Shields

[txemt]

I'm trying to make a liar out of you.

[txemt]

Join the club!

I could post images, too, from my iPad, that show only "I- 25" and no shield. Woonder why the iPad client is not showing shields?

*shrugs*

[txemt]

I was noticing, the other day, that the route shields are wrong, in the State of Texas. I know it's been said that the shields are FUBAR, but will they be fixed in the not so distance future? If that's the case, will they be set to their respective states? For instance:

State highways in Texas are marked with a white square and the number.
State highways in Louisiana are marked with the shape of Louisiana and the number inside the state.
Farm to market (FM) or Ranch to market (RM) roads in Texas are marked in the shape of Texas with the number inside of the state.

I understand the interstates and US highways don't change, but shields do vary from state to state.

[txemt]

State route shields are typically a white circle (oval) with a black number in it. That's a mapping standard. Unless you have a specialized state map, you're not going to see the shields that states with specialized shields use. I've never seen a Louisiana map with the state shields.

I have. It's the map that had the black cover. Came out in...2003-2004 timeframe. I'm looking around my apt for that map as we speak.

[vectorspace]

I don't see any shields in northern New Mexico!

[vectorspace]

I don't see any shields in northern New Mexico!

Looks like a shield to me!!!

That's interesting. Perhaps it's a client issue. I was using an iPad and saw no sheilds in Central NM around Albuquerque on I25 and I40 or any of the other highways.

[vectorspace]

I'm trying to make a liar out of you.

Join the club!

I could post images, too, from my iPad, that show only "I- 25" and no shield. Woonder why the iPad client is not showing shields?

[WeeeZer14]

I've noticed in New Jersey for the iPhone client, we get shields for some of the US routes that are labelled "US Hwy." Most of the state routes I've seen on the map do not produce shields as they seem to be labelled "State Rte" (instead of "State Hwy," maybe?). This is a problem because all numbered roads in New Jersey are referred to as "Routes" and not "Highways" and really should be reflected as such in any regionally savvy navigation system. This is because many of these routes are simply marked out over old, local urban roads and calling them highways misleadingly implies that they're some kind of fast way to get somewhere.

It seems also that, with divided roads, when we put the N, S, E, or W suffix in the name to indicate direction, the iPhone client does not produce a shield. Also, dual-signed roads: "I-95 / NJ Turnpike" does not produce a shield in the iPhone client as well.

As previously mentioned, shields are somewhere between unreliable and totally FUBAR. We just have to live with it until we are given control over shields that is not tied to specific naming conventions.

[WeeeZer14]

From the MUTCD:

10 State Route signs shall be designed by the individual State highway agencies.
Guidance:
11 State Route signs (see Figure 2D-3) should be rectangular and should be approximately the same size as the U.S. Route sign. State Route signs should also be similar to the U.S. Route sign by containing approximately the same size black numerals on a white area surrounded by a rectangular black background without a border. The shape of the white area should be circular in the absence of any determination to the contrary by the individual State concerned.

And from wikipedia:

The United States' Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) gives standard designs for highways in the Interstate Highway System and U.S. route system (see U.S. Route shield). The MUTCD also provides default designs for state highways (the circular highway shield) and county highways (a blue pentagon with yellow text).[1] However, states are free to use any design for their numbered routes; as of 2007 only five states (Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, and New Jersey) use the default shield on their primary systems, with all others using a custom design.

All that said, I'd love state specific shields. But if we can't have that, the circle/oval is the best bet.

And honestly we shouldn't get specific US shields until other countries get shields that match their national networks (at least this used to be a big deficiency).