Driving into the District this morning, I was astonished to see a new Big Green Sign on I-395 just on the DC end of the 14th Street Bridge listing Nationals Park and the Phone Booth as destinations. (The sign for the 14th Street exit was replaced yesterday; in an even bigger shocker, it has an exit number on it.) Never thought I'd see the day that DC would make an effort to have helpful overhead signs!

Now if they would just restore a sign in advance of the 12th Street exit noting that the right lane is EXIT-ONLY so that the tourists would know not to drive in it....

why would anyone pay attention to a sign? right lanes are for passing!

Wow...DC is actually numbering its interchange exits now? I guess if FHWA forced California to do it, they would force DC to as well...

And I think DC purposely tries to confuse the tourists so much that they give up and take Metro. Which, honestly, I wish more tourists would do that...especially the ones from some backwoods place that have never seen a big city before, let alone know how to drive in one. I've seen more than my fair share of clueless drivers with NC, KY, PA, NJ, etc. tags on their cars, and very few, if any, of them know the rules for the rush hour reversible lanes on Connecticut.

The funny thing about the new BGS is that the top line says Capitol Hill (I think) and is in the old BGS font, whereas the control city line (which lists the ballpark and the Phone Booth) is in Clearview. Looks funny to have both fonts on the same sign, but then, we ARE talking about DC.

So far the only exit number I have seen on I-395 or I-695 in DC is on the tab above the new BGS for 14th Street, which is now Exit 1. But in fairness, I haven't gone beyond 12th Street since last Friday (and that was coming from the other direction).

Regarding tourists on the Metro--the problem is that they treat the ride as a sightseeing expedition. Stopping immediately at the bottom of the escalator, which many tourists do, is just stupid, even if you don't know where you're going. Step out of the way and THEN try to figure out where to go.

Woodley Park, try taking the Metro when tourists are trying to get on or off.

"the only exit number I have seen on I-395 or I-695 in DC"

There are numbers on the southern part of I-295. 695 runs around Baltimore and it has exit numbers, too.

"There are numbers on the southern part of I-295. 695 runs around Baltimore and it has exit numbers, too."

I was not referring to I-295. I'm aware of those. I was not referring to the Baltimore Beltway, either.

My point was that I have never seen exit numbers on DC's portion of I-395 or DC's I-695. The latter is the portion of the Southwest-Southeast Freeway that runs from where I-395 heads north to the tunnel under the Mall east to Barney Circle. It's not signed as I-695, but that's the official legal route number. Try a Google search for "I-695 DC."

Wow, Rich, you definitely know a lot about the highways in this area...I'd venture to guess that less than 1% of the population knows about DC's I-695....or Maryland's I-595 for that matter (I-595 in MD is US Route 50 from the Beltway to Rowe Blvd. in Annapolis, and planners decided not to post the number since it would be completely redundant with Route 50). You also used a "roadgeek" term: BGS (Big Green Sign).

I saw the new signs the other night, and of course they are not MUTCD compliant with 3 control cities listed on a pull-through sign (only one is allowed). This would be a whole lot easier if DC had exit numbers, since they could just say "Nationals Park, Exit 7", rather than "use I-395 north", or "straight ahead", or posting it on the pull-through sign. So hopefully exit numbers are forthcoming for the rest of I-395. I did notice the southbound signs on the 14th Street Bridge were also replaced...so now GW Parkway north is finally signed as such!

Regarding tourists on Metro...there were a lot of them yesterday and I'm sure there are today too. Annoying, yes, but FAR less inconvenient then the cherry blossom rubberneckers on Independence Ave. near the Kutz Bridge. It took me about 25 minutes to get through there, and pedestrians were at their worst. I complain about peds who start crossing when there are only 2 seconds left on the timer, but today I saw plenty of peds starting their leisurely stroll across the street some 10 seconds after cross traffic had a green light!

I notice that the Potomac Park exit on inbound I-395 is now numbered "Exit 2." No number yet at the 12th Street exit and I haven't been beyond there on the road to see about anywhere else. I did notice the new diagrammatic sign on the 14th Street Bridge for the left-hand exit for US-1 through Crystal City (trivia: a road that was one planned to be I-595). I wonder what prompted all of these changes.

The new pull-through BGS on inbound I-395 sure looks funny with "Capitol Hill" in the old-style FHWA font and the lower line with the sports venues in Clearview. I find the Clearview considerably easier to read, although I also find it ugly.

We encourage users to analyze, comment on and even challenge washingtonpost.com's articles, blogs, reviews and multimedia features.

User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.