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Roads you would NOT want on your commute

Started by webny99, February 15, 2023, 09:24:09 PM

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webny99

What road in your area (sticking to a single route number or road name) would you least like to have as part of your commute? Or if it already is part of your commute, what don't you like about it?

I want nothing to do with a commute that involves NY 441. I use it occasionally and sometimes take part of it as part of the "long way" home, and it annoys me every time...

  • Lack of consistency: heading east, first it's a six-lane boulevard, then reduces to four lanes with freeway characteristics, but then there's a random stoplight, then a full freeway with a single interchange, then back to a surface street that dumps you right in the middle of Penfield, then a long four-lane undivided slog
  • Poorly timed signals: evening traffic coming off I-490 is timed to miss the lights at both Linden Ave intersections, so you're stuck in a pack of traffic by the time you get to the short "freeway" section and it never truly opens up before hitting the slowdown in Penfield
  • Overburdened intersections: the intersection at Five Mile Line Road handles way too much volume for a surface street. There's recurring backups in all four directions, especially eastbound in the evening where it often backs up on to the freeway section. The intersections with Liberty St and Penfield Road are dangerous and the latter has a one-way section to force eastbound thru traffic through the Panorama interchange; there are limited gaps in traffic to exit the side streets, while entering them disrupts the flow of thru traffic
  • Mix of local and through traffic: this is the main route to/from I-490 for traffic as far east as Walworth and Marion, so you've got a lot of medium-distance traffic and trucks mixing with heavy local traffic
  • Lack of alternative routes: anything to the south goes through East Rochester and is pretty much a non-starter, there's no connection between Baird Rd and Linden Ave to bypass the worst congestion hot spot, and anything to the north is convoluted and involves going well out of the way and/or a two-lane slog on Penfield Road


jeffandnicole


Rothman

Ramps from I-81 to Adams/Harrison in Syracuse.  Only place where traffic really backs up in the area.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Techknow

A one-lane county road with a private drive section in-between. I had the pleasure of driving on this particular one three weeks ago before I just turned around:

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.4674753,-122.2747159,3a,82.3y,127.38h,88.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sokbc45ng8QgCaTQqNdiOtw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192


webny99

Quote from: Techknow on February 15, 2023, 10:18:30 PM
A one-lane county road with a private drive section in-between. I had the pleasure of driving on this particular one three weeks ago before I just turned around:

Wow. That didn't seem to stop the Street View car though!

Max Rockatansky

Any freeway heading into San Francisco.  I'm past the age of being able to tolerate commuter traffic like that every day. 

I have done the last twenty miles of US Route 1 in the Florida Keys as my daily commute in the past.  People used to tell me that US 1 was super horrible to commute on.  I never found it to be too aggravating given I had a car with a powerful engine given it made passing easy. 

Scott5114

I had OK-9 in Norman as part of my commute for just under a decade. It includes such joys as randomly-timed lights and random events at the university that would cause so much traffic that it became impassible at unpredictable times.
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mgk920

In Wisconsin I would not want I-94 (east-west Freeway) between downtown Milwaukee and the west suburbs - into the Sun and heaps of traffic BOTH WAYS.

Mike

Great Lakes Roads

Chicago- Eisenhower Expressway from the Circle Interchange to the Hillside Strangler Interchange... Left-hand exits as well as not enough capacity from 8 lanes to six lanes.

epzik8

On part of my commute, I have a series of lights that are either all green or all red when I pass through them, and no mix of those.
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Rothman

Quote from: epzik8 on February 16, 2023, 05:25:19 AM
On part of my commute, I have a series of lights that are either all green or all red when I pass through them, and no mix of those.
Is that a good or bad thing?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

vdeane

I-87 over the Twin Bridges (between NY 7 and Clifton Park).  It is probably the single worst congestion point in the whole area, especially during tourist season in the Adirondacks and Saratoga.  It's also fairly prone to incident related congestion, which has been known to spill down south as far as the Thruway and I-90.

Quote from: Techknow on February 15, 2023, 10:18:30 PM
A one-lane county road with a private drive section in-between. I had the pleasure of driving on this particular one three weeks ago before I just turned around:

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.4674753,-122.2747159,3a,82.3y,127.38h,88.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sokbc45ng8QgCaTQqNdiOtw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192


You're going to give MMM nightmares and/or a heart attack with that road!
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

FrCorySticha

10th Ave S in Great Falls, MT (US 87/US 89/MT 200/MT 3 to I-315) is mostly 3 lanes each direction, and almost impossible to not be stopped by about a dozen stoplights. I avoid this street any time I can, which is easy because GF's street network is an almost perfect grid.

Any time I have to go from I-15 on the west side of GF to somewhere on the east side of the city, it's easier to exit I-15 at Central Ave. W (Exit 280) and go through downtown. 1st Ave N/2nd Ave N are a one-way pair with lights timed for 25 MPH. After downtown, there are only 3-5 more lights depending on how far I need to go.

Rothman

Quote from: vdeane on February 16, 2023, 12:40:33 PM
I-87 over the Twin Bridges (between NY 7 and Clifton Park).  It is probably the single worst congestion point in the whole area, especially during tourist season in the Adirondacks and Saratoga.  It's also fairly prone to incident related congestion, which has been known to spill down south as far as the Thruway and I-90.

Yep.  Could not pay me enough to work in Albany and live in Clifton Park.

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

GaryV


TheHighwayMan3561

In Minneapolis, anything involving Lyndale Avenue between 394 and the Crosstown, especially the Hennepin Avenue "duplex" area.
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Some one

59/69 between Spur 527 and 45 in Houston. 45 inside the Beltway. In general, there are a lot of freeways in or around 610 that are unbearable.

CoreySamson

Yeah, I would rather not commute on the Pierce Elevated in Houston (or I-45 in general).

As for Tulsa, the only road here that I don't really like is US 75 on the south side of town (which just so happens to be a route that I can take for my actual "commute" (if you count going to church as a "commute." I live and work on my college campus). It needs to be upgraded to 6 lanes given the traffic on it, it has gross signage in spots, and the at-grade in Glenpool is consistently annoying. Luckily, Tulsa's arterial street grid is so well planned out that I usually can avoid it.
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Hobart

I'd have to go with I-80/94 (Kingery and Borman Expressways) near Chicago. I know I do not want these roads on my commute because I had them on there for a while. Issues include:

  • Heavy traffic at all times of day; you either take the expensive Chicago Skyway, use side streets, drop down to I-74, or take this.
  • Orientation in and out of the sun, so you're blinded both ways while working day shifts.
  • Frequent construction (and associated delays and driving hazards).
  • Excessive speeding... everybody thinks you're driving too slow if you aren't 10 over.
  • Trucks illegally using the left two lanes, slowing all traffic to the speed of their governors.
  • Bad drivers... you're in Indiana so... yeah.
  • Bad memories from having sat in traffic for literally three hours due to an overturned truck.
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US 89

Quote from: FrCorySticha on February 16, 2023, 01:12:11 PM
10th Ave S in Great Falls, MT (US 87/US 89/MT 200/MT 3 to I-315) is mostly 3 lanes each direction, and almost impossible to not be stopped by about a dozen stoplights. I avoid this street any time I can, which is easy because GF's street network is an almost perfect grid.

Any time I have to go from I-15 on the west side of GF to somewhere on the east side of the city, it's easier to exit I-15 at Central Ave. W (Exit 280) and go through downtown. 1st Ave N/2nd Ave N are a one-way pair with lights timed for 25 MPH. After downtown, there are only 3-5 more lights depending on how far I need to go.

YES. I drove through Great Falls last year and had this exact experience on 10th. The light at 6th St. SW was particularly horrendous. Unfortunately, I'm trying to clinch US 89, so it had to be driven once. At least I won't have to suffer that again.

My own contribution to this thread is going to be another road in Montana that I drove on that trip, for the same reason: US 93/Reserve Street in Missoula. My theory was that Montana is such a big rural empty state that MDT forgot they might have to hire a traffic engineer or two.

Bruce

Seattle: I-5 southbound in the afternoon. With the express lanes running opposite (and thus one lane fewer at Northgate), it is always terrible.

Techknow

Quote from: vdeane on February 16, 2023, 12:40:33 PM
Quote from: Techknow on February 15, 2023, 10:18:30 PM
A one-lane county road with a private drive section in-between. I had the pleasure of driving on this particular one three weeks ago before I just turned around:

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.4674753,-122.2747159,3a,82.3y,127.38h,88.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sokbc45ng8QgCaTQqNdiOtw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192


You're going to give MMM nightmares and/or a heart attack with that road!
I don't doubt that! I didn't even know such a road could exist in the Bay Area until I tried to drive to a county park so I just had to share it!

A more serious answer from me is driving within downtown San Francisco, or any major city with one-way streets. If one's destination is at the north end of the city, it won't be fun to get there in the afternoon (I'm going to there for a dentist appointment next month). Any freeway will be 2-3 miles from the destination, assuming one even endures the slog on US-101/I-80. Instead one will have to take a bunch of streets and arterials. Specific streets include Guerrero St, Van Ness Ave, Franklin St, Fell St, Oak St.

Rothman

Being afraid of one-way streets is interesting.  When I lived in San Francisco, I was impressed by how the grid was set up, especially with careful thought for intersections with no left turns, sending traffic around right turn blocks.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

1995hoo

I would not want to commute on Maryland Route 210 (Indian Head Highway) in PG and Charles Counties. It's generally known as one of the most dangerous roads in the DC area because of the hyper-aggressive drivers and extreme speeds (not at all unusual to see people weaving in and out of traffic at triple-digit speeds and to see people driving at full speed on the shoulder to pass stopped traffic). The road itself is fine, it's the people who drive on it who are the problem. Channel 4 news had a report the other night about how the speed cameras on there are not having the desired effect because somehow none of the people who were exceeding 89 mph have received camera tickets (which, in some ways, is an unfortunate thing for the news to report because it tells you one potentially dangerous way to avoid a camera ticket!).
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JayhawkCO

I-25 in Denver. About 20 miles of suck in both directions.



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