Best and worst Control City

[Michael in Philly]

It's got an Ikea, a mall, and such, which I suppose is the rationale for it being the "control city."

that's the absolute worst rationale ever for being a "control city".  a place like that deserves the "it's the only way to be sure" treatment.

Oh, you know what I mean:  it's a bit of what some people call an "edge city" - like King of Prussia (ten miles away from it) or Tyson's Corner (in suburban Washington).  A lot of people getting onto 476 northbound probably are actually heading there.

Disclaimer:  I am emphatically not defending the choice of Plymouth Meeting as a control city for an Interstate, even a three-digit Interstate in a metropolitan area.  American control-city practices drive me up a wall.  I was just explaining the name.  That said, the sort of people on this forum who object to "Little Rock" appearing on I-40 on the grounds that 40 misses the city limits by a whopping three miles would probably have heartily approved (before the designation 476 was extended up the Northeast Extension) of treating Plymouth Meeting as the control city for 476, since 476 actually ended there.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

It's got an Ikea, a mall, and such, which I suppose is the rationale for it being the "control city."

that's the absolute worst rationale ever for being a "control city".  a place like that deserves the "it's the only way to be sure" treatment.

Oh, you know what I mean:  it's a bit of what some people call an "edge city" - like King of Prussia (ten miles away from it) or Tyson's Corner (in suburban Washington).  A lot of people getting onto 476 northbound probably are actually heading there.

Disclaimer:  I am emphatically not defending the choice of Plymouth Meeting as a control city for an Interstate, even a three-digit Interstate in a metropolitan area.  American control-city practices drive me up a wall.  I was just explaining the name.  That said, the sort of people on this forum who object to "Little Rock" appearing on I-40 on the grounds that 40 misses the city limits by a whopping three miles would probably have heartily approved (before the designation 476 was extended up the Northeast Extension) of treating Plymouth Meeting as the control city for 476, since 476 actually ended there.

Don't worry about Jake (AgentSteel), all SoCals think the world revolve around them.

[agentsteel53]

Don't worry about Jake (AgentSteel), all SoCals think the world revolve around them.

I'm not from Socal; I just happen to live here.  Socals are the sorts of people who appreciate the existence of Ikeas, malls, and such.

[architect77]

Don't worry about Jake (AgentSteel), all SoCals think the world revolve around them.

I'm not from Socal; I just happen to live here.  Socals are the sorts of people who appreciate the existence of Ikeas, malls, and such.

There are many cool "likes" of SoCals also: Wahoo's Fish Taco, In and Out, surfing in the cold ocean, etc.

[Henry]

Here's my nomination for worst: "Park & Ride" on the stub ends of what were to become I-70 into Baltimore and I-95 into Washington. Why build those short parts in the first place when they had no chance of being completed at all?

[hobsini2]

Best control city I must say is Orlando on FL 112 EB in Miami.  At least it was there in the 90s and it was to direct motorists to Central Florida from the Miami Airport!

Worst is Memphis for I-57 in Illinois along with El Paso in the San Antonio area on I-10.  Both are 500 miles away and could use many intermediate points!

Memphis is used in order to bypass St Louis.  Name a city of consequence between El Paso and San Antonio in Texas on I-10.

Ft Stockton? lol j/k

[SSOWorld]

Not on a Interstate - but in WI just east of Dubuque: Weigh Station.

[kharvey10]

I just posted a pair on my facebook photos in the last two days of FL and GA going very classy with control cities for I-295 and I-75, respectively.

[agentsteel53]

Not on a Interstate - but in WI just east of Dubuque: Weigh Station.

even worse.  eastbound I-8 out of Yuma on a distance sign: "Inspection Station 6 1/2".  Yep, the Border Patrol!

[kharvey10]

Jake, Georgia and Florida are the two better states until you see these examples:

057 by Kimmy1978, on Flickr

055 by Kimmy1978, on Flickr

047 by Kimmy1978, on Flickr

029 by Kimmy1978, on Flickr

[1995hoo]

Coming down I-275 in St Petersburg last Sunday we saw a sign for I-175 with a "control city" of Tropicana Field. No picture, couldn't take my hands off the wheel due to traffic and Ms1995hoo doesn't find signs interesting and wouldn't grab her camera.

The Georgia examples shown above are much worse, though. At least a baseball stadium is a legitimate destination for many drivers.

[Alex]

Coming down I-275 in St Petersburg last Sunday we saw a sign for I-175 with a "control city" of Tropicana Field. No picture, couldn't take my hands off the wheel due to traffic and Ms1995hoo doesn't find signs interesting and wouldn't grab her camera.

The Georgia examples shown above are much worse, though. At least a baseball stadium is a legitimate destination for many drivers.

Well you get a baseball stadium and then an open air mall and a pier:



Dunno what else they could have used there, perhaps their formal names of North Bay Drive and South Bay Drive. I got used to them living down there and The Pier is a decent point of interest to visit.

[xcellntbuy]

Since Interstate 175 is so short, Tropicana Field is the all-imposing landmark along the shoulder of this St. Petersburg expressway.

[pianocello]

On an unrelated note, why is the "Old 10" sign over to the side of the BGS and the "Old 9" sign above the BGS? Which one is right?

[Michael in Philly]

My assumption - living in a state which has such things as well - is that they're showing the former exit numbers:  Exit 23A used to be Exit 10 and Exit 22 used to be Exit 9.  This would be when exits were consecutively numbered in Florida.

In Pennsylvania, they say "Old Exit X," not just "Old X."  But we have the same type of little tab.  (And they still appear most places even though the renumbering was about 2000.  Wonder when they'll come down.)

[xcellntbuy]

In Florida, the "Old" exit tabs were supposed to be installed for approximately a three-year period.  Hurricanes Frances, Jeanne and Wilma did a good job of tearing many of them off their posts and gantries in 2004 and 2005 and were never replaced.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

There are a couple spots in Duluth that list "Wisconsin" as a control point on I-535 and on US 2 East. There is a pull-through on 535 near the south end that lists the proper "Superior" though.

I always thought using Kittery on I-95 South in Maine was pointless. Portsmouth would have been a better choice.

[vtk]

Worse? All the towns along I-80 in Pennsylvania.

Seconded.  That should be New York for EB traffic, and Cleveland for WB traffic, IMO.

I'll post my "best" after reading the rest of the thread.

[vtk]

On two-level control cities: I-270 in Columbus does this.  From the other Interstates and a few other major routes, the control cities for I-270 are Dayton (or Indianapolis), Wheeling, Cincinnati, and Cleveland -- strictly, the control city for the next outbound Interstate you'd hit going the given direction on I-270.  From most of the surface streets, the control cities for I-270 are Grove City, Dublin, Westerville, and Obetz.  And for some reason, the guide signage to enter I-270 from Roberts Rd, Cemetery Rd, and Tuttle Crossing Blvd are ridiculously substandard; using rural style LGS, giving next to no hint on which lane you need to be in, and often at the turn for the entrance ramp, there's only a destination and distance sign, without an I-270 shield or direction.

Anyway...  I think my nomination for best control cities would have to be all 5 outbound control cities from Spaghetti Junction in Louisville.  Five cities in five states from one point is just awesome: Nashville, St Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Lexington.  (And you'd have to drive through a sixth state, not represented, to get to one of those...)

[edit: minor rewording for clarity]

[allniter89]

and the sixth state is Illinois. 

[Kniwt]

Along US 12 in Missoula, there's an old-ish BGS with a control city of just "University" for the University of Montana:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=rattlesnake+dr+and+broadway,+missoula+mt&hl=en&ll=46.869933,-113.986845&spn=0,0.022638&oe=UTF-8&z=16&layer=c&cbll=46.869993,-113.987011&panoid=wjl-rfAs41y1lvxbOqBICw&cbp=12,304.59,,0,-3.07

[1995hoo]

There is a new pull-through sign on I-95 in Virginia at Exit 161, saw it for the first time last night but was unable to take a picture because I had just driven in from Florida and it was just before midnight and I was tired, but I thought it was pretty well-executed in terms of giving guidance to people not from Northern Virginia. The sign used to read I-95 North with a control city of Washington. Now it's a very big two-panel BGS (all in Clearview, for those who care). The left panel is the standard pull-through sign for I-95 North but lists control cities of Baltimore and New York City (top to bottom in that order). The right panel then says "Washington Follow I-395 North" and gives the distance to I-395, which is 8 or 9 miles from that sign.

Some people might object to putting New York City as a control city on a sign in Virginia–shades of the famous signs in Petersburg that list Miami and Atlanta–but I thought it wasn't a bad idea at all in terms of providing some level of clarification to people who do not go through the Springfield Interchange very often. I suppose one could quibble that New York might best be moved to an auxiliary sign with Baltimore left as the control city; I wouldn't argue on that point, but I don't mind seeing New York on there either. People getting lost at Springfield (and making U-turns at the Van Dorn Street exit near where I live) are a perpetual plague.

[vtk]

There is a new pull-through sign on I-95 in Virginia at Exit 161, saw it for the first time last night but was unable to take a picture because I had just driven in from Florida and it was just before midnight and I was tired, but I thought it was pretty well-executed in terms of giving guidance to people not from Northern Virginia. The sign used to read I-95 North with a control city of Washington. Now it's a very big two-panel BGS (all in Clearview, for those who care). The left panel is the standard pull-through sign for I-95 North but lists control cities of Baltimore and New York City (top to bottom in that order). The right panel then says "Washington Follow I-395 North" and gives the distance to I-395, which is 8 or 9 miles from that sign.

Sounds like pretty good guidance to me.

[MeanMeosh]

Worst - any road that uses "THRU TRAFFIC" or some variation as the control city.  Just name a place, dadgummit!!!  I would also nominate using Redlands as a control city for I-10 eastbound in parts of the Inland Empire.  Who the f*** goes to Redlands, anyway.  Just use Indio or something.

Best - I saw a control city of "Canada" north of Niagra Falls.  I think it was for I-190 west heading across the river.

[Kniwt]

How about in Utah there being no real control city for I-70 westbound.  It switches from small Utah town to small Utah town, or just "I-15".  Why not sign Las Vegas or Salt Lake City.  Or even Los Angeles.

I don't know if I would use control cities for another interstate on a mainline interstate. That seems a bit misleading to me.

In any event, Los Angeles wouldn't make sense cause Las Vegas is about 230 miles closer and is the next designated control city along I-15 south.

but they do that on I-20 westbound when they sign El Paso, I-20 ends a long ways before and you have to take I-10 west.  Since the majority of the traffic is headed towards I-15 south i figure sign it the same as the 15.

I do agree, don't sign Los Angeles that far away, i was mainly being metphorical in picking any city.  I think Las Vegas should be the control point.

Here's Las Vegas as an I-70 control city, but only at the on-ramp from Elsinore, Utah: