Poor Sign Placement

[sammi]

[SignGeek101]

Love the DIN 1451 usage on the bus stop. Looks much better than what Winnipeg uses (Clearview). The bus stop pole was probably put there after the shield was there. It could be moved to the next wood pole, or to its own.

[freebrickproductions]

Found this in Florence, AL; it should probably be placed before the crosswalk:
Thanks For The Warning by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

Along Zierdt Road in Huntsville/Madison, AL:
Poor Sign Placement by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

Another one from Florence, AL:
Poor Sign Placement by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

Rogersville, AL:
US 72/AL 207/CR 91 by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

[D-Dey65]

Rogersville, AL:
US 72/AL 207/CR 91 by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

UGH! Florida is LOADED with crap like this! I can't believe how many times I've told FDOT and various county DPW's they should combine some of their signs on fewer posts, but often they won't do it because one is state-maintained and the other is county-maintained, or Turnpike Authority-maintained. And this doesn't just apply to the route shields either. Westbound Jefferson Street in Brooksville was not only cluttered with route shields, but cluttered with small green signs that could be combined. I have an old pic of them somewhere.

[freebrickproductions]

Spotted this in Bell Buckle, TN today:
Pole in front of sign by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

[ne11931]

I don't know if anyone has posted this before but this sign on Storrow drive EB Rt 3 NB near Leverett Circle in Boston has to be one of the worst  It is not only about 15 feet off the edge of the road, its also behind a tree!  (You may have to pan to the right to see it)

http://goo.gl/maps/y0DQ9

[WNYroadgeek]

Apparently NYSDOT forgot they were already on NY 245 when they posted this: https://goo.gl/maps/EJHk87kQjhT2

[noelbotevera]

I can't show you this because the sign location in GSV is from around 2009, and so it's VERY blurry. But at the intersection of US 22/522, 10 miles from Huntingdon PA, behind the traffic light looks like a black on white sign, obscured by the trees. You can clearly see it if you're coming from US 522 north approaching the intersection.

[amroad17]

Apparently NYSDOT forgot they were already on NY 245 when they posted this: https://goo.gl/maps/EJHk87kQjhT2

That is very Kentuckyish! 

[jay8g]

I find this one funny. It's supposed to say "SODO" under the sign.

[SignGeek101]

I'm going to assume this was temporary and was fixed:

https://goo.gl/maps/WZj7aYbN6GM2

[txstateends]

Here's one from the 'why bother' department:

https://goo.gl/maps/tfY1JizTVU62
(supposed to be Louise Ave. at Malcolm X Blvd. in Dallas)

[freebrickproductions]

Spotted this here in Huntsville, AL today:
Martin Road Overpass Construction 4-16-16 by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

[peterj920]

Exit on I-41 South to Shawano Ave.  Problem is traffic can't exit here and has to exit about 1/4 mile north of here.
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.5443343,-88.0723594,3a,75y,221.15h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVQta0efjT0UHJkLVEhuk_A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en 

Yet, there's an exit sign and reflectors were placed to prevent people from exiting instead of removing the sign.  Exit 168B is for Wis 29 west but traffic continuing straight on the off ramp defaults onto this exit so I don't know why this sign is here. 

[roadfro]

Exit on I-41 South to Shawano Ave.  Problem is traffic can't exit here and has to exit about 1/4 mile north of here.
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.5443343,-88.0723594,3a,75y,221.15h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVQta0efjT0UHJkLVEhuk_A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en 

Yet, there's an exit sign and reflectors were placed to prevent people from exiting instead of removing the sign.  Exit 168B is for Wis 29 west but traffic continuing straight on the off ramp defaults onto this exit so I don't know why this sign is here.

From what I see looking at the map, in this southbound direction exit 168B and 168C are really a single exit with a subsequent ramp divide. It looks like they used this gore sign to try to indicate that the straight ahead path goes to "exit 168C".

What should have been done instead is just call the whole thing exit 168B, and just relied on smaller directional signage at the gore point. Or alternately, they could have put the two gore signs next to each other in the gore and used a left facing arrow for exit 168C.

[peterj920]

Exit on I-41 South to Shawano Ave.  Problem is traffic can't exit here and has to exit about 1/4 mile north of here.
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.5443343,-88.0723594,3a,75y,221.15h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVQta0efjT0UHJkLVEhuk_A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en 

Yet, there's an exit sign and reflectors were placed to prevent people from exiting instead of removing the sign.  Exit 168B is for Wis 29 west but traffic continuing straight on the off ramp defaults onto this exit so I don't know why this sign is here.

From what I see looking at the map, in this southbound direction exit 168B and 168C are really a single exit with a subsequent ramp divide. It looks like they used this gore sign to try to indicate that the straight ahead path goes to "exit 168C".

What should have been done instead is just call the whole thing exit 168B, and just relied on smaller directional signage at the gore point. Or alternately, they could have put the two gore signs next to each other in the gore and used a left facing arrow for exit 168C.

Here's a street view of both Exit 168B and 168C signs.

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.5416084,-88.0747381,3a,75y,215.33h,83.4t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1svDKlNR8Fe4gThJrPC3tD3g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

The reflector posts were added a few months later probably because there may have been a few cases of people at night thinking that the exit sign was placed at the gore point and people were driving off of the road to get to the exit.  I'm sure the sign was placed there to inform people of the exit, but it's poorly placed on a non-existent gore point and could confuse people traveling on mainline I-41.  There is are exit tabs that distinguish the exits before they split so this sign is unnecessary, and traffic defaults onto the ramp anyways so what good does the sign do?

[kalvado]

thou shalt not run this stop sign!
I believe steel tube is actually filled with concrete. It is on a private plaza, so I am not sure if they actually have to follow any rules...

[vtk]

MUTCD does indeed pretend^"  to govern some aspects of private parking lots, particularly regarding traffic control devices conveying the message "stop".

" I did not intend to imply that MUTCD's governance of private parking lots is false or illegitimate – or valid, for that matter – but I was unable to find a word that is neutral on that point.

[jeffandnicole]

thou shalt not run this stop sign!
I believe steel tube is actually filled with concrete. It is on a private plaza, so I am not sure if they actually have to follow any rules...

Forget the MUTCD...the municipality/county who permitted the parking lot design or approved the sign's location should have told them to remove it and place it where it belongs.

[jwolfer]

Speaking of signs that are placed over sidewalks... this one is on KY 8 eastbound as you approach the ramp to I-471 northbound in Newport, KY. That says "(up arrow) Dayton". It's even doubly poorly placed due to the trees.

Long before I drove I used to like where there were signs over a sidewalk. I would pretend they were BGSs on my imaginary network of roads

[hbelkins]

Before they were taken down and replaced, several of the old cutout assemblies at the intersection of VA 381 and US 11/11E/11W/19/421 in Bristol spanned the sidewalks.

[jakeroot]

WSDOT placed this speed limit sign too early (or maybe not -- keep reading). The ramp just after this photo has an advisory speed of 40, despite the limit of 35.

Just after the ramp (on the right), the freeway ends, and the road becomes a narrow urban arterial, hence the drop.

I'm not quite sure how to fix this problem. Washington doesn't permit signals on roads with a limit higher than 50, so you'd have to, somehow, drop the limit before the signal (which you can see on the far left edge of the photo). Perhaps they should drop the limit to 50 instead of 35, and then down to 40 or 35 after the freeway junction. This way, traffic going north towards Seattle isn't advised to exceed the speed limit.

Here's a GMaps link: https://goo.gl/fJkgNS

[myosh_tino]

WSDOT placed this speed limit sign too early (or maybe not -- keep reading). The ramp just after this photo has an advisory speed of 40, despite the limit of 35.

Just after the ramp (on the right), the freeway ends, and the road becomes a narrow urban arterial, hence the drop.

I'm not quite sure how to fix this problem. Washington doesn't permit signals on roads with a limit higher than 50, so you'd have to, somehow, drop the limit before the signal (which you can see on the far left edge of the photo). Perhaps they should drop the limit to 50 instead of 35, and then down to 40 or 35 after the freeway junction. This way, traffic going north towards Seattle isn't advised to exceed the speed limit.

Here's a GMaps link: https://goo.gl/fJkgNS

Wow, 60 to 35 is a pretty drastic reduction in speed.  This would be illegal in California as it could be constituted as a speed trap.

As far as how to fix this, I'd move the sign to immediately after the exit to WA-509 north and create a 50 MPH speed zone starting at Des Moines Memorial Drive.  Alternately, you could just reduce the advisory speed to 35.

[opspe]

At least WSDOT put a warning sign up before the 60-35 change.

[jakeroot]

Wow, 60 to 35 is a pretty drastic reduction in speed.  This would be illegal in California as it could be constituted as a speed trap.

That's nothing compared to the 509 in Tacoma, which drops from 60 to 25: https://goo.gl/HCCU36

As far as how to fix this, I'd move the sign to immediately after the exit to WA-509 north and create a 50 MPH speed zone starting at Des Moines Memorial Drive.  Alternately, you could just reduce the advisory speed to 35.

The problem is that you need to give drivers some warning. There's about 25 feet between the end of the theoretical gore and the signal stop line. Any speed limit change would have to occur at least some distance before the stop line.

Maybe an overhead gantry with speed limit signs for each lane? Or is that too much?

At least WSDOT put a warning sign up before the 60-35 change.

Credit where credit's due. WSDOT is excellent at using "speed limit xx" W-series warning signs.