Road-Geeky Things Of The Past That You Miss...

[SEWIGuy]

I'd think the way a lot of people talk about Calrog would be enough to knock MTR down a couple pegs.

Right. That's exactly why moderation is a good thing. Imagine Poi Poi being able to post about whatever he wanted without any sanction. Not fun.

[pderocco]

Smudge pots at construction sites.  In the late '60s I was a young boy who saw them as cartoon bombs.

I remember these from my childhood, when they were putting in sewers on my street. I'd balance a rock on one, come back the next day, and it would have an inch thick layer of lampblack on it. You could make a real mess with that.

[kphoger]

I'll take this in a different direction.

I kind of miss it when I wasn't married yet, and I could just take Amtrak or Greyhound out somewhere on Friday after work, then sleep out under the stars somewhere and hitchhike my way back on Saturday, with no real route planned, but just seeing what the roads are like from standing on the shoulder every so often.

I kind of miss it when we were first dating, and we would kill a weekend afternoon by just driving out into the countryside, turning left or right wherever the whim took us, having no planned route or destination, enjoying the farmscape until we were ready to turn around and head back home.  My favorite memory of this was when we headed roughly west from Wheaton (IL) and only turned back when we encountered the r/o/w fence for I-39.

[RobbieL2415]

I'll take this in a different direction.

I kind of miss it when I wasn't married yet, and I could just take Amtrak or Greyhound out somewhere on Friday after work, then sleep out under the stars somewhere and hitchhike my way back on Saturday, with no real route planned, but just seeing what the roads are like from standing on the shoulder every so often.

I kind of miss it when we were first dating, and we would kill a weekend afternoon by just driving out into the countryside, turning left or right wherever the whim took us, having no planned route or destination, enjoying the farmscape until we were ready to turn around and head back home.  My favorite memory of this was when we headed roughly west from Wheaton (IL) and only turned back when we encountered the r/o/w fence for I-39.

I miss having the energy and lack of adult responsibilities to clinch a nearby freeway in one day.

[Rothman]

I'll take this in a different direction.

I kind of miss it when I wasn't married yet, and I could just take Amtrak or Greyhound out somewhere on Friday after work, then sleep out under the stars somewhere and hitchhike my way back on Saturday, with no real route planned, but just seeing what the roads are like from standing on the shoulder every so often.

I liked picking up hitchhikers back in the day.

Of course, unsubstantiated fear has killed that practice.  I don't remember the last time I saw a hitchhiker.  Home of the brave, indeed.

[hotdogPi]

I don't remember the last time I saw a hitchhiker.

I saw one six years ago or so. He was standing outside this gas station holding up a cardboard sign that said "I-95 NORTH".

[kphoger]

I liked picking up hitchhikers back in the day.

Of course, unsubstantiated fear has killed that practice.  I don't remember the last time I saw a hitchhiker.  Home of the brave, indeed.

I started hitchhiking back in about 2002 or so, but had no need anymore once we moved to Wichita in 2008.  But, just from those six years, I'd say a hitchhiker's biggest credible risk is not realizing till it's too late that the driver who picked him up is driving drunk.

[thenetwork]

Another memory which just popped back into mind from my days in Northern Ohio: 

Crosswalks that were fully painted green across the roadway.  I believe in our area the "fad" of painting crosswalks started in the late 50s and in some burbs, lasted into the early 80s.  Even one larger outdoor shopping center had done it in their parking lots as well.

[triplemultiplex]

The temporary north end to the freeway on US 51 at Merrill. It was a half-completed diamond interchange where SB traffic had a little "turbine" ramp to swoop down under the overpass.  It was exciting as a kid because freeways were cool and we didn't have any Up North.  So any time you got to that point, you were going some place interesting.

Fortunately, I can feed my nostalgia at that old freeway end's cousin in Elkhorn:
US 12 & WI 67 south
That one will be around indefinitely.

[Rothman]

Another memory which just popped back into mind from my days in Northern Ohio: 

Crosswalks that were fully painted green across the roadway.  I believe in our area the "fad" of painting crosswalks started in the late 50s and in some burbs, lasted into the early 80s.  Even one larger outdoor shopping center had done it in their parking lots as well.

We figured out that colored paint was expensive.

[thenetwork]

Another memory which just popped back into mind from my days in Northern Ohio: 

Crosswalks that were fully painted green across the roadway.  I believe in our area the "fad" of painting crosswalks started in the late 50s and in some burbs, lasted into the early 80s.  Even one larger outdoor shopping center had done it in their parking lots as well.

We figured out that colored paint was expensive.

And slippery when wet!

[lepidopteran]

Looking at a road map, and being able to tell which roads were freeways, and which roads were (at least) 4-lane divided but not limited-access, according to color.

That said, there is a very specific zoom level on Google Maps at which only the freeways are marked.  It's actually pretty neat, where, for example, Indiana, PA has a trefoil, and you can tell how far US-33 west of Columbus has been improved.  (A few routes, like US-30 west of Bucyrus, will appear at that zoom level in grey, presumably because they are freeway-grade with occasional intersections.)

[andy3175]

I miss the scavenger hunt of locating old signs, such as cut out shields, state-name shields in places that standardized neutered shields years prior, and porcelain enamel or embossed signs that are no longer the standard. Many of these items were easier to find back in the 1990s when I started looking, but nowadays these sorts of exceptions are much harder to find. I am glad many of these types of items have been documented and posted, but the amount in the wild is much less than it was as jurisdictions move to replace older signs.

[epzik8]

Looking at a road map, and being able to tell which roads were freeways, and which roads were (at least) 4-lane divided but not limited-access, according to color.

That said, there is a very specific zoom level on Google Maps at which only the freeways are marked.  It's actually pretty neat, where, for example, Indiana, PA has a trefoil, and you can tell how far US-33 west of Columbus has been improved.  (A few routes, like US-30 west of Bucyrus, will appear at that zoom level in grey, presumably because they are freeway-grade with occasional intersections.)

This zoom level also acknowledges I-595 between New Carrollton and Annapolis.

[lepidopteran]

Looking at a road map, and being able to tell which roads were freeways, and which roads were (at least) 4-lane divided but not limited-access, according to color.

That said, there is a very specific zoom level on Google Maps at which only the freeways are marked.  It's actually pretty neat, where, for example, Indiana, PA has a trefoil, and you can tell how far US-33 west of Columbus has been improved.  (A few routes, like US-30 west of Bucyrus, will appear at that zoom level in grey, presumably because they are freeway-grade with occasional intersections.)

This zoom level also acknowledges I-595 between New Carrollton and Annapolis.

That makes sense, since the zoom level shows the roads that are limited-access, of which US-50/John Hanson Hwy is one. (No 595 shield is present at any zoom, at least on Google Maps.)  It's not true Interstate grade, though, since there's a substandard ramp combo at US-50/US-301 WB at MD-2 NB, plus all those RIROs on Kent Island and east to the Queenstown split.

But what does not make sense is that the zoom level doesn't acknowledge the new fully-limited-access toll road built for US-301 in Delaware, between Middletown and DE-1.

This is why I miss a map that specifically distinguishes between freeway and non-freeway.  For instance, I have this 1964 Rand McNally atlas that displays the southern part of I-280 in the Toledo area with the non-limited-access color.  The at-grade intersections on that road were not eliminated until the late 1980s.

[ran4sh]

Looking at a road map, and being able to tell which roads were freeways, and which roads were (at least) 4-lane divided but not limited-access, according to color.

That would have been nice if that feature was accurate, but it isn't always. In particular, different states treat 4 lane undivided, or 5 lane undivided with center TWLTL, differently.

That said, there is a very specific zoom level on Google Maps at which only the freeways are marked.  It's actually pretty neat, where, for example, Indiana, PA has a trefoil, and you can tell how far US-33 west of Columbus has been improved.  (A few routes, like US-30 west of Bucyrus, will appear at that zoom level in grey, presumably because they are freeway-grade with occasional intersections.)

With the traffic layer it is zoom level 9; with the regular map layer it is zoom level 6 (looking at the "9z", "6z", etc part of the url [next to the latitude/longitude values]).

What I actually want from Google Maps is more prominent indication of exit numbers similar to Rand McNally print atlases. Of course, with Google being from California and that state only having implemented exit numbers 2 decades ago, it's understandable why they don't give them as much prominence. But I don't like having to zoom in so far on Google just to find exit numbers.

[Quillz]

Don't think I've see any personally, but I liked the white poles California used to use, with black bases. They were originally wood, later metal. Seems almost everything was mounted to them, but I particularly liked them with the old bear spades. I've seen some footage from as late as the 1970s where they can still be seen, so I'm not sure when they stopped getting made, but they had a nice look to them.

I also liked the guy wire traffic signals. They used to be common in the S.F. Valley, but they've been gradually replaced over the years by larger signals that can hold left turn lights. These are no doubt better in every way, but again, there was a nice look to the old style. Although they could only hold one signal light, so they were limited.

Beyond that, not too much. I'm probably one of the who never really cared for button copy. I was happy to see retroreflective signage replace it. Most of things I miss were more just due to aesthetic value, and not that I felt they were actually better.

[Flint1979]

The McDonald's in the middle of the Chicago Skyway.

Hell yeah I loved that McDonald's.

[Flint1979]

The McDonald's in the middle of the Chicago Skyway.

How about the McDonalds over I-44?

That isn't like this McDonald's was. The Skyway McDonalds was right in the middle of the highway, the one over I-44 is in an oasis over the freeway.

[DandyDan]

Tollbooths on the Illinois tollway system, where you just chucked some change into a basket.

Hennepin County roads 18 and 62 and Minnesota Highway 110, amongst many other decommissioned highways.

[motorways]

• The unique signage style of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority
• The wildly non-standard signage of the southern half of the Garden State Parkway
• The color-coded street-name blades in NYC
• Toll booths instead of AET (I know this one doesn't make sense -- don't ask me why, just nostalgia, I guess...)

[boilerup25]

Definitely some of the nonstandard signage I have seen all over my home state of New Jersey. Along the NJ Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and the Atlantic City Expressway (though the Expressway still has some nonstandard signage, even giant blocks of text for the Garden State Parkway exit).

I miss some of the nonstandard County Route signs in New Jersey that have been taken down. Examples are signs that read out ALTERNATE instead of ALT (although some signs that fully read out ALTERNATE still exist).

I also miss the NJ 157 NB sign that was taken down and never replaced because of intersection construction.

[freebrickproductions]

I miss some of the nonstandard County Route signs in New Jersey that have been taken down. Examples are signs that read out ALTERNATE instead of ALT (although some signs that fully read out ALTERNATE still exist).

Amusingly, ALTERNATE is still used as the banner for Alt. US 72 here in Alabama.

[Shedingtonian]

The blue legend on white background of road signs placed in autovías.

[roadman65]

I miss the old exit number tabs on the Garden  State Parkway just number only. No EXIT in the tab.

Plus the old exit number gore points on the GSP as well. The arrow used on the exit departure used to be in a circle on the top right corner of the sign extending out of the sign.