Signs With Design Errors

[PHLBOS]

No pics but while in Strasburg, PA (Lancaster County) last Tuesday; I saw a couple of PA 896 trailblazer signs that clearly went wrong in terms of fonts.  The 8 and 9 on the shields are FWHA series D (OK but a tad crowded, should've used series C IMHO) but the 6 was in Clearview (wide to-medium width). 

The signs in question are located along Hartman Bridge Road (PA 896) just north of the newly-built Historic Drive (also PA 896).

These signs could also be filed in the Illegal/Unauthrorized use of Clearview category and in the Worst of Road Signs thread.

[Ian]

^ Yeah, I recall seeing those exact signs on my previous few trips through Strasburg. There are a few PA 741 shields with a Clearview 1 as well. Definitely not the prettiest of shields.

[PHLBOS]

^ Yeah, I recall seeing those exact signs on my previous few trips through Strasburg. There are a few PA 741 shields with a Clearview 1 as well. Definitely not the prettiest of shields.

I was just on PA 741 from PA 41 to PA 896; if there were shields w/the 1 in Clearview, it wasn't on any of those shields but ratehr ones west of PA 896.

[Ian]

^ Yeah, I recall seeing those exact signs on my previous few trips through Strasburg. There are a few PA 741 shields with a Clearview 1 as well. Definitely not the prettiest of shields.

I was just on PA 741 from PA 41 to PA 896; if there were shields w/the 1 in Clearview, it wasn't on any of those shields but ratehr ones west of PA 896.

There were two of those PA 741 shields going westbound on 741 at 896.

[kphoger]

The signs themselves may be fine, but who mounted them as squares instead of diamonds?
http://goo.gl/maps/XozB3

[Alps]

How about all of Maryland's curve signs where the curve is tilted so that it's shaped like a parenthesis instead of starting vertical?

[Ian]

I just caught this while looking through my Canadian road photos. It's very subtle, but the letters in "Toronto" are placed unevenly...

[Takumi]

I took this a few months ago. What font is this?

(Also, it's hard to tell because I took it near sunset, but it's actually not white. It's slightly grey.)

[PHLBOS]

I took this a few months ago. What font is this?

(Also, it's hard to tell because I took it near sunset, but it's actually not white. It's slightly grey.)

The 25 looks to be FHWA Series C.

[Scott5114]

Yeah, it's Series C. It just looks odd because we're used to seeing Series E there.

I actually prefer the C version. Kansas City, KS has some speed limit signs that have SPEED LIMIT in E and the number in C and they look pretty sharp.

[PHLBOS]

Yeah, it's Series C. It just looks odd because we're used to seeing Series E there.

I actually prefer the C version. Kansas City, KS has some speed limit signs that have SPEED LIMIT in E and the number in C and they look pretty sharp.

I've seen some done in Series D as well.

[Takumi]

It does look pretty good, just unusual as Scott said. Just north of there is a 15 MPH advisory speed sign that also uses C.

[kphoger]

Noticed this one on my way home from church last night:
White border on yellow panel

(image snipped from Google Maps)

[vtk]

The bottom half of the border should be black, yes.  Also, the top half should be flush with the edge of the sign.

[roadman]

The bottom half of the border should be black, yes.  Also, the top half should be flush with the edge of the sign.

In my experience, white border on yellow panel is an all-too common fabrication error on green BGS signs with yellow portions (like EXIT ONLY).  The overhead BGS panels for I-93 north on Route 37 in Braintree MA are a good example of this.

And, even if they use a black border on the yellow portion, rarely is the border inset.

[roadfro]

The bottom half of the border should be black, yes.  Also, the top half should be flush with the edge of the sign.

In my experience, white border on yellow panel is an all-too common fabrication error on green BGS signs with yellow portions (like EXIT ONLY).  The overhead BGS panels for I-93 north on Route 37 in Braintree MA are a good example of this.

And, even if they use a black border on the yellow portion, rarely is the border inset.

Hence why I like designs where the yellow panel is borderless and set within the green area. NDOT is starting to do this more on newer signs

[Special K]

The bottom half of the border should be black, yes.  Also, the top half should be flush with the edge of the sign.

In my experience, white border on yellow panel is an all-too common fabrication error on green BGS signs with yellow portions (like EXIT ONLY).  The overhead BGS panels for I-93 north on Route 37 in Braintree MA are a good example of this.

And, even if they use a black border on the yellow portion, rarely is the border inset.

Hence why I like designs where the yellow panel is borderless and set within the green area. NDOT is starting to do this more on newer signs

Finally getting caught up with the 2003 standard.

[US71]

I caught this in Memphis a few years ago.

[PHLBOS]

In my experience, white border on yellow panel is an all-too common fabrication error on green BGS signs with yellow portions (like EXIT ONLY).  The overhead BGS panels for I-93 north on Route 37 in Braintree MA are a good example of this.

And, even if they use a black border on the yellow portion, rarely is the border inset.

Other examples of this error/oddity are the BGS' along I-476 southbound for Exit 9 (PA 3); where the road (stupidly IMHO) shrinks from a 6-laner to a 4-laner.

[vtk]

The bottom half of the border should be black, yes.  Also, the top half should be flush with the edge of the sign.

In my experience, white border on yellow panel is an all-too common fabrication error on green BGS signs with yellow portions (like EXIT ONLY).  The overhead BGS panels for I-93 north on Route 37 in Braintree MA are a good example of this.

And, even if they use a black border on the yellow portion, rarely is the border inset.

Hence why I like designs where the yellow panel is borderless and set within the green area. NDOT is starting to do this more on newer signs

I first saw that in NC in 2003, and it's a classy way to go.  I wouldn't mind seeing that style in Ohio.

[Central Avenue]

And, even if they use a black border on the yellow portion, rarely is the border inset.

I always assumed that was an intentional decision so that the border would be continuous with the rest of the sign.

It looks less sloppy to me than having the green section's border go to the edge and the yellow section's border slightly inset.

[roadfro]

The bottom half of the border should be black, yes.  Also, the top half should be flush with the edge of the sign.

In my experience, white border on yellow panel is an all-too common fabrication error on green BGS signs with yellow portions (like EXIT ONLY).  The overhead BGS panels for I-93 north on Route 37 in Braintree MA are a good example of this.

And, even if they use a black border on the yellow portion, rarely is the border inset.

Hence why I like designs where the yellow panel is borderless and set within the green area. NDOT is starting to do this more on newer signs

Finally getting caught up with the 2003 standard.

A lot of agencies don't design their BGS exit only panels this way.

Interestingly, the few example images in the 2003 MUTCD show the (oversized) exit only panel as borderless and inset within the green. The multiple example images of the 2009 MUTCD show exit only panels with outer black borders on the edge of signs but no inner border adjacent to the green background--the exceptions being exit only panels on diagrammatic signs and the "left" panel in numbered left exit tabs... The 2009 MUTCD seems to state that the black border is required (2E-14, p04)--this is new language to this edition.

[Takumi]

Vertical line spacing is hard. Southbound VA 288.

[PurdueBill]

Noticed this one in my mother's hospital room.  OK, not a road sign, but where is clip art of a yellow stop sign coming from?  Wouldn't computer clip art be from way after stop signs turned red? 

[vtk]

The clipart artist may have remembered yellow stopsigns from his childhood, or possibly even some still standing years after red became the standard.  From a clipart perspective, a yellow stopsign might be preferable to a red one for a few different reasons, and including both a red one and a yellow one in a clipart set would certainly make sense.