The Worst of Road Signs

[Takumi]

Forgot to add this to the collection of crap from Hampton Roads. Newport News is usually better than this...

[Zeffy]

Why do I get the feeling that those Interstate shields in the background are both one-piece assemblies and contain a black background... 

[ap70621]

Why do I get the feeling that those Interstate shields in the background are both one-piece assemblies and contain a black background... 

Because they are. Virginia loves doing that.

[Thing 342]

Why do I get the feeling that those Interstate shields in the background are both one-piece assemblies and contain a black background... 

IMO, the NN/Williamsburg unisigns are some of the best out there. They use the old 1950's era signage.

[agentsteel53]

They use the old 1950's era signage.

do you mean just the standard they reflect, or are there some actual 50s-vintage signs out there?

I recall the US route shields being '70 spec, alas.



(that picture qualifies for "the worst of road photos", but it's the only one I had offhand!)

[Takumi]

Yeah, I like the retro style Newport News and Williamsburg use on their signage. NN uses a dark grey, not black, background, while Williamsburg uses a dark green background. Some parts of James City County outside Williamsburg also do the same thing with a lighter green. Williamsburg had actual 1950s signage widespread until the 1990s, while the last cutout was removed within the past 10 years.

[agentsteel53]

Yeah, I like the retro style Newport News and Williamsburg use on their signage. NN uses a dark grey, not black, background, while Williamsburg uses a dark green background. Some parts of James City County outside Williamsburg also do the same thing with a lighter green. Williamsburg had actual 1950s signage widespread until the 1990s, while the last cutout was removed within the past 10 years.

there was one gantry somewhere involving two state routes that definitely dated to the 1950s and was photographed sometime around 2007.

[Takumi]

The one I've seen photographed was in 2004, for VA 5. It was replaced by 2011 with something I've probably posted in this thread before...a vertically stretched shield on a rotated three-digit blank.

[US 41]

I was driving northbound on US 41 north of Vinceness and the sign said JCT US 550. I laughed so hard and said "I'm going to post this on AARoads. BTW it is supposed to say JCT Indiana 550.

[hotdogPi]

I was driving northbound on US 41 north of Vinceness and the sign said JCT US 550. I laughed so hard and said "I'm going to post this on AARoads. BTW it is supposed to say JCT Indiana 550.

A State/US error is not the worst. "Worst" generally means either misleading information, or more commonly, an eyesore.

This is not misleading. People generally know what it is supposed to mean.

[sammi]

I was driving northbound on US 41 north of Vinceness and the sign said JCT US 550. I laughed so hard and said "I'm going to post this on AARoads. BTW it is supposed to say JCT Indiana 550.

That goes in the Erroneous road signs thread.

[Zeffy]

A State/US error is not the worst. "Worst" generally means either misleading information, or more commonly, an eyesore.

This is not misleading. People generally know what it is supposed to mean.

But what if you have US to Interstate-hybrid on an ugly sign?

http://goo.gl/maps/yPoIE

[jakeroot]

I would not consider this the worst; in fact, I'd say I quite like it, though I've never seen anything like it before:

A double roundabout diagram. Okay it's in Canada but really Canada is America so does anyone wanna rip it a new one, or do the nice folks at AARoads like it?

BC Highway 97 at Campbell Road



This was reposted to the "Unique, Odd, or Interesting" signs thread.

[sammi]

I would not consider this the worst; in fact, I'd say I quite like it, though I've never seen anything like it before:

Then it could probably go in the Unique, Odd or Interesting Signs thread.

[Zeffy]

Then it could probably go in the Unique, Odd or Interesting Signs thread.

I disagree, any sign that has Clearview numerals in route shields should definitely go here. Now, granted, this is Canada, and I do not think there are any restrictions like the FHWA has, but still. Those numbers are so ugly to look at, and when you put them in a route shield, it just... uglifies that sign.

[jakeroot]

Then it could probably go in the Unique, Odd or Interesting Signs thread.

I disagree, any sign that has Clearview numerals in route shields should definitely go here. Now, granted, this is Canada, and I do not think there are any restrictions like the FHWA has, but still. Those numbers are so ugly to look at, and when you put them in a route shield, it just... uglifies that sign.

All jokes aside, I'm going to post it there. Not sure how I continue to miss threads.

[sammi]

any sign that has Clearview numerals in route shields should definitely go here.

Clearview, definitely. But the BC route markers actually have Helvetica. It's not FHWA-standard either, but



I think it looks alright in this context. (The old font was even better though.)

[Zeffy]

The B.C. sign that jake posted definitely has Clearview numerals in it - look at the 9 in '97' - Helvetica 9s curl at the bottom end so that it points upwards to the rest of the number, while Clearview 9s don't curl to that extent.

Regardless, I'd rather have Helvetica numbers than Clearview ones.

[1995hoo]

Regardless of typeface issues, I like the concept behind that sign. Tells you to expect the second roundabout you cannot see.

[sammi]

If that's somehow not allowed, I think you can sign the first roundabout with a "TO", then put the sign for the second roundabout between them. But yes, I like the sign. (Other kinds of diagrammatics, not so much. Mexican signs come to mind.)

The B.C. sign that jake posted definitely has Clearview numerals in it - look at the 9 in '97' - Helvetica 9s curl at the bottom end so that it points upwards to the rest of the number, while Clearview 9s don't curl to that extent.

How about looking at the 7 too?

[Zeffy]

I'm starting to think it has both Helvetica and Clearview. 

Regardless of typeface issues, I like the concept behind that sign. Tells you to expect the second roundabout you cannot see.

Agreed.

[J N Winkler]

I'm starting to think it has both Helvetica and Clearview. 

For what it is worth, the current BC MOTH standard is Helvetica for route marker digits.  (I disagree with it and there is an ever-diminishing number of older signs on the Lower Mainland that use FHWA Series E Modified, which was the former standard.)

The roundabout diagrammatic with the chamfered stub arms is an obvious borrowing from Britain, but it looks to me like the designer cut-and-pasted the graphic without reading Chapter 7 of the Traffic Signs Manual (the British direction-sign design bible) to understand how it is supposed to work as part of a finished sign.  It is too small, the bottom part of the graphic is too far from the bottom edge of the sign, and the alignment of shield blocks with the corresponding stub arms leaves something to be desired.

[Mapmikey]

The one I've seen photographed was in 2004, for VA 5. It was replaced by 2011 with something I've probably posted in this thread before...a vertically stretched shield on a rotated three-digit blank.

Did you mean this assembly?

[MDOTFanFB]

As of August 2011, this was on I-96 eastbound at exit 174 in Livonia, MI: http://goo.gl/maps/b4XeX

I believe this may have been a temporary sign, but I wouldn't be surprised if this one's still here (I didn't see if it was there when I drove past this spot in November 2012), but if it is, it'll most likely be replaced as this part of I-96 will close soon for major reconstruction.

[Takumi]

The one I've seen photographed was in 2004, for VA 5. It was replaced by 2011 with something I've probably posted in this thread before...a vertically stretched shield on a rotated three-digit blank.

Did you mean this assembly?

No, it was the VA 5 cutout on Ironbound Road. The Hopewell unisign hasn't been replaced with anything.