.

The 75 shield looks a bit compressed...

[mobilene]

Another one of these bad shield, found in Jacksontown, Ohio.  I saw lots of these across Ohio on US 40.  They remind me of a high-and-tight haircut.


Dreadful US 40 shield by mobilene, on Flickr

[US71]

Near Lee's Summit, MO



North of Pleasant Hill

[Stratuscaster]

Unable to snap a pic when I passed them, and Google's StreetView isn't updated yet, but the new overheads on WB I-290 coming up to the I-88/I-294 interchanges west of Chicago are just awful.

I suppose they do conform to the latest MUTCD specs, with the black-on-yellow LEFT above the left-justified exit number, but they way they did the sign resulted in the main information - the shields and control cities - stuffed into a smaller vertical space - while the top line with the LEFT and the exit number had black green space all the way across the width of the sign - a huge waste, IMHO.

I'll get out there and get an image to show - but I had to at least post because they were exceptionally bad.

I didn't see if this one in the same area got replaced - the arrow, while technically correct, should be - and at one time was - an airplane.
http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.871287,-87.89453&spn=0,0.015965&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=41.87149,-87.89497&panoid=lzfLSDBreaVFYoMszfNQMA&cbp=12,5.16,,2,0.85

[74/171FAN]

This used to be a big guide sign for both directions of the split from the ramp for I-95 from VA 144.  I don't have the photo for the signs for the split to I-95 SB but here's I-95 NB...

[national highway 1]

That is complete fail...

[74/171FAN]

And another one from Richmond.  I'm honestly surprised that Will hasn't posted this yet but anyway welcome to VDOT's great idea of what seems like size 4 font on an interstate 

[1995hoo]

I don't like the right-hand sign in that Richmond gantry, never have, because "Downtown Expressway" doesn't give the unfamiliar driver much info. Of course, I suppose the US doesn't necessarily have a protocol for listing destinations on a connecting road. While the middle sign sort of does the same thing, that sign is for a surface street and as a practical matter I've always regarded those a bit differently from expressways in terms of what detail you ought to provide. 

[WillWeaverRVA]

And another one from Richmond.  I'm honestly surprised that Will hasn't posted this yet but anyway welcome to VDOT's great idea of what seems like size 4 font on an interstate  

I think I did post it once, but I'd have to check. The tiny font was a quick fix after the old 75 patch got blown off in a thunderstorm, revealing the original exit number. EDIT: Here it is.

I don't like the right-hand sign in that Richmond gantry, never have, because "Downtown Expressway" doesn't give the unfamiliar driver much info. Of course, I suppose the US doesn't necessarily have a protocol for listing destinations on a connecting road. While the middle sign sort of does the same thing, that sign is for a surface street and as a practical matter I've always regarded those a bit differently from expressways in terms of what detail you ought to provide.  

The Downtown Expressway doesn't get control cities because it only exists in Richmond, and isn't a bypass (so "Washington" would not work). The only control point it usually gets is "to Powhite Pkwy". It's also not a state-maintained facility.

[1995hoo]

I don't like the right-hand sign in that Richmond gantry, never have, because "Downtown Expressway" doesn't give the unfamiliar driver much info. Of course, I suppose the US doesn't necessarily have a protocol for listing destinations on a connecting road. While the middle sign sort of does the same thing, that sign is for a surface street and as a practical matter I've always regarded those a bit differently from expressways in terms of what detail you ought to provide. 

The Downtown Expressway doesn't get control cities because it only exists in Richmond, and isn't a bypass (so "Washington" would not work). The only control point it usually gets is "to Powhite Pkwy". It's also not a state-maintained facility.

Yeah, I understand WHY it's that way, but that doesn't mean I agree with (or have to accept) their rationale.

[mtantillo]

And another one from Richmond.  I'm honestly surprised that Will hasn't posted this yet but anyway welcome to VDOT's great idea of what seems like size 4 font on an interstate 

And...you can see VDOT HQ (well, the Highway Building Annex at least) in the background!

[jdb1234]

From Graysville, AL:

[ctsignguy]

From Graysville, AL:

Well, it WOULD be hard to squeeze all this onto a BGS....

[Central Avenue]

[myosh_tino]

On my numerous trips to Las Vegas from the San Francisco Bay Area, I noticed a black and white Interstate 40 shield west of the I-15/I-40 interchange in Barstow, CA.  On my latest trip, I managed to snap a picture of the sign using my cell phone...



I just about did a double-take at 75 MPH when I saw the sign for the very first time.  I seriously thought I was seeing things... yargh!

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5344/ugly3637640.jpg

That was City of Delaware's doing (circa 2000), not ODOT.
P.S. couple of US 37 shields out on the east side of town (by ODOT district 6 HQ) were corrected last month

[Central Avenue]

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5344/ugly3637640.jpg

That was City of Delaware's doing (circa 2000), not ODOT.
P.S. couple of US 37 shields out on the east side of town (by ODOT district 6 HQ) were corrected last month

I suspected as much. (About the City of Delaware, I mean)

Also I noticed a week or two ago that there is still a Temporary Truck "US 37" sign near US 36 and Houk Road, but I didn't manage to get a picture.

[vtk]

I did a triple-take on that one as I realized just how much of that was Helvetica.  The OH-37 shield has some other problems, too...

[Michael in Philly]

Bad, because it's unconstitutional:  flashing construction sign seen today on I-83 outside of York, Pa., alternating between a picture of the U.S. flag and "One nation under God."

[hbelkins]

Bad, because it's unconstitutional:  flashing construction sign seen today on I-83 outside of York, Pa., alternating between a picture of the U.S. flag and "One nation under God."

It's unconstitutional to use a phrase from the Pledge of Allegiance????

[NE2]

Don't feed the religious...