The inspiration for creating this topic came after seeing four Amish horse drawn carriages between Seymour and Fordland, MO on US-60. I see at least one almost every time I drive that section of US-60.
share the road (https://www.google.com/maps/@37.1677171,-92.8048106,3a,15y,314.19h,90.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQV_K0eFh0riVhBS91lUSqg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192)
"Horse and buggies" (as we call them) are very common in the Finger Lakes region of New York, especially the area between Canandaigua and Seneca Lakes. You could easily see four or more on NY 14A, NY 54, NY 245, and other various state and county roads.
If I had to nominate a specific stretch of state highway, it would be NY 14A between Penn Yan and Hall (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6723753,-77.0634863,3a,49.5y,337.71h,91.24t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sUs0aKWySzrhmJXBZ5IBjIw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en).
The 1940 Mercer Island Floating Bridge had a toll category for a horse and carriage. Until the late 1980s, it was still carrying I-90 on four lanes, or 3/1 reversible lanes at rush hour. I can't even imagine the traffic disruption a horse and carriage would cause.
Probably CA 4 over Ebbetts Pass.
PA 896. Passed many of them driving from the Lancaster area to Delaware.
US-27 and IN-218 in Berne, IN. Plenty of Amish folk around there.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 05, 2020, 10:41:52 PM
PA 896. Passed many of them driving from the Lancaster area to Delaware.
I'm sure PA 743 has plenty as well.
Probably PA 340 in Lancaster County - the road through Intercourse and Bird-In-Hand.
In MN the candidates are US 52, MN 16, MN 44, and maybe MN 139.
Quote from: ozarkman417 on September 05, 2020, 09:20:33 PM
The inspiration for creating this topic came after seeing four Amish horse drawn carriages between Seymour and Fordland, MO on US-60. I see at least one almost every time I drive that section of US-60.
share the road (https://www.google.com/maps/@37.1677171,-92.8048106,3a,15y,314.19h,90.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQV_K0eFh0riVhBS91lUSqg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192)
I actually drove US 60 through this area a few weeks ago. Had no idea there was an Amish community down there, but sure enough, after passing at least three of those "share the road" signs, a horse-drawn carriage crossed the road while I was stopped at a red light.
Quote from: I-55 on September 05, 2020, 10:53:59 PM
US-27 and IN-218 in Berne, IN. Plenty of Amish folk around there.
Also in Indiana, buggies are often seen on US-6, US-20 and other state highways in Elkhart County. In fact wider-than-normal shoulders can be found in places to help keep the horses, buggies and riders safe from the mechanized traffic.
IL 4 in Jackson County near Ava. At least daily frequency
It doesn't hurt that some of the local Amish population has property right along IL 4
I would say PA in general. I've seen them on trips farther to the west, and I saw at least three while clinching PA 75 yesterday.
Middlefield, Ohio has an Amish community, so that area bounded by Parkman and Burton has a lot of horse-drawn carriages to watch for. Ohio Routes 528, 168, 88, 608 in particular.
Warning sign in OH 168:(https://live.staticflickr.com/7801/46744794954_cb8a7cd8e6_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2edFhYA)
There was a wide shoulder on OH 528:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7803/47415146882_fa40933259_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2feV2fs)
M-185 around Mackinac Island, Michigan. Obviously has nothing to do with the Amish though.
Quote from: theline on September 06, 2020, 03:40:02 AM
Quote from: I-55 on September 05, 2020, 10:53:59 PM
US-27 and IN-218 in Berne, IN. Plenty of Amish folk around there.
Also in Indiana, buggies are often seen on US-6, US-20 and other state highways in Elkhart County. In fact wider-than-normal shoulders can be found in places to help keep the horses, buggies and riders safe from the mechanized traffic.
LaGrange County probably has more than any other Indiana County. Also some in NE Marshall County
Plenty of them on PA 272 and US 222 in Pennsylvania south of Lancaster.
Before it was decomissioned, WI-149. Ran through a heavily Amish area. As for routes that still exist, WI-67 between Kiel and Plymouth has a lot.
M-18 in Michigan you'll see quite a few especially between Gladwin and Houghton Lake.
Quote from: Flint1979 on September 06, 2020, 03:23:15 PM
M-18 in Michigan you'll see quite a few especially between Gladwin and Houghton Lake.
Also M-60, M-66 and M-86 around Sturgis and to the northeast. They seem to stay off US-12 though.
US 11/15 south of Selinsgrove has many...which is a little unnerving as it's a 4-lane divided arterial with a limit of 55 MPH...but many people travel 70 or more.
Honorable mention to KY 839, where my dad and I had to pass a horse and buggy not long after passing by this sign (https://www.google.com/maps/@36.8980271,-85.7907802,3a,75y,158.42h,76.55t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2WYtIw9mUDLzGygfjo8uAg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en). That was one of very few vehicles we saw on that road (the only reason we got routed there in the first place was that Nashville was a parking lot and we had to get to our hotel in northern Georgia by a decent time)
Quote from: GaryV on September 06, 2020, 04:35:04 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on September 06, 2020, 03:23:15 PM
M-18 in Michigan you'll see quite a few especially between Gladwin and Houghton Lake.
Also M-60, M-66 and M-86 around Sturgis and to the northeast. They seem to stay off US-12 though.
Ties right in with Indiana's Amish Country east of Elkhart.
Along with the Geauga County Amish community, there is a larger Amish community for Ohio in Holmes County.
US 62 from Millersburg to Winesburg and Oh 39 from Berlin (where it joins US 62 into Millersburg) east to Sugarcreek.
M-83 in the city of Frankenmuth, MI. Horse and buggy rides down Main St. (aka M-83) are a big tourist attraction, and Frankenmuth is Michigan's most visited tourist destination.
Quote from: tdindy88 on September 06, 2020, 07:58:59 AM
M-185 around Mackinac Island, Michigan.
Why is this even a debate?
Quote from: kphoger on September 09, 2020, 02:41:34 PM
Quote from: tdindy88 on September 06, 2020, 07:58:59 AM
M-185 around Mackinac Island, Michigan.
Why is this even a debate?
Depends on whether "most common" refers to the total volume, or the percentage of total traffic.
Anything in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, "Amish Country". I've driven most often on PA 272 and PA 372, and they have been plentiful on both highways.
Quote from: webny99 on September 09, 2020, 04:08:26 PM
Quote from: kphoger on September 09, 2020, 02:41:34 PM
Quote from: tdindy88 on September 06, 2020, 07:58:59 AM
M-185 around Mackinac Island, Michigan.
Why is this even a debate?
Depends on whether "most common" refers to the total volume, or the percentage of total traffic.
I wonder if it really does depend or not. :hmmm:
Below is the map for Mackinac Island Carriage Tours. The bit right by 'Historic Downtown' is M-185. So every regular carriage ride involves a horse-drawn carriage on a state-maintained highway. The total number of carriage rides in a given year might outweigh that on the other highways mentioned. Perhaps not a place like Lancaster County, though, I suppose.
(https://www.mict.com/assets/Tour_Map2.jpg)
I don't even get why M-185 even exists anymore or ever did in the first place really.
Quote from: Flint1979 on September 09, 2020, 06:04:19 PM
I don't even get why M-185 even exists anymore or ever did in the first place really.
It was designated a state highway in 1933. In that year, there were 192 automobiles per 1000 Americans–a number which would double in the next 23 years and quadruple by 1995. The banning of automobiles on a particular road may have meant less back then compared to now.
It is a state-maintained route that still allows bicycles, horses with or without carriages, and snowmobiles. That is, it handles traffic. As such, I think it deserves its state highway designation. Perhaps it should be unsigned, but I tend to dislike unsigned state highways.
OH 603 in the Plymouth, Shiloh & Olivesburg areas
I saw three "Amish convertibles" (horse-drawn carriages with no cover) along M-91 between Lakeview and Greenville earlier this week
I have been in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania a lot, and seen plenty of horse-drawn traffic there on roads like PA-896, U.S. 222 and PA-272. Also seen horse-drawn traffic on state roads in Cecil County and St. Mary's County, Maryland.
But the most I have ever seen at one time is not in those counties, but in Centre County, Pennsylvania along PA-192 (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/40.8887597,-77.6081712/40.9228891,-77.5148125/@40.9058758,-77.5964674,8757m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!4m1!3e0) (Brush Valley Road) and along intersecting PA-445 (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/40.9228891,-77.5148125/Mortgage+Settlement+Services/@40.9644619,-77.6101039,17498m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x89ceeb5229301f99:0x465f575f02af496d!2m2!1d-77.5565413!2d40.9976506!3e0) (Madisonburg Pike Road).
PA-445 is a tough road for the horses, for it has steep grades and several switchbacks between PA-192 and PA-64 crossing a mountain ridge.
Quote from: kphoger on September 10, 2020, 10:40:08 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on September 09, 2020, 06:04:19 PM
I don't even get why M-185 even exists anymore or ever did in the first place really.
It was designated a state highway in 1933. In that year, there were 192 automobiles per 1000 Americans–a number which would double in the next 23 years and quadruple by 1995. The banning of automobiles on a particular road may have meant less back then compared to now.
It is a state-maintained route that still allows bicycles, horses with or without carriages, and snowmobiles. That is, it handles traffic. As such, I think it deserves its state highway designation. Perhaps it should be unsigned, but I tend to dislike unsigned state highways.
Plus it's in a State Park, it might as well be maintained by a State Agency. There is only one double sided reassurance shield along with mile markers anyways.
The one Amish community I know of in Central Wisconsin is in the Southwestern corner of Green Lake County by Kingston and the Southeastern corner of Marquette County by Dalton. Officially, the state recognizes this as one community all the way up to Marquette.
I usually see them along Wis 22, Wis 44 and Wis 73.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.7471177,-89.227589,12z?hl=en
In Delaware they can be found west of Dover on DE 8, DE 44, there is quite a few large Amish farms out near Hazlettville, Willow Grove, very rural area west of Dover & Camden-Wyoming.
I've never seen them on US 13 or DE 1, they'd likely would balk paying a toll.
They are very "thrifty". I drove a cab in Dover in the 70s, I'd pick them up to catch a bus to other colonies. Because their homes were a mile or two off the road they'd ride their buggies to the end of their drive then slap the horse on the ass which sent the buggy back to the house.