Unusual Street Signs

[waltzgirl]

I saw this on another board and thought it would make a fun topic. Here are a couple:

"Altered Priorities Ahead": This was on a street sign in England. I discovered it meant that the upcoming traffic pattern had changed, but when I first saw it I thought it was warning I was about to enter an Existential Crisis Zone.

In Ohio, there are signs with pictures of a horse and buggy to warn to watch out for Amish drivers.

And of course, in So. Cal., the infamous "fleeing family." Near the border, there are signs on the freeway with a man, woman, and little girl running hand in hand, the little girl barely touching the ground. They are to warn that this is an area where illegal immigrants run across the freeway. Not so much fun, but the artist who drew the silhouettes really has talent. You can feel the panic in the body language of the figures.

 

[tanya_the_dancer]

I saw this on another board and thought it would make a fun topic. Here are a couple:

"Altered Priorities Ahead": This was on a street sign in England. I discovered it meant that the upcoming traffic pattern had changed, but when I first saw it I thought it was warning I was about to enter an Exisistential Crisis Zone.

In Ohio, there are signs with pictures of a horse and buggy to warn to watch out for Amish drivers.

And of course, in So. Cal., the infamous "fleeing family." Near the border, there are signs on the freeway with a man, woman, and little girl running hand in hand, the little girl barely touching the ground. They are to warn that this is an area where illegal immigrants run across the freeway. Not so much fun, but the artist who drew the silhouettes really has talent. You can feel the panic in the body language of the figures.

On Long Island, there was a road called Sunrise Highway. The entrances were appropriately labeled "East Sunrise Hwy" and "West Sunrise Hwy".

 

[cornutt]

On Long Island, there was a road called Sunrise Highway. The entrances were appropriately labeled "East Sunrise Hwy" and "West Sunrise Hwy".

There's a main street in Chattanooga, TN named East Brainerd Road. Where it crosses underneath Interstate 75, the signs for the two ramps read "East East Brainerd Road" and "West East Brainerd Road". :shock:

And, while on the subject of I-75: For years back in the '70s, there was a portion of I-75 near Cartersville, GA (which is a little north of Atlanta) that was not finished. A detour took the traffic off of the interstate and through the crowded, narrrow main street of Cartersville. The ramp that took southbound traffic off of the interstate to the detour had a sign that read something like: "DANGER: Construction -- Delays -- Heavy Traffic Ahead. For Real! No Kidding!"

 

[DWise1]

And of course, in So. Cal., the infamous "fleeing family." Near the border, there are signs on the freeway with a man, woman, and little girl running hand in hand, the little girl barely touching the ground. They are to warn that this is an area where illegal immigrants run across the freeway. Not so much fun, but the artist who drew the silhouettes really has talent. You can feel the panic in the body language of the figures.

It's been a few years since I've driven up from San Diego, but as I recall there's wording with that sign in both languages:
in English: Caution
in Spanish: Prohibido ("prohibited")

Also, there are car-window stickers of that "fleeing family" sillouhette that I've seen on some cars in Santa Ana.


To follow the OP, translating street signs from another language can yield strange results. In German, "Einbahnstraße" means "one-way street". But from "Eisenbahn" ("iron path") the word Bahn tends to be used to refer to trains. One coworker who had worked on a project in Germany recalled his first encounter with that sign and his trying to figure out what a "one-train street" could possibly be.

 

[DrDoug]

I've been entertained by ordinary signs that were misread or miswritten.

I once saw a sign I could have sworn said "Right lane must exist".

There are a few signs around my apartment complex that read:

"Resident parking only.
Violators will be towed at
at owners expense."

 

[tanya_the_dancer]

There's a main street in Chattanooga, TN named East Brainerd Road. Where it crosses underneath Interstate 75, the signs for the two ramps read "East East Brainerd Road" and "West East Brainerd Road". :shock:

And, while on the subject of I-75: For years back in the '70s, there was a portion of I-75 near Cartersville, GA (which is a little north of Atlanta) that was not finished. A detour took the traffic off of the interstate and through the crowded, narrrow main street of Cartersville. The ramp that took southbound traffic off of the interstate to the detour had a sign that read something like: "DANGER: Construction -- Delays -- Heavy Traffic Ahead. For Real! No Kidding!"

When you drive on I70 from Idaho Springs towards Denver, there is a long downhill stretch, like 12 miles or so. In the beginning of it there's a sign warning truckers "Are your brakes adjusted and cool? Steep grades next 12 miles". As you get closer to Denver, there's one spot where it seems like the descent is over. And at this spot there is another sign "Truckers! You are not out of the woods yet! Another 2.5 miles of steep grades."

 

[Peaches]

A few years ago DH and I were visiting SC and we were given directions to a particular local restaurant. At one point, the directions went something like, "Turn left at the 32-and-a-half speed limit sign." We thought they were joking. Nope. There was, actually a speed limit of 32 1/2. Somewhere we have a picture.

 

[waltzgirl]

I was once visiting San Diego and saw a freeway sign that said something like "Cruise ships take next exit." But it was an awfully small off-ramp for a cruise ship!

 

[yanka]

On a drive back from some NY comp, we were headed towards the highway when we witnessed a car running a red light at our intersection. When we got to the next intersection, there was a sign that said "cars must stop at red light."
As funny as it was, I could see why that sign would be neccessary...

 

[thespina13]

this isn't a street sign, but while I was at the Canada Salsa Congress, the emergency floor plan and instructions posted on the back of the door of my hotel room read, "When the alarm goes off, you will hear a loud whaling sound." I was imagining foghorns, or what a whale might sound like after it got harpooned.

 

[cornutt]

On I-65 a little north of Birmingham, AL, there are two small towns named Morris and Kimberly. The ramp that takes you to the road that leads to these towns has a sign that looks like this:

Kimberly
Morris
NEXT EXIT​

I always wondered who Kimberly Morris was, and how did she get her own ramp on the interstate...

 

[DrDoug]

this isn't a street sign, but while I was at the Canada Salsa Congress, the emergency floor plan and instructions posted on the back of the door of my hotel room read, "When the alarm goes off, you will hear a loud whaling sound." I was imagining foghorns, or what a whale might sound like after it got harpooned.

Hmm, I'm thinking a rough, Scottish voice yelling, "Thar she blows!"

 

[reb]

I was given directions to a restaurant near Scottsdale AZ once, they were:
Drive North on Scottsdale Road and near the end of the road you enter the town of Carefree - and the restaurant is at the intersection of Ho street and Hum street.

 

[DWise1]

this isn't a street sign, but while I was at the Canada Salsa Congress, the emergency floor plan and instructions posted on the back of the door of my hotel room read, "When the alarm goes off, you will hear a loud whaling sound." I was imagining foghorns, or what a whale might sound like after it got harpooned.

Hmm, I'm thinking a rough, Scottish voice yelling, "Thar she blows!"

Darn! Ya beat me to it!

 

[DWise1]

Used to be the last street exit heading south out of Santa Barbara was "Sal Si Puede", "Get out if you can".