Here’s some Sign and Signal Fails (as well as some that are simply unusual) from around the state.
Warning: Inverted Signals Ahead
I can understand getting one sign upside down (well, no I can’t, but whatever, but three of them in the same area? These were when US 212 was being built around Prairie Center Drive.
Is this Hamline Ave or Hamline Ave?
No question what the name of this street is, from the St. Paul department of redundancy.
Walk or Don’t Walk?
These signals are sending a mixed message. Likely the one on the right got twisted into the wrong direction by a snowplow
Surplus 61 Shields
When US 61 became MN 61 they missed a couple in out of the way locations; these were years after the change. I believe these have finally been replaced.
And here’s another one. This sign was a temporary one erected by a contractor decades after US 61 had been removed from this route. I guess locals still call it “old 61”
Wisconsin’s version of Minnesota Highway Markers
These were formerly near the border of Minnesota, they’ve all since been replaced with real Minnesota markers
Contractor Goofs
Here’s a contractor’s version of a Minnesota state highway marker
Nothing “wrong” about this one, just unprofessional and sloppy
Some Interesting US Shields
Here’s an ancient MnDOT sign near Itasca state park, and a wooden county fabrication in Pepin, WI
Odd Angles
Here’s signs mounted upside down and sideways to convey different meanings than intended.
Wisconsin 61
Wisconsin’s state marker looks so much like a US marker that contractor screw-ups are almost not noteworthy, but here’s one in La Crosse
A Danger to Pedestrians
Ten points to whoever can instantly see what is wrong with this:
Although this configuration is allowed by the Minnesota MUTCD 4D.4 #2 and #4, (which states that pedestrians may enter against a green arrow when indicated and drivers following an arrow must yield to pedestrians lawfully in the intersection) that doesn’t mean this is a good idea. Most drivers and pedestrians aren’t in the habit of reading obscure sections of the MUTCD or state statutes for exceptions to normal rules, and on the surface this signal is telling both motorists and pedestrians simultaneously they have the right of way.
As for fixing it, one option is to just replace it with a standard green ball, and lose the extra feedback the signals provide to keep drivers from turning in the wrong direction. Probably a better option is a flashing yellow arrow right turn signal, that would give a green arrow under normal conditions, and a flashing yellow arrow during a pedestrian phase (this light was installed before this option existed). Although a red ball mated to a flashing yellow arrow is an illegal configuration, state law allows a placement of a sign allowing turns on red arrows after a stop, so that’s what I’d do here.
Since this intersection operates in split phase, there is nothing wrong with the 3M arrows facing north since the west crosswalk will never have a walk while northbound traffic has a green.
OOPS
For want of a bolt the signal was lost
The Diving Eagles
Look carefully to see what’s wrong with this picture
This was a mistake during an entire production run. The companies official line is “China sent us a bad mold but the signals themselves are as usual, the highest quality”. Now that Siemens has spun off its traffic signal head business to Brown Traffic, they plan to replace the Eagle “thunderbird” logo (which somehow never got removed from these during the entire time Siemens owned it), with their new Eagle logo.
Jenga Loss
Looks like whoever’s stacking this 3M signal is about to lose
The New Foldable Traffic Signal
Old brittle poly signals + wind,
No bicycles on the bicycle trail?
This is a bit subtle, but remember bicycles are vehicles.
Crossing or No Crossing?
The space between the jersey barriers is a temporary pedestrian crossing. Note the “No Crossing” signs that weren’t removed. MN 36 was completely closed and pedestrians were temporarily allowed to cross
Ancient Iowa
Lost? Yes We Know
Hippy Hollow, Wisconsin
I just thought this name was really unusul
Ancient Yield Sign
Northbound reassurance sign for US 169 after the new 197th entrance ramp in Elk River
