I recently stayed in Dinuba, CA for a very enjoyable trip to Sequoia NP. I noticed this city is a pretty decent size 21k people and not a single highway goes through it. the closest one is CA 201. So this made me wonder, what is the largest US city that has no highway going through it? By highway I mean: Interstate, State Highway, US Highway, or County Highway.
Interestingly County Routes J19 and J40 intersect Dinuba. They aren't actually signed in-field anymore but are recognized as existing by the state legislature. That said nearby Reedley isn't on any recognized County Route.
Not really a city, though it looks like West Bluefield Township in Michigan (population 65k) doesn't have any numbered highways, or at least ones marked on Google Maps. Closest one is M-10, which ends at the southern border, and there's US 24 and M-5 nearby too.
The largest city in Utah off the state highway system is Santa Clara, with about 7500 people. Most Utah counties don't really do signed county routes.
We do have a statewide, sporadically signed federal-aid route system that more or less serves the purpose of county routes in rural areas. I would be shocked if we had any incorporated municipalities without even a federal aid route.
EDIT: turns out Interlaken is off the federal aid route system. It feels like cheating though because its population is barely over 100 and it's basically an HOA incorporated as a town for utility reasons.
Quote from: SkyPesos on June 21, 2021, 12:17:01 AM
Not really a city, though it looks like West Bluefield Township in Michigan (population 65k) doesn't have any numbered highways, or at least ones marked on Google Maps. Closest one is M-10, which ends at the southern border, and there's US 24 and M-5 nearby too.
Macomb Township is bigger and only has M-59 as its southern border. M-10 does enter West Bloomfield Township for about an eighth of a mile.
Aside from the aforementioned Reedley, there are a couple of cities located within the major CA metro areas that have no Interstate, US, state, or signed/recognized county roads within their boundaries. The largest of these, in L.A. metro, is Huntington Park, located in the area bounded by I-110, I-10, I-5, I-710, and I-105 -- but not even touching any of the above. Its most recent census figure shows approximately 58K as the city population. It used to just touch former CA 42/Firestone Blvd, but that was relinquished decades ago. In Northern California, there are no such towns even approaching that population level; in the Bay Area, the largest would be Moraga (about 17K+), set back on the east side of the Oakland Hills but well away from any major highways. There's a cluster of small cities in central Marin County arrayed along Sir Francis Drake Blvd.; the largest of these is San Anselmo, about 12K, followed by Fairfax as next largest (about 8K), with Kentfield (7K) not far behind; none on a signed county route. However, purists may demur, as Marin County has their own numbering system notated solely on roadside paddles (Fairfax would be at the junction of A103 and C105 in that case!).
Similar topic from 2015 -> https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=14993.0
Perhaps we have new population numbers since then?
Monterey, IN is the strangest place off the highways I have visited. Must have had a mill or something at one point in time, but now it's just a place where people stare at you, wondering what you're doing there.
Rio Linda, CA has no highways in the Sacramento area. But then again it's a case of Rio Linda being surrounded by other cities in the Sacramento area that do have highways.
i guess i am looking for a city not near a larger city in this case. so rural i guess.
The only municipality near me that I know doesn't have any highways is Dover.
Quote from: silverback1065 on June 22, 2021, 10:23:24 PM
i guess i am looking for a city not near a larger city in this case. so rural i guess.
Tea, South Dakota, has an estimated 6000 residents, but is still about 1.5 miles away from I-29, the nearest state highway. Which would make it the largest incorporated city in SD to not have a state highway go through city limits. Nearby Harrisburg has about 6700 residents, but a part of the western boundary of the town only recently touched SD 115 via annexation.