Pennsylvania

[jeffandnicole]

When they look at traffic flow, they do it on an hourly or daily basis.  There are too many minute-by-minute variables.  5 cars in a row could be due to the first car going too slow, a traffic light change down the road, a caravan, minor rush-hour traffic, etc. 

Then there's the fact that some people pull up to a stop sign and freak out if they can't immediately pull out onto a road.  If they have to wait 15 seconds, it feels like they'll never be able to pull out into traffic. But put a traffic light up and they have to wait 45 seconds for the light to turn green, and they're perfectly comfortable with that.  Question them otherwise, and they'll wonder why *you* are in such a rush!

[vdeane]

Perhaps predictability?  Unless traffic is really backed up and blocking the box, when waiting at a light, you know you'll be able to go soon, but at a stop sign, you have no idea when or if the gap will ever come.  There are some roads where gaps are few and far in between and the traffic light provides the security of knowing that cross traffic will eventually be forced to stop.

[jeffandnicole]

Perhaps predictability?  Unless traffic is really backed up and blocking the box, when waiting at a light, you know you'll be able to go soon, but at a stop sign, you have no idea when or if the gap will ever come.  There are some roads where gaps are few and far in between and the traffic light provides the security of knowing that cross traffic will eventually be forced to stop.

That's definitely why.  But especially in the situations I encounter, there's no blocking the box or other issues.  It's simply a line of traffic flowing down the street.  You also get the people that'll say "I waited 5 minutes for traffic before I could go".  They didn't wait that long...it just felt like they waited that long.  In reality, it was probably under a minute, and most often under 30 seconds.  When engineers look at the intersection and study it, they prove out those lower figures...except people complain that they weren't looking at the right time, they weren't writing down the correct times, etc.  Typical "Do we need a traffic fatality to get a light" and "Think about the children" mentality.

[Mergingtraffic]

Taking a trip to Breezewood soon....are the button copy relics still there?

[amroad17]

Look two pages back.

[Roadsguy]

More new Highway Gothic signage: though the new signage from the I-79 North flyover at the South Junction is Clearview, all the new signage at the US 19 DDI and the North Junction is Highway Gothic. Example here and here.

[ixnay]

More new Highway Gothic signage: though the new signage from the I-79 North flyover at the South Junction is Clearview, all the new signage at the US 19 DDI and the North Junction is Highway Gothic. Example here and here.

In what my stepdad (died 2 years ago today, continue to RIP) called "Little Washington".

ixnay

[CanesFan27]

And I have followed up with a blog entry on the I-79 Boy Scout Ramps. 

http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-story-of-boy-scout-ramps-on.html

[Bitmapped]

More new Highway Gothic signage: though the new signage from the I-79 North flyover at the South Junction is Clearview, all the new signage at the US 19 DDI and the North Junction is Highway Gothic. Example here and here.

The signage at the South Junction isn't really new. It's been in place since the flyover opened in 2013, well before FHWA revoked interim approval for Clearview.

[qguy]

Roadsguy wasn't implying the south junction was newer than the FHWA Clearview revocation; he was just contrasting signage at the south junction with that of the other projects from there through the corridor up to and including the north junction.

How do I know this for sure? 'Cause we talk. It's easy. Roadsguy is currently sitting about 25 feet from me. He lives in the same house as I do (well, for a few more weeks, anyway, until he goes off to college). In short, he's my son.

[PHLBOS]

More new Highway Gothic signage: though the new signage from the I-79 North flyover at the South Junction is Clearview, all the new signage at the US 19 DDI and the North Junction is Highway Gothic. Example here and here.

Note to PennDOT (& PTC): Please get rid of those short, squatty US shields; they look ridiculous.

[jemacedo9]

Sign Project Begins on Route 15 in Lycoming and Tioga Counties

This work includes the installation of new mile marker and exit signs on the highway

Curious to see what route's mileage they are going to use:  US 15 or I-99.  I'm also curious to see if they are going to add exit numbers as they did with US 220 in Clinton County. And many of the signs on this stretch are fairly new, so with a total cost of $130K, there can't be too many BGSs being replaced. 

[LeftyJR]

There are two exits on 220 in Lycoming County that didn't get mile based exit signs.  Maybe district 3 is aligning with 2?

[cu2010]

More new Highway Gothic signage: though the new signage from the I-79 North flyover at the South Junction is Clearview, all the new signage at the US 19 DDI and the North Junction is Highway Gothic. Example here and here.

The "5/8" is still in Clearview...sneaky PennDOT, sneaky.

[Bitmapped]

Sign Project Begins on Route 15 in Lycoming and Tioga Counties

This work includes the installation of new mile marker and exit signs on the highway

Curious to see what route's mileage they are going to use:  US 15 or I-99.  I'm also curious to see if they are going to add exit numbers as they did with US 220 in Clinton County. And many of the signs on this stretch are fairly new, so with a total cost of $130K, there can't be too many BGSs being replaced. 

I would assume I-99 exit numbers. It doesn't make much sense to use US 15 numbers now. There are already Future I-99 signs on the corridor and, as far as I know, they could extend I-99 to I-180 at Williamsport now.

[LeftyJR]

I live in the area, I'll update when I can.

[sbeaver44]

Sign Project Begins on Route 15 in Lycoming and Tioga Counties

This work includes the installation of new mile marker and exit signs on the highway

Curious to see what route's mileage they are going to use:  US 15 or I-99.  I'm also curious to see if they are going to add exit numbers as they did with US 220 in Clinton County. And many of the signs on this stretch are fairly new, so with a total cost of $130K, there can't be too many BGSs being replaced. 

I would assume I-99 exit numbers. It doesn't make much sense to use US 15 numbers now. There are already Future I-99 signs on the corridor and, as far as I know, they could extend I-99 to I-180 at Williamsport now.

Does anyone know why US 15's LRS segment numbers start at 1280 north of I-180?  Is 128.0 the mile marker on US 15 from the MD border there?  Seems too low to be I-99's (should be ~134).  Non-Interstates should use 20ths of a mile from the preceding county line or route begin, and it's definitely not 64 miles into Lycoming County there.  For reference, the preceding segment before it joins I-180 is 264.

Nexus 6P

[LeftyJR]

Sign Project Begins on Route 15 in Lycoming and Tioga Counties

This work includes the installation of new mile marker and exit signs on the highway

Curious to see what route's mileage they are going to use:  US 15 or I-99.  I'm also curious to see if they are going to add exit numbers as they did with US 220 in Clinton County. And many of the signs on this stretch are fairly new, so with a total cost of $130K, there can't be too many BGSs being replaced. 

I would assume I-99 exit numbers. It doesn't make much sense to use US 15 numbers now. There are already Future I-99 signs on the corridor and, as far as I know, they could extend I-99 to I-180 at Williamsport now.

Does anyone know why US 15's LRS segment numbers start at 1280 north of I-180?  Is 128.0 the mile marker on US 15 from the MD border there?  Seems too low to be I-99's (should be ~134).  Non-Interstates should use 20ths of a mile from the preceding county line or route begin, and it's definitely not 64 miles into Lycoming County there.  For reference, the preceding segment before it joins I-180 is 264.

Nexus 6P

I think that US 15 is more than 128 miles to that point - more like 140?

[sbeaver44]

Does anyone know why US 15's LRS segment numbers start at 1280 north of I-180?  Is 128.0 the mile marker on US 15 from the MD border there?  Seems too low to be I-99's (should be ~134).  Non-Interstates should use 20ths of a mile from the preceding county line or route begin, and it's definitely not 64 miles into Lycoming County there.  For reference, the preceding segment before it joins I-180 is 264.

Nexus 6P

I think that US 15 is more than 128 miles to that point - more like 140?

The mystery deepens...

[noelbotevera]

Does anyone know why US 15's LRS segment numbers start at 1280 north of I-180?  Is 128.0 the mile marker on US 15 from the MD border there?  Seems too low to be I-99's (should be ~134).  Non-Interstates should use 20ths of a mile from the preceding county line or route begin, and it's definitely not 64 miles into Lycoming County there.  For reference, the preceding segment before it joins I-180 is 264.

Nexus 6P

I think that US 15 is more than 128 miles to that point - more like 140?

The mystery deepens...

I think the "1" is an error. Dividing 280/20 gives me 14, which sounds about right (14 miles into Lycoming County).

[jemacedo9]

Sign Project Begins on Route 15 in Lycoming and Tioga Counties

This work includes the installation of new mile marker and exit signs on the highway

Curious to see what route's mileage they are going to use:  US 15 or I-99.  I'm also curious to see if they are going to add exit numbers as they did with US 220 in Clinton County. And many of the signs on this stretch are fairly new, so with a total cost of $130K, there can't be too many BGSs being replaced. 

I would assume I-99 exit numbers. It doesn't make much sense to use US 15 numbers now. There are already Future I-99 signs on the corridor and, as far as I know, they could extend I-99 to I-180 at Williamsport now.

Does anyone know why US 15's LRS segment numbers start at 1280 north of I-180?  Is 128.0 the mile marker on US 15 from the MD border there?  Seems too low to be I-99's (should be ~134).  Non-Interstates should use 20ths of a mile from the preceding county line or route begin, and it's definitely not 64 miles into Lycoming County there.  For reference, the preceding segment before it joins I-180 is 264.

Nexus 6P

My *guess* always has been that for some reason, when the US 15 freeway was completed just north of Foy Ave, Segment 1280 was used instead of reusing Seg 280 by adding a one.    This was early on in PAs use of SR segments.  That would leave a gap of Segment 270.

Now, when a route is relocated, or Seg numbers revised, they add 2 to the old segment number...so Seg 280 on the old route would be Seg 282 on the new route; then Seg 292, then 302, etc, until either the route rejoins the old and the old Seg numbers stay, or a county reset.  (In the opposite direction, Seg 281 becomes Seg 283, then 293, 302, etc.)  See US 15's segment numbers in Tioga County, where the new freeway segments were built later.

ALSO...it's not exactly true that 1 segment is 1/20th of a mile.  Segments are based on physical features (intersections, bridges, curves) where 10 equals roughly 1/2 mile.  But there may be segments that are significantly more or less than 1/2 mile.  Sometimes, the uses of a Segment number ending in 4 seems to realign a segment number series back to that 1/2-mail rough standard.

[Gnutella]

Now that the "Parkway West" (I-376) construction in Pittsburgh has wrapped up, I'm happy to see that PennDOT District 11 is using "Pittsburgh Intl Airport" as a control destination instead of just "Airport."

[Roadsguy]

What exactly was the point of widening that to three lanes at the option lane split, but still having it drop to two right after despite there being all the pavement for a third lane westbound all the way through the interchange?

[LeftyJR]

Now that the "Parkway West" (I-376) construction in Pittsburgh has wrapped up, I'm happy to see that PennDOT District 11 is using "Pittsburgh Intl Airport" as a control destination instead of just "Airport."

When I traveled abroad, other countries almost always use the "plane" symbol on the signs with the airport.  I figure this is because of people who don't speak their native language, but I think it would be a welcome change here in the states.

[briantroutman]

Now that the "Parkway West" (I-376) construction in Pittsburgh has wrapped up, I'm happy to see that PennDOT District 11 is using "Pittsburgh Intl Airport" as a control destination instead of just "Airport."

While I'm not upset to see "Pittsburgh Int'l" , I don't think it's really necessary since PIT is the city's only commercial service airport. (Arnold Palmer sees less than 1/20th the traffic of PIT and is over 50 miles in the opposite direction, so I don't think there's much of a chance for confusion.)

If you're headed to Allegheny County Airport–a courier taking packages to an air cargo outfit or a chauffeur shuttling an Alcoa exec to his private jet–I don't think you should expect to have giant overhead guide signs marking the route to a general aviation airport.