2020 meets

[Alps]

My point was more of that the schedule is heavy in the spring and empty once we get past mid-June. If you only want local people to show up, a bunch of closely-spaced meets is fine. But if you want people to travel (and many of the frequent attendees are a good distance from the proposed locations here), a bunch of closely-spaced meets start cannibalizing each other. People can host whenever they want to host (if I wanted to dictate the date, I would host myself), but the big thing right now is "big turnout" and you're not gonna get that with a meet every other week.

There's a reason fall meets often draw well: there's a lack of meet activity in the fall because it's all concentrated in spring.

Big turnout is a modern phenomenon. 8 people used to be a big turnout and 4-5 was more common at meets back in the day. I'll periodically host mini-meets centered around seeing 1 or 2 projects and only hope for a single digit attendance. So cannibalizing... meh. Host always makes the call, and polling others is really just a courtesy.

[A.J. Bertin]

I've been to 4 meets, and I'm pretty sure 3 of them were in March or April. The other was the 2013 Cincinnati meet, which I think wasn't until October or so.

Yes... the 2013 Cincinnati meet was in October.

But weren't you also at H.B.'s Ashland KY meet in 2013? I believe that one took place in May.

[Dougtone]

My point was more of that the schedule is heavy in the spring and empty once we get past mid-June. If you only want local people to show up, a bunch of closely-spaced meets is fine. But if you want people to travel (and many of the frequent attendees are a good distance from the proposed locations here), a bunch of closely-spaced meets start cannibalizing each other. People can host whenever they want to host (if I wanted to dictate the date, I would host myself), but the big thing right now is "big turnout" and you're not gonna get that with a meet every other week.

There's a reason fall meets often draw well: there's a lack of meet activity in the fall because it's all concentrated in spring.

Big turnout is a modern phenomenon. 8 people used to be a big turnout and 4-5 was more common at meets back in the day. I'll periodically host mini-meets centered around seeing 1 or 2 projects and only hope for a single digit attendance. So cannibalizing... meh. Host always makes the call, and polling others is really just a courtesy.

It also was typical that meets were announced only a couple of months ahead of time. Now 6-12 months ahead of time seems to be the norm. It helps with folks who want to plan around their work schedules, or may want to make a trip to the meet part of their vacation or what have you.

[bandit957]

But weren't you also at H.B.'s Ashland KY meet in 2013? I believe that one took place in May.

I'm pretty sure that was in April. I know it was during the college basketball playoffs, since that's all that was on the radio.

[bandit957]

Big turnout is a modern phenomenon. 8 people used to be a big turnout and 4-5 was more common at meets back in the day. I'll periodically host mini-meets centered around seeing 1 or 2 projects and only hope for a single digit attendance. So cannibalizing... meh. Host always makes the call, and polling others is really just a courtesy.

Roadmeets peaked around 2013-15. Hopefully the 2020 Cincinnati meet will live up to those standards.

[hbelkins]

There are several views about big turnouts. Yeah, it looks good, and sometimes there seems to be a bit of unspoken competition as to who can have the biggest meet. I've had 20-plus show up for meets I've hosted, and only a handful. (Had four come to my western Kentucky meet a couple of years ago). Big turnouts can prove to be logistical challenges, such as the 2010 Philly meet when they didn't split the check, or the infamous St. Louis meet that I didn't attend when several people got lost and ended up doing their own thing on the tour.

As for scheduling, if it's based on construction projects, those are usually active in the summer and they often have completion dates in the fall. If your goal is to see the work being done on the project, you have to plan your meet for before the project is finished. I've had to sometimes time my meets to mesh with the construction schedule. I've actually scrapped a few meets I had given consideration to hosting because the job would have been finished by that time.

And July -- it's hot and humid in a good chunk of the country. Not the most fun weather for getting out and wandering around a construction zone.

[bandit957]

There are several views about big turnouts. Yeah, it looks good, and sometimes there seems to be a bit of unspoken competition as to who can have the biggest meet. I've had 20-plus show up for meets I've hosted, and only a handful. (Had four come to my western Kentucky meet a couple of years ago). Big turnouts can prove to be logistical challenges, such as the 2010 Philly meet when they didn't split the check, or the infamous St. Louis meet that I didn't attend when several people got lost and ended up doing their own thing on the tour.

The St. Louis meet was easily one of the best ever.

[noelbotevera]

I guess that building upon the foundation that was Pittsburgh gave me some ideas for some meets. Here's a short list I've compiled:

-CSVT Round 2 (expanding upon Jason Ilyes' tour, essentially a visual construction update)
-State College (would be co-hosting with someone outside of the forum; primarily covers the Potters Mills freeway gap and I-80/I-99 interchange, going beyond the 2003/2004 meet)
-Washington, DC (last one was 2011; while close, I'm sure the 2011 meet covered most of everything, and it'd be trickier to plan this out)
-Philadelphia (I don't think there was ever a Philly meet, unless it was before I was born/I've never heard about it - some were interested, so it might have merit)
-PA Covered Bridges tour (probably would cover Bedford, Fulton, and Franklin counties; would be new territory for most people, as people rarely take US 30 east of Breezewood)

[hbelkins]

-State College (would be co-hosting with someone outside of the forum; primarily covers the Potters Mills freeway gap and I-80/I-99 interchange, going beyond the 2003/2004 meet)

There's been one since then. I think it was 2008 or 2009. Memorable because one of the attendees backed into another attendee while on the tour.

-Washington, DC (last one was 2011; while close, I'm sure the 2011 meet covered most of everything, and it'd be trickier to plan this out)

Froggie hosted one in, I think, 2012, that was focused on the toll lanes on the Virginia portion of the Beltway.

-Philadelphia (I don't think there was ever a Philly meet, unless it was before I was born/I've never heard about it - some were interested, so it might have merit)

There have been a couple in the area that I've attended.

[A.J. Bertin]

But weren't you also at H.B.'s Ashland KY meet in 2013? I believe that one took place in May.

I'm pretty sure that was in April. I know it was during the college basketball playoffs, since that's all that was on the radio.

I stand corrected; you are right. It took place on April 6, 2013. (For some reason I was thinking it was early May rather than early April.)

[A.J. Bertin]

I guess that building upon the foundation that was Pittsburgh gave me some ideas for some meets. Here's a short list I've compiled:

-CSVT Round 2 (expanding upon Jason Ilyes' tour, essentially a visual construction update)
-State College (would be co-hosting with someone outside of the forum; primarily covers the Potters Mills freeway gap and I-80/I-99 interchange, going beyond the 2003/2004 meet)
-Washington, DC (last one was 2011; while close, I'm sure the 2011 meet covered most of everything, and it'd be trickier to plan this out)
-Philadelphia (I don't think there was ever a Philly meet, unless it was before I was born/I've never heard about it - some were interested, so it might have merit)
-PA Covered Bridges tour (probably would cover Bedford, Fulton, and Franklin counties; would be new territory for most people, as people rarely take US 30 east of Breezewood)

I would be very interested in attending meets in CSVT (depending on which city the meet is based in), State College, D.C., and/or Philadelphia. You might want to talk to Will Roll about State College.

[SSOWorld]

PAHighways hosted a meet in State College in 2008, and put a meet on around metro Philly (something about US 322 or the DOT situation room?) but I forget the year for that in SE PA.

[froggie]

SE PA was 2010 and IIRC focused on their traffic management center.  I skipped that, in part because it was also the "bill snafu meet" and highlighted the issues with having a large turnout and confusion on the lunch bill.

I did indeed host a DC meet in May, 2012, right before I transferred out.  This meet focused on the Beltway HO/T lanes and the new 11th Street Bridges.

State College was April, 2009.  I remember this well because it was Oscar's Prius that got bumped from behind and I was in the back seat.

[jpi]

I am still eyeing up another York County based meet with the Shrewsbury diverging diamond interchange construction and a possible 3 mile round trip hike on the north central rail trail to check out the oldest active railroad tunnel in the USA, this would be in 2020 or 2021. I am also watching for construction to start taking place at the I-99\ I-80 interchange and sometime next decade possibly host another State Collage area meet. As for the CSVT area, the southern part of construction for this will be again sometime next decade and when that starts I may do a follow up on this.

[US71]

I haven't seen anything about a San Antonio meet anywhere.

Maybe Christopher Cross will give a free concert and perform his bubble gum popping song.

It's on Facebook.  Gene, the host, isn't on AA Roads.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1054428458280602/

[PHLBOS]

-Philadelphia (I don't think there was ever a Philly meet, unless it was before I was born/I've never heard about it - some were interested, so it might have merit)

The most recent AARoads-sponsored/sanctioned meet in the SEPA area was last year's (September) Golden Spike Meet covering the not-yet-opened I-95/PA Turnpike connection in Bristol, Bucks County... just northeast of Philadelphia.  Despite such taking place on a weekday afternoon; there was a fairly decent turnout.  Given the nature & milestone of the meet; many, no doubt, took time off from their jobs to attend.

The reasoning for the oddball date scheduling was due the meet host, briantroutman, having arranged to have some of the on-site field personnel (PennDOT/PTC/Jacobs) available to discuss the project highlights & history beforehand (I missed that part due to arriving late, I couldn't get the time off from work) prior to venturing onto the unopened ramps. 

The original logistics plan for the meet was to gather at one of the construction trailers and ride to the site in one or two vans (provided by the agencies/consultants).  It turned out the vans weren't available and everybody ventured out in their own vehicles (some combined/carpooled).  I'm sure some passer-bys along I-95 wondered why a stream of passenger vehicles were entering a closed road/ramp between the barricades.

This past weekend (Aug. 24), Roadwaywiz95 had an impromptu video/on-line meet in Delaware County & Chester.  The focus was the Commodore Barry Bridge.

Prior to 2018, the last SEPA meet I'm aware of was the Doylestown Meet that took place circa Nov. 2012 & was the first one I attended.  The primary focus for that meet was the then-just-opened US 202 Parkway.

[hbelkins]

The 2010 SEPA meet that featured the loss of the lunchroom reservation and the splitting of the check fiasco took place in the general area.

[cl94]

I am still eyeing up another York County based meet with the Shrewsbury diverging diamond interchange construction and a possible 3 mile round trip hike on the north central rail trail to check out the oldest active railroad tunnel in the USA, this would be in 2020 or 2021. I am also watching for construction to start taking place at the I-99\ I-80 interchange and sometime next decade possibly host another State Collage area meet. As for the CSVT area, the southern part of construction for this will be again sometime next decade and when that starts I may do a follow up on this.

I see this becoming a mega-meet if it happens. I know I'd be there (close enough to do as a weekend).

[Dougtone]

The 2010 SEPA meet that featured the loss of the lunchroom reservation and the splitting of the check fiasco took place in the general area.

This is the exact reason why I always pay with cash for meals during a road meet now. I don't want to have anything to do with a repeat of the check fiasco.

[Rothman]

The 2010 SEPA meet that featured the loss of the lunchroom reservation and the splitting of the check fiasco took place in the general area.

This is the exact reason why I always pay with cash for meals during a road meet now. I don't want to have anything to do with a repeat of the check fiasco.

There was a mini case of a bad splitting of the check at the Long Island meet I went to.  We will never know who didn't put in their fair share...

[vdeane]

I am still eyeing up another York County based meet with the Shrewsbury diverging diamond interchange construction and a possible 3 mile round trip hike on the north central rail trail to check out the oldest active railroad tunnel in the USA, this would be in 2020 or 2021. I am also watching for construction to start taking place at the I-99\ I-80 interchange and sometime next decade possibly host another State Collage area meet. As for the CSVT area, the southern part of construction for this will be again sometime next decade and when that starts I may do a follow up on this.

I see this becoming a mega-meet if it happens. I know I'd be there (close enough to do as a weekend).

I'm eyeing that one as well.  I figure I can clinch the new US 301 in Delaware and some odds and ends in Maryland/DC one way and take an extra day to clinch the interstates around Pittsburgh the other.

[A.J. Bertin]

The 2010 SEPA meet that featured the loss of the lunchroom reservation and the splitting of the check fiasco took place in the general area.

This is the exact reason why I always pay with cash for meals during a road meet now. I don't want to have anything to do with a repeat of the check fiasco.

There was a mini case of a bad splitting of the check at the Long Island meet I went to.  We will never know who didn't put in their fair share...

For the dinner portion of my Providence city meet this past May, I made the mistake of not verifying in advance (when I was making the reservation) that they'd be able to split up the checks. We had something like 18 or 20 people for dinner. It ended up not being too bad because the restaurant did agree to at least split the check in half (half the table on one check and half on the other). I didn't want to do this (I had no choice), but I ended up using a credit card for my half and everyone gave me cash for their share of the meal. One person wasn't able to give me cash for his share the night of the dinner but, luckily, I saw him a couple weeks later and he paid me at that time. Lesson learned for the meets I host in the future.

[hbelkins]

The whole "not splitting checks" concept is a bit foreign to me. Just about everywhere I've ever been, I've always been asked how we wanted the checks handled. It really doesn't even seem like a thing to me that a restaurant wouldn't split out the check.

[MNHighwayMan]

The whole "not splitting checks" concept is a bit foreign to me. Just about everywhere I've ever been, I've always been asked how we wanted the checks handled. It really doesn't even seem like a thing to me that a restaurant wouldn't split out the check.

I agree. Any competent restaurant should be able to split checks, or if not, ask before orders are taken.

[Alps]

We were able to split checks reasonably efficiently today despite about 20 people at the meet. The waitress asked. That said, I am not opposed to restaurants that state limitations on check-splitting up front.