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Unpopular Anything Road-Related Opinions

Started by Ned Weasel, March 26, 2021, 01:01:03 PM

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Ned Weasel

Got one that doesn't fit in the route designation threads?  Put it here!  I'll start:

Control states are better than control cities.  Why?  When the control destination is automatically the next state the highway passes through, you can no longer nitpick over which city is inherently more "worthy" of winning the control city trophy.  (Example: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=11190.msg2588597#msg2588597 )
"I was raised by a cup of coffee." - Strong Bad imitating Homsar

Disclaimer: Views I express are my own and don't reflect any employer or associated entity.


Max Rockatansky

The overwhelming majority of freeways are boring to drive on.

hbelkins

Traffic lights are better than roundabouts. Four-way stops are better than roundabouts. Anything is better than a roundabout.

US 31 does not need to be a full freeway between Indy and South Bend.

Any limited-access freeway that connects to an interstate and nominally meets interstate standards, or is indistinguishable from an interstate by the average motorist, should be signed as an interstate.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Ned Weasel

Quote from: hbelkins on March 26, 2021, 01:43:02 PM
Traffic lights are better than roundabouts. Four-way stops are better than roundabouts. Anything is better than a roundabout.

Hah, you got me on that one!  :P  I'll still defend my lovely, annoying circular roadways, though.  Oh, and if your personal hell isn't the UK or Massachusetts, then it must be this place: https://goo.gl/maps/PGrYJR3Bkg9xYJWK8

A few more of mine:

Breezewood isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be (and it's actually kind of fun).

We should look to intersection improvements that can improve traffic flow on arterial roads and surface highways before jumping to the conclusion that they need to be made into freeways or bypassed with freeways.  (See Muskogee, Oklahoma, for example.)

The hierarchy of roads is overrated.  While idealistic, it can impose land use and access burdens if used unwisely, and it's not surprising that most places in the real-world take a somewhat half-hearted approach to implementing it anyway.

Driveways on expressways are just fine if they're right-in, right out (or signalized if it's something major like the entry to a mall or an amusement park).
"I was raised by a cup of coffee." - Strong Bad imitating Homsar

Disclaimer: Views I express are my own and don't reflect any employer or associated entity.

kphoger

Quote from: hbelkins on March 26, 2021, 01:43:02 PM
Four-way stops are better than _________.

No sentence can start that way and end up being correct.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

hotdogPi

Quote from: kphoger on March 26, 2021, 02:45:08 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on March 26, 2021, 01:43:02 PM
Four-way stops are better than _________.

No sentence can start that way and end up being correct.

Five-way stops
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

kphoger

Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

kphoger

My unpopular opinion:  I like arc sodium highway lighting better than the modern alternatives.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

Scott5114

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 26, 2021, 01:17:52 PM
The overwhelming majority of freeways are boring to drive on.

So are the overwhelming majority of conventional roads, for that matter. The argument for conventional roads is you get to "see more", by which they usually mean more small towns. Small towns are more or less interchangeable and have nothing unique to them that isn't a historic event (which probably isn't going on while you're passing through on the state highway) or some local business (sure, Nellie's Diner makes fantastic fried chicken, but so does Glenda's Diner in a town about the same size that's 50 miles down the road, and about 20 different restaurants in an actual city).

And let's face it, when you're on a trip, you don't have the time to stop in every single small town and learn all about the Oak Resin Rebellion of 1917 (when Jeridida Sawfunkler climbed the grain elevator and declared "No man should have to parallel park on the streets of Goltry!"), or which of the anonymous historic buildings on Main Street (or is it Broadway?) makes the best fried paperclips, or whatever. Most of them are just going to represent a 25 mph zone in between two 65 mph zones that you have to slow down for as you make your way through the historic downtown that will look exactly like the historic downtown of the next 25 mph zone you will encounter eighteen miles down the road.

Freeways at least give you the opportunity to cover distance so you get to actually interesting places faster.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

1995hoo

My unpopular opinion, at least among members of this forum: I prefer Clearview signs to Highway Gothic.

(Reason for that: I find them easier to read from a distance, especially at night.)
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

TEG24601

There is nothing wrong with left entrances or exits, under any circumstance... except when there is a lot of traffic that wants to go from a right-hand onramp to the left off-ramp, or left on-ramp to right off-ramp in a short distance.
They said take a left at the fork in the road.  I didn't think they literally meant a fork, until plain as day, there was a fork sticking out of the road at a junction.

Ned Weasel

Quote from: Scott5114 on March 26, 2021, 03:04:36 PM
So are the overwhelming majority of conventional roads, for that matter. The argument for conventional roads is you get to "see more", by which they usually mean more small towns. Small towns are more or less interchangeable and have nothing unique to them that isn't a historic event (which probably isn't going on while you're passing through on the state highway) or some local business (sure, Nellie's Diner makes fantastic fried chicken, but so does Glenda's Diner in a town about the same size that's 50 miles down the road, and about 20 different restaurants in an actual city).

And let's face it, when you're on a trip, you don't have the time to stop in every single small town and learn all about the Oak Resin Rebellion of 1917 (when Jeridida Sawfunkler climbed the grain elevator and declared "No man should have to parallel park on the streets of Goltry!"), or which of the anonymous historic buildings on Main Street (or is it Broadway?) makes the best fried paperclips, or whatever. Most of them are just going to represent a 25 mph zone in between two 65 mph zones that you have to slow down for as you make your way through the historic downtown that will look exactly like the historic downtown of the next 25 mph zone you will encounter eighteen miles down the road.

This is gold.  You could write a whole essay on this topic and call it "The Generic Small Town."
"I was raised by a cup of coffee." - Strong Bad imitating Homsar

Disclaimer: Views I express are my own and don't reflect any employer or associated entity.

kphoger

Quote from: formulanone on March 25, 2021, 01:36:26 PM
The idea that Senator Goofball and Representative Busybody and the Lollypop Guild had a hand in stopping the completion of the Overbite Expressway and championed an exit to their mistress' hometowns rarely interests me.

Quote from: Scott5114 on March 26, 2021, 03:04:36 PM
And let's face it, when you're on a trip, you don't have the time to stop in every single small town and learn all about the Oak Resin Rebellion of 1917 (when Jeridida Sawfunkler climbed the grain elevator and declared "No man should have to parallel park on the streets of Goltry!"), or which of the anonymous historic buildings on Main Street (or is it Broadway?) makes the best fried paperclips, or whatever.

I must say, the literary quality of forum posts has been improving noticeably lately.  Thanks for the good reading, gentlemen!
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

jmacswimmer

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 26, 2021, 03:07:59 PM
My unpopular opinion, at least among members of this forum: I prefer Clearview signs to Highway Gothic.

(Reason for that: I find them easier to read from a distance, especially at night.)

When it's done right (i.e. Clearview only for the control cities & Highway Gothic everywhere else) I also really like Clearview - here's a VDOT example I find snazzy.  It's the Clearview-overload signs I despise (such as this PennDOT montrosity).
"Now, what if da Bearss were to enter the Indianapolis 5-hunnert?"
"How would they compete?"
"Let's say they rode together in a big buss."
"Is Ditka driving?"
"Of course!"
"Then I like da Bear buss."
"DA BEARSSS BUSSSS"

interstatefan990

Some of mine:

-Undivided two lane roads with a speed limit of over 45 MPH are inherently dangerous.
-Eight-inch signal lights should be banned.
-There should be certain stretches of interstate that have no speed limit and only an advisory speed (okay, maybe not unpopular)
-Clearview is a tragic mistake. Not just a preference.
-Pavement arrows should be used next to ONE WAY signs and anywhere where the flow of traffic isn't very apparent
-If you're speeding 20+ over in the lane next to me, behind me, and I change lanes into you with a signal, you should hold the majority of the liability for any collision.
-A single center yellow line is acceptable for low-speed non-freeway roads with one lane in each direction.
-Roundabouts and four-way stops, if you know what you're doing and where you're going, AREN'T THAT BAD.

Multi-lane roundabouts are an abomination to mankind.

1995hoo

Quote from: interstatefan990 on March 26, 2021, 03:52:39 PM
Some of mine:

-Undivided two lane roads with a speed limit of over 45 MPH are inherently dangerous.
....

If you don't mind my asking, what causes you to have this opinion? I interpret your comment to mean any two-lane road, including rural highways such as this one (which has a 65-mph speed limit, FWIW) or this one (posted at 55 mph).
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

kphoger

Quote from: interstatefan990 on March 26, 2021, 03:52:39 PM
-Undivided two lane roads with a speed limit of over 45 MPH are inherently dangerous.

Driving is inherently dangerous.  Everything beyond that is merely a matter of degrees.

Quote from: interstatefan990 on March 26, 2021, 03:52:39 PM
-There should be certain stretches of interstate that have no speed limit and only an advisory speed (okay, maybe not unpopular)

So driving an undivided highway at 55 mph is inherently dangerous, but driving a divided highway as fast as you want is not?

Quote from: interstatefan990 on March 26, 2021, 03:52:39 PM
-A single center yellow line is acceptable for low-speed non-freeway roads with one lane in each direction.

A lot of the world agrees with you.  In fact, many of them don't even bother with the color yellow either.  https://goo.gl/maps/QrJ3pSkbhVbw89Gw5
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: interstatefan990 on March 26, 2021, 03:52:39 PM
Some of mine:

-Undivided two lane roads with a speed limit of over 45 MPH are inherently dangerous.

It's better to make roadways dangerous enough so they are engineered for a 45 mph limit?

index

#18

       
  • I like clearview
  • Short, intra-state 3DUS routes don't have to go, there's nothing wrong with them
  • Grid and numbering system violations, bar ridiculously egregious ones that make no sense and take a number from a location it could serve better/is close in proximity, don't matter. In fact I could go as far as to say numbering grids don't matter at all. How many people actually navigate by a grid? Do most people even know what grids mean/pay attention to them? Would it impair navigation at all to ignore those rules? Some state highway systems don't even follow a grid anymore. Try to follow them, sure, that's cool, I'm all for that, but in the very end I don't believe it's that big a deal.
  • Most state DOTs are horrible and really need to invest not only in improving their infrastructure and making road quality suck less, but adopting better standards. All states should adopt 6 inch markings and RRPMs, even on two lane roads and surface roads, ditch paint for any and all uses, etc. The FHWA should push for this as hard as they pushed FDOT to ditch colored US shields.
  • Building freeways everywhere and adding lanes is only a temporary, band-aid fix on capacity issues. People have got to leave behind the 50s and 60s urban planning mentality. Freeway expansions are generally bad and should be avoided at all costs, bar some exceptions such as I-526 in Charleston (which the planned "extension" of needs to be a proper freeway. Not a stupid at-grade boulevard that has the potential to shave off only two seconds of commute time.)
  • Four-way stops should be totally banned. If an intersection is dangerous enough to necessitate them, signalize it.
  • Instead of saying "people should just learn to drive" we should invest in features that lower the probability of someone making a dumb mistake. Stupid is gonna stupid, so it's best to save the people who know what they're doing and pull their weight properly from it.
I love my 2010 Ford Explorer.



Counties traveled

Zeffy

I prefer jughandles at busy intersections compared to trying to turn left against traffic.
Life would be boring if we didn't take an offramp every once in a while

A weird combination of a weather geek, roadgeek, car enthusiast and furry mixed with many anxiety related disorders

1995hoo

Quote from: jmacswimmer on March 26, 2021, 03:35:54 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 26, 2021, 03:07:59 PM
My unpopular opinion, at least among members of this forum: I prefer Clearview signs to Highway Gothic.

(Reason for that: I find them easier to read from a distance, especially at night.)

When it's done right (i.e. Clearview only for the control cities & Highway Gothic everywhere else) I also really like Clearview - here's a VDOT example I find snazzy.  It's the Clearview-overload signs I despise (such as this PennDOT montrosity).

Those VDOT signs do look good. Some of VDOT's earliest Clearview signs were absolute monstrosities (those two, which are gone now due to interchange reconfiguration, were so bad the FHWA featured them in its FAQ about what not to do) and there are still some pretty ugly ones out there.

On the whole, though, even when the sign is ugly, I still find it easier to read, although I will concede that with a really ugly sign I get distracted by the ugly aspect and may miss what the sign says (not that it matters in my case in the examples in the prior paragraph since I know the roads).
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

SkyPesos

I'll take Clearview over Georgia's Series D signs.

sprjus4

Quote from: jmacswimmer on March 26, 2021, 03:35:54 PM
I also really like Clearview - here's a VDOT example I find snazzy.
I despise that particular signage setup, and it's not due to the Clearview font.

It's because it gives a "1/2 mile" notice then a mere 350 ft later, exits off.

Talk about a mislead.

kphoger

Quote from: SkyPesos on March 26, 2021, 04:39:49 PM
I'll take Clearview over Georgia's Series D signs.

Over, like, as in Clearview exit tabs?
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

kphoger

Quote from: sprjus4 on March 26, 2021, 04:49:45 PM

Quote from: jmacswimmer on March 26, 2021, 03:35:54 PM
I also really like Clearview - here's a VDOT example I find snazzy.

I despise that particular signage setup, and it's not due to the Clearview font.

It's because it gives a "1/2 mile" notice then a mere 350 ft later, exits off.

Talk about a mislead.

To the lane split, yes.  To the actual gore point, no.  That's a tough one...
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.