Maps and non-interstate Controlled access highways

[bwana39]

I spend lots of time on here defending Texas and its keeping legacy numbering on freeways. The problem comes in when someone who is unfamiliar with the local roads doesn't know what the road actually is. A great example is US-175. US-175 is fully controlled access from I-45 all the way to the eastern side of Kaufman County.  (It goes to 4-lane divided highway and eventually to 2-lane).

Maps and GPS programs are not really great. While the GPS routes you according to the (generally) fastest routes , it fails to identify the types of roads you would travel. 

How would this work? What would be a good solution.

[hobsini2]

Frankly, the non interstate controlled access highways should be designated on maps like the interstates since there is a big enough difference in the design of the marker shield. Most maps do a good job with this. Google maps however does not. A change in color on their maps would be nice to distinguish freeways and tollways from a regular divided road.

[vdeane]

In fact, Google even goes so far that it makes some freeway sections as non-freeway just because one is past the last interchange.  US 15 is a freeway around Gettysburg to the MD line, but rather than making it as freeway to the first at-grade in MD, it instead marks it only to the last interchange in PA, several miles north.  Something similar happens with NY 531.  It's particularly noticeable with the Inner Loop (which ends two interchanges back, probably due to the work zone configuration when the east section was removed) and NY 204 (not marked as a freeway at all, and not even noticeable as one on the map since the stub was removed a couple decades ago), since they're not even marked as arterials.

[SkyPesos]

Here's a solution that I like for this issue, suggested by Scott5114 in another thread:

I fooled around once with the concept of making digits yellow and replacing "INTERSTATE" with "TOLL" on tolled interstates. Didn't look too bad.

I do not like the sound of that idea. I honestly think putting the word "TOLL" in yellow directly on the green background would be interesting. I made a comment about that on another thread recently.

Maybe you'll like the looks of it.

I like the "FWY" concept. Good way to differentiate between freeway and surface US/state routes without being NC or FritzOwl by making everything an interstate. Though for states without tolled US or State routes, I think the blue background be enough for freeway US/State routes, specifically on a state route shield like Ohio's where the extra wording on the top would make the numbers smaller. Might see how it works with various Ohio FWY routes of different number sizes, like US 33, OH 8, OH 126 and OH 315.

Fortunately, since the bottom of the Ohio outline is curved, there's a nice space there that you can nestle FWY in that you can't put numbers in, so you don't have to reduce the digit size on the 3-digit outline at all, just shift the numbers up. Apparently the digits are a different size on the two-digit shield, which isn't something I've seen before, but if you make them the same size as on the 3-digit shield, it still fits.

[Roadgeekteen]

GPS and google directions will tell you the fastest route regardless of road type.

[Avalanchez71]

Here's a solution that I like for this issue, suggested by Scott5114 in another thread:

I fooled around once with the concept of making digits yellow and replacing "INTERSTATE" with "TOLL" on tolled interstates. Didn't look too bad.

I do not like the sound of that idea. I honestly think putting the word "TOLL" in yellow directly on the green background would be interesting. I made a comment about that on another thread recently.

Maybe you'll like the looks of it.

I like the "FWY" concept. Good way to differentiate between freeway and surface US/state routes without being NC or FritzOwl by making everything an interstate. Though for states without tolled US or State routes, I think the blue background be enough for freeway US/State routes, specifically on a state route shield like Ohio's where the extra wording on the top would make the numbers smaller. Might see how it works with various Ohio FWY routes of different number sizes, like US 33, OH 8, OH 126 and OH 315.

Fortunately, since the bottom of the Ohio outline is curved, there's a nice space there that you can nestle FWY in that you can't put numbers in, so you don't have to reduce the digit size on the 3-digit outline at all, just shift the numbers up. Apparently the digits are a different size on the two-digit shield, which isn't something I've seen before, but if you make them the same size as on the 3-digit shield, it still fits.

You may be on to something.

[hbelkins]

Most paper maps I've seen delineate between freeways and other four-lane routes. Virginia's official state map is especially good about this.

[PastTense]

Most paper maps I've seen delineate between freeways and other four-lane routes. Virginia's official state map is especially good about this.

Yes, but what online map sources do the same (other than looking for individual official state maps)?

As to Roadgeekteen's comment that "GPS and google directions will tell you the fastest route regardless of road type.", I find that Google directions vastly overestimates the amount of time it takes to drive county blacktops in my state.

[Roadgeekteen]

Most paper maps I've seen delineate between freeways and other four-lane routes. Virginia's official state map is especially good about this.

rand mcnally does as well

[andrepoiy]

Ontario's official road map does not distinguish between a regular controlled-access freeway and a RIRO Expressway - they're marked the same for some reason.

[TheStranger]

Most paper maps I've seen delineate between freeways and other four-lane routes. Virginia's official state map is especially good about this.

Yes, but what online map sources do the same (other than looking for individual official state maps)?

OpenStreetMap seems to be pretty decent at this, showing the same color for state route, US route and Interstate freeways.

[SeriesE]

Yeah, a lot of mapping companies (looking at you, TomTom) reserve the "freeway" level road only for interstates that only ends at interstates. Pet peeve of mine.

Also they don't allow connecting roads together when there's more than 1 level difference (freeway/level 1 <-> major highway/level 2 is ok but freeway/level 1 <-> arterial road/level 3 is not) so there are some freeway segments that appear as arterial roads since the road begins or ends in that level.

[sprjus4]

Then there's Google Maps who just changed the portion of US-70 in NC between Goldsboro and Clayton from an arterial highway to freeway classification when the route is not even a limited access highway. It's a non-limited-access highway.

I've put in requests on Google Maps to mark recently upgraded freeways as proper freeways instead of keeping them the old arterial classification, and they continuously reject it. Examples would be US-17 in Chesapeake, VA between VA-165 and I-64, and US-281 in San Antonio, TX north of Loop 1604 as new mainline mileage continues to open. I will give some credit though, they did approve my request for the new western portion of Loop 1604 something like a year ago and did change it to a freeway classification. The new US-17 bypasses of Pollocksville and Maysville, NC also remain as arterials despite being limited access highways that opened 2 years ago, and the 4 lane widening that occurred between the two is STILL marked as a two lane road. I've put in many requests and denied every time.

That's Google Maps for you.

[CtrlAltDel]

I've long criticized Google Maps for poorly distinguishing the various types of roads, especially at a distance when they all types are all pretty much the same kind of yellow. So, when I need for the freeways to pop out a bit more, I go to https://wego.here.com.

Here’s a solution that I like for this issue, suggested by Scott5114 in another thread:

I fooled around once with the concept of making digits yellow and replacing "INTERSTATE" with "TOLL" on tolled interstates. Didn't look too bad.

I do not like the sound of that idea. I honestly think putting the word "TOLL" in yellow directly on the green background would be interesting. I made a comment about that on another thread recently.

Maybe you'll like the looks of it.

I like the "FWY" concept. Good way to differentiate between freeway and surface US/state routes without being NC or FritzOwl by making everything an interstate. Though for states without tolled US or State routes, I think the blue background be enough for freeway US/State routes, specifically on a state route shield like Ohio's where the extra wording on the top would make the numbers smaller. Might see how it works with various Ohio FWY routes of different number sizes, like US 33, OH 8, OH 126 and OH 315.

Fortunately, since the bottom of the Ohio outline is curved, there's a nice space there that you can nestle FWY in that you can't put numbers in, so you don't have to reduce the digit size on the 3-digit outline at all, just shift the numbers up. Apparently the digits are a different size on the two-digit shield, which isn't something I've seen before, but if you make them the same size as on the 3-digit shield, it still fits.

I think the issue in the OP is more about maps than shields.

[SkyPesos]

I've long criticized Google Maps for poorly distinguishing the various types of roads, especially at a distance when they all types are all pretty much the same kind of yellow. So, when I need for the freeways to pop out a bit more, I go to https://wego.here.com.

Here's a solution that I like for this issue, suggested by Scott5114 in another thread:

I fooled around once with the concept of making digits yellow and replacing "INTERSTATE" with "TOLL" on tolled interstates. Didn't look too bad.

I do not like the sound of that idea. I honestly think putting the word "TOLL" in yellow directly on the green background would be interesting. I made a comment about that on another thread recently.

Maybe you'll like the looks of it.

I like the "FWY" concept. Good way to differentiate between freeway and surface US/state routes without being NC or FritzOwl by making everything an interstate. Though for states without tolled US or State routes, I think the blue background be enough for freeway US/State routes, specifically on a state route shield like Ohio's where the extra wording on the top would make the numbers smaller. Might see how it works with various Ohio FWY routes of different number sizes, like US 33, OH 8, OH 126 and OH 315.

Fortunately, since the bottom of the Ohio outline is curved, there's a nice space there that you can nestle FWY in that you can't put numbers in, so you don't have to reduce the digit size on the 3-digit outline at all, just shift the numbers up. Apparently the digits are a different size on the two-digit shield, which isn't something I've seen before, but if you make them the same size as on the 3-digit shield, it still fits.

I think the issue in the OP is more about maps than shields.

I was using the shields as a solution for GPS users. There's most likely drivers out there (including my dad not that long ago) that ignores non-interstate highways routing on long-distance trips because they think US and state routes are always local roads and slower, not realizing that it may be a freeway. Seeing the "FWY" under a US or SR shield might change a driver's mind about ignoring them.