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85 in a 55.   It was the only written warning I've received.

No, I am just a safe driver. It's not bumper cars. It's very easy to lose control turning that wheel at high speed. For the record I totally support that raising of speed limits in Texas, but I don't see the big deal with gradually lowering the speed limit as you approach a curve, placing a few speed cameras at the points of curvature, and then simply removing the restriction when the road straightens out again. And at speeds greater than 50 mph you can't stop in time for a traffic signal unless you can see it at least 1/3 if a mile away. That's all I'm saying. It's not one of these Karen requests to lower speed limits over paranoia and exaggerated media drama, straight roads should have higher speed limits than windy weavy roads.

Interstate 205's milage and exit numbers don't reset when entering Washington (northbound) or Oregon (southbound).

I don't know if there has been any real organized push in recent years to change property tax laws in Texas. In one respect I wonder if quite a few Texans actually prefer the setup (as opposed to a state income tax). Some school districts appear to do very well by that system, judging by some of the football stadiums and campus-like environments I see in some locales. The only factor I can see competing with it is the conservative push to privatize public education and/or divert a lot of education funding into charter & private schools. Texas is increasingly shifting from red to "purple," so I don't know what kinds of chances those efforts may have in the long term.

It is ironic why SOME school districts seem to do so well.

Several years ago Texas passed a plan called Robinhood. There was an equation that cash flush districts sent money to TEA and TEA then distributed it to poorer school districts.  Texas school budgets contain two elements. Operations & Maintenance and then there is Capital Improvements. Operations and maintenance is exactly what it sounds like. It pays for staff, operational expense, and ongoing maintenance.   Capital Improvements is what it sounds like. Building buildings and FOOTBALL Fields.

Here is where the rub comes in. There are limits for the O&M expenditures. So a percentage of the ad valorem taxes that exceeds the allowable O&M budget has to go to TEA. There is a MINIMUM tax rate districts have to collect. They cannot just collect less. Someone figured out that you could defeat Robinhood by using up the balance in bonded indebtedness. So the richer school districts went to town spending capital improvement money.... ( I think it took litigation to allow the districts to keep the money "so they could pay their bills.")

I don't know if there has been any real organized push in recent years to change property tax laws in Texas. In one respect I wonder if quite a few Texans actually prefer the setup (as opposed to a state income tax). Some school districts appear to do very well by that system, judging by some of the football stadiums and campus-like environments I see in some locales. The only factor I can see competing with it is the conservative push to privatize public education and/or divert a lot of education funding into charter & private schools. Texas is increasingly shifting from red to "purple," so I don't know what kinds of chances those efforts may have in the long term.

Guys, this is definitely getting into off-topic politics

Roads are at the end of the day political.

But I agree property tax discussions are not germane here.

You're telling me there are stop lights on roads with 70 mph speed limits?? How are you supposed to stop in time if starts changing?

Oh, it gets better. There's a light on US 84 near Shallowater, TX. Wanna guess the limit there? 75 mph.

It's common sense. Advisory speed limits are unenforceable, so they are basically asking drivers to send their cars flying off the road flipping into the air. Essentially, if a road manages to change its direction 90 degrees within half a mile, the speed limit should be at least 20-30 mph lower around that curve than on any straight stretches of the highway. People flying around curves at highway speed is what causes the most accidents.

So because an advisory speed limit isn't legally binding, it doesn't exist at all? I guess all 50 state DOTs and local agencies are wasting metric shitloads of money posting all those yellow diamond warning signs, then...

If you drive too fast around a corner and you fuck up and go off the road, that's on you and that's driving too fast for conditions, which you can get a ticket for anyway. Don't need a number on a sign to tell you that.

Rural Idaho town, going 38 in a 35 approaching a 45 zone. Got the whole spiel.

Fuck those racist cops.

I don't know if there has been any real organized push in recent years to change property tax laws in Texas. In one respect I wonder if quite a few Texans actually prefer the setup (as opposed to a state income tax). Some school districts appear to do very well by that system, judging by some of the football stadiums and campus-like environments I see in some locales. The only factor I can see competing with it is the conservative push to privatize public education and/or divert a lot of education funding into charter & private schools. Texas is increasingly shifting from red to "purple," so I don't know what kinds of chances those efforts may have in the long term.

It is ironic why SOME school districts seem to do so well.

Several years ago Texas passed a plan called Robinhood. There was an equation that cash flush districts sent money to TEA and TEA then distributed it to poorer school districts.  Texas school budgets contain two elements. Operations & Maintenance and then there is Capital Improvements. Operations and maintenance is exactly what it sounds like. It pays for staff, operational expense, and ongoing maintenance.   Capital Improvements is what it sounds like. Building buildings and FOOTBALL Fields.

Here is where the rub comes in. There are limits for the O&M expenditures. So a percentage of the ad valorem taxes that exceeds the allowable O&M budget has to go to TEA. There is a MINIMUM tax rate districts have to collect. They cannot just collect less. Someone figured out that you could defeat Robinhood by using up the balance in bonded indebtedness. So the richer school districts went to town spending capital improvement money.... ( I think it took litigation to allow the districts to keep the money "so they could pay their bills.")

I don't know if there has been any real organized push in recent years to change property tax laws in Texas. In one respect I wonder if quite a few Texans actually prefer the setup (as opposed to a state income tax). Some school districts appear to do very well by that system, judging by some of the football stadiums and campus-like environments I see in some locales. The only factor I can see competing with it is the conservative push to privatize public education and/or divert a lot of education funding into charter & private schools. Texas is increasingly shifting from red to "purple," so I don't know what kinds of chances those efforts may have in the long term.

Guys, this is definitely getting into off-topic politics

Exactly, and the irony is they post speed limits far too high on local roads where it is actually dangerous to speed. No road with traffic lights should ever be posted at higher than 40 mph. Limited Access Highways however, should be posted at 80-90 mph, with rural interstates unlimited. But, I do think all curves on highways that you can kind of feel the G force when going around, should be set at 45 mph with speed cameras.

Wait, so the Texas 70 mph roads with stop lights...should be dug up and thrown away?

ALL ROADS that have an anecdotal report of G-forces on curves--45 mph and automated ticketing machines? Are you serious?

Are you trolling us?

Yeah he is.  I don't know why we all still entertain his bullshit.

WARNING: COVID-related opinions. The worst part during my one-year dorm stay was that coronavirus restrictions were in effect. So you had to wear a mask just to walk down to the bathroom or in any common areas. And most of the RAs were ruthless about enforcement. They could be downright cruel and get very power-hungry about it. At least we never had a full two-week quarantine period like Madison had. That was disgraceful. I don't care what you thought/think about coronavirus, but it's inhumane to force college kids to stay in their one-room dorms for two weeks.

I'm actually very surprised there haven't been major lawsuits about all this.

Was noticing today that I-196 north of its split with US 31 is signed E-W instead of N-S like its entire concurrency with US 31 is.

https://goo.gl/maps/Pnb7LvT5GyhfWqUC6

Plus GSV captured the left US 31 exit being closed NB and reversed for SB traffic on US 31 to use the left NB lane on I-196. MDOT sends US 31 NB detour via a lengthy circle as the detour is not via M-40, but Adams Street exit to BL I-196 WB and then back to US 31.

Strange signing and much stranger detour for US 31 NB.

The NORTH/EAST and WEST/SOUTH directional change has always been at that interchange.

Is the interchange being reconfigured or is it just something simple as reconstructing and resurfacing the roadbed?  There really is not anything wrong with the interchange as it currently is.  Just asking because of the large mound of dirt next to the I-196 overpass of US 31 NB.

No, they were accommodating a rebuild of the I-94 NB roadway near Benton Harbor between Napier Rd (former US-31) and east of the I-196/US-31 interchange while they replaced the Bus I-94 interchange with a US-31/Bus I-94 interchange. That roadwork is basically complete, with mainly landscaping stuff that might be left this spring.

I believe what roadman65 was referring to is the rebuild of the US-31 freeway segment pavement between I-196 and Central Avenue on the south side of Holland.  Nbd was detoured; nbd was reconstructed first and then sbd traffic was maintained on the nbd side side while sbd was reconstructed.  For that second phase, there was insufficient room for a crossover back to the sbd side before merging into 196, so that traffic was kept on the left side of nbs 196 and then the crossover was a bit farther south.  The interchange was not reconfigured.

My guess is that M-40 was not the designated detour because of truck restrictions, particularly the 90-degree turn from 49th Street to Lincoln Avenue.  MDOT usually does not post separate car and truck detours; one detour is posted that accommodates both.