There's a good reason for that one though ... the diverge is pretty much straight ahead, and "straight ahead" is a clear bend to the right.
Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Looks like this one was originally designed with imperial measurements in mind, as this section of road was opened in December 1972 - 18 months prior to the metric conversion. That '2 km' legend at the bottom looks like it's a modification to the sign (it looks poorly aligned).
It makes sense because the sign in the photo is approximately 1.6km from the exit.
For those who are interested, the equivalent sign now looks like...
Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.56769 ... 6656?hl=en
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Not a classic wonky arrow, though, it's a much more modern sign indicating that the main carriageway curves somewhat to the right through the junction.Robert Kilcoyne wrote: ↑Tue Jul 02, 2019 20:25 This fork sign still exists on the northbound A77 near Symington:-
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.56769 ... 6656?hl=en
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
The video was taken in 1964, not long after the M2 opened, and aside from there being barely any traffic (unlike today), the red hard shoulder, the very thick line dividing the shoulder from the road, and the complete lack of crash barriers really stand out! I think within 20 years those features had all gone. It's also interesting to see no junction numbers on the signs. I can only presume that the names of the junctions (e.g. "Stockbury Interchange") were used instead? Or maybe people just said "The Sittingbourne junction"...
Numbers had been added to those wonky signs by the time they were replaced.
The signs were replaced twice in a relatively short time. Once when the "wonky" signs went, then again once the Channel Tunnel opened. That was when the special "ports" signs were added both to the M2 and the M20... and they became outdated immediately, as the Sheerness car ferry service stopped in the same year.
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2zReK7gVIw
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
There were no junction numbers in 1964, so yes, they wouldn't have been shown on the signage at that time.Darren wrote: ↑Sat Feb 03, 2024 12:25 It's also interesting to see no junction numbers on the signs. I can only presume that the names of the junctions (e.g. "Stockbury Interchange") were used instead? Or maybe people just said "The Sittingbourne junction"...
Numbers had been added to those wonky signs by the time they were replaced.
They were added in 1966 - 1966 Route Planning Map on SABRE Maps compared to the 1967 edition.
And yes, they were generally referred to as "the XYZ junction".
There's a whole article about Junction numbers on the SABRE Wiki.
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From the SABRE Wiki: Junction numbers :
Motorway junctions in Great Britain and Ireland are typically numbered (although this was not the case in the earliest days of British motorways). Some motorway strip maps produced by the AA used numbers or letters to refer to the junctions, but these were entirely unofficial. Official junction numbering began in August 1966 for most motorways in Great Britain. Junctions on some shorter motorways that "do not form parts of the continuous system" initially remained
Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Thank you for the links - I'd (naively) assumed that all the motorways came with junction numbers right at the start.
That 1967 map you linked was very optimistic, wasn't it? Not only is there an A2(M) extending west of the M2, it shows a spur of the M2 towards Gillingham! (The A2(M) crops up many a time on here, but the Gillingham spur raised an eyebrow...)
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Yeah, Route Planning Maps do have a bit of a habit of assuming anything built on a motorway alignment, or as part of a motorway contract, would be a motorway.
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Perhaps signifying that the mainline veers to the left, perhaps a relic of when the motorway was intended to go straight on (you can see some abandoned tarmac to the right)
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.8952972 ... ?entry=ttu
Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Think what staggers me more is NI still has concrete sign legs without any barrier protection!wallmeerkat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 13:22 M2(NI) Ballymena Bypass has a wonky sign veering to the left.
Perhaps signifying that the mainline veers to the left, perhaps a relic of when the motorway was intended to go straight on (you can see some abandoned tarmac to the right)
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.8952972 ... ?entry=ttu
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She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
To be fair the M2 Ballymena Bypass is the motorway that time forgot, with it's kerbed hard shoulders etc. and only fairly recent years was the median grass mound replaced with a wire barrier.Bryn666 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 14:38Think what staggers me more is NI still has concrete sign legs without any barrier protection!wallmeerkat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 13:22 M2(NI) Ballymena Bypass has a wonky sign veering to the left.
Perhaps signifying that the mainline veers to the left, perhaps a relic of when the motorway was intended to go straight on (you can see some abandoned tarmac to the right)
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.8952972 ... ?entry=ttu
Most signage like this is being phased out with the collapsible metal legs - https://www.google.com/maps/@54.645383, ... ?entry=ttu
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
I have a memory from the late 90s of people selling something, maybe strawberries, on its hard shoulder. Anyone else recall this, or should I be concerned about my memory?wallmeerkat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 15:49To be fair the M2 Ballymena Bypass is the motorway that time forgot, with it's kerbed hard shoulders etc. and only fairly recent years was the median grass mound replaced with a wire barrier.Bryn666 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 14:38Think what staggers me more is NI still has concrete sign legs without any barrier protection!wallmeerkat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 13:22 M2(NI) Ballymena Bypass has a wonky sign veering to the left.
Perhaps signifying that the mainline veers to the left, perhaps a relic of when the motorway was intended to go straight on (you can see some abandoned tarmac to the right)
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.8952972 ... ?entry=ttu
Most signage like this is being phased out with the collapsible metal legs - https://www.google.com/maps/@54.645383, ... ?entry=ttu
Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Back in the day the M2/A299 was the main route because of the importance of Thanet as a tourist destination so Canterbury got ignored somewhat. Channel ports traffic was mainly routed along the A20 - there's a reason Ashford and Maidstone were bypassed just before Medway and also why Canterbury wasn't bypassed until 1980MotorwayGuy wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 13:16 It's also interesting that Margate was used as a forward destination instead of Canterbury, I wonder how far away it appeared then? It's now first mentioned at Junction 7 but back then it was obviously a more important destination, also indicated by the freeflow onto the A299 instead of the A2 there.
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
I can recall this on the hard shoulder of the old WS2 A1 near Newry, I don't remember on the Ballymena M2 but it wouldn't surprise meswissferry wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 20:26I have a memory from the late 90s of people selling something, maybe strawberries, on its hard shoulder. Anyone else recall this, or should I be concerned about my memory?wallmeerkat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 15:49To be fair the M2 Ballymena Bypass is the motorway that time forgot, with it's kerbed hard shoulders etc. and only fairly recent years was the median grass mound replaced with a wire barrier.
Most signage like this is being phased out with the collapsible metal legs - https://www.google.com/maps/@54.645383, ... ?entry=ttu
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
We certainly do. Most concrete legs have now been barriered off, to be fair, but of course the one thing we didn’t have at any time was concrete prongs. I remember floodlights standing in the verge pointing up at the signs in the days before retroreflectivity.Bryn666 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 14:38Think what staggers me more is NI still has concrete sign legs without any barrier protection!wallmeerkat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 13:22 M2(NI) Ballymena Bypass has a wonky sign veering to the left.
Perhaps signifying that the mainline veers to the left, perhaps a relic of when the motorway was intended to go straight on (you can see some abandoned tarmac to the right)
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.8952972 ... ?entry=ttu
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Re: Wonky arrow signs - when were they phased out?
Still the occasional concrete legged lit sign that hasn't been phased out, especially in the outer wilds of the motorway networkAndyB wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 16:36We certainly do. Most concrete legs have now been barriered off, to be fair, but of course the one thing we didn’t have at any time was concrete prongs. I remember floodlights standing in the verge pointing up at the signs in the days before retroreflectivity.Bryn666 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 14:38Think what staggers me more is NI still has concrete sign legs without any barrier protection!wallmeerkat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 13:22 M2(NI) Ballymena Bypass has a wonky sign veering to the left.
Perhaps signifying that the mainline veers to the left, perhaps a relic of when the motorway was intended to go straight on (you can see some abandoned tarmac to the right)
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.8952972 ... ?entry=ttu
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.4828525 ... &entry=ttu