Control cities you would use for your area

[shoptb1]

Ever since I first saw that, I thought Santa Rosa seemed a bit too small for a control city, especially at a major highway junction like I-40/I-25. If they still wanted to use a smaller city and one that was in the state, they could use Tucumcari, which is what I-40 West in Amarillo is signed for.

I agree, Tucumcari should be used as the control city for NM along I-40 east of Albuquerque.

[thenetwork]

I almost feel like in the Cleveland area, I-480 east of I-271 and I-80 between I-480 and I-76 should have Pittsburgh as a secondary control city as well, even though 80 exits itself at I-76...

Perhaps, but when you get to the I-76/I-80 Switcheroo in Youngstown, it's a safe assumption that half of the EB I-80 traffic on the Turnpike stays on I-80 while only the other half of EB I-80 continue on I-76 towards Pittsburgh.  Same with EB I-76 Traffic coming from the Akron area.  Therefore, only listing Youngstown as the lone control city from Cleveland or Akron to the I-76/I-80 junction is the proper choice of destination.  If there was a bigger majority of traffic (at least 75%) that remain on both the Ohio & Penna Pikes from Cleveland or Akron, then including Pittsburgh could be warranted.

[golden eagle]

I-40  at the junction with I-25  (locally known as the  Big  Eye),  shows a control city eastbound as Santa  Rosa  (  population 2500).   Most  interstate travelers   would be unframiliar with such as  small  town.  My suggestion:  Amarillo (  population 170,000).  New  Mexico  prefers the smaller  control cities, except in the south  where they use  Tucson  or El Paso  on the BGS.

Do they use Las Cruces for a control city on I-25? What about Truth or Consequences?

[huskeroadgeek]

I-40  at the junction with I-25  (locally known as the  Big  Eye),  shows a control city eastbound as Santa  Rosa  (  population 2500).   Most  interstate travelers   would be unframiliar with such as  small  town.  My suggestion:  Amarillo (  population 170,000).  New  Mexico  prefers the smaller  control cities, except in the south  where they use  Tucson  or El Paso  on the BGS.

Do they use Las Cruces for a control city on I-25? What about Truth or Consequences?

At the I-40/I-25 junction the following control cities are signed:
I-40 East-Santa Rosa
I-40 West-Gallup
I-25 North-Santa Fe
I-25 South-Las Cruces

Truth or Consequences would be interesting to see on a sign at a major road junction though.

[TheStranger]

I almost feel like in the Cleveland area, I-480 east of I-271 and I-80 between I-480 and I-76 should have Pittsburgh as a secondary control city as well, even though 80 exits itself at I-76...

Perhaps, but when you get to the I-76/I-80 Switcheroo in Youngstown, it's a safe assumption that half of the EB I-80 traffic on the Turnpike stays on I-80 while only the other half of EB I-80 continue on I-76 towards Pittsburgh.  Same with EB I-76 Traffic coming from the Akron area.  Therefore, only listing Youngstown as the lone control city from Cleveland or Akron to the I-76/I-80 junction is the proper choice of destination.  If there was a bigger majority of traffic (at least 75%) that remain on both the Ohio & Penna Pikes from Cleveland or Akron, then including Pittsburgh could be warranted.

Do you have any numbers to show how much 80 east traffic stays on the turnpike for 76 towards Pennsylvania?

I've always been interested in seeing what the most popular route is from Los Angeles to SF (there is no signage for SF anywhere in the LA metro area, as opposed to signage for 101 south beginning in Santa Clara, and for 580 east-to-5 south starting in Oakland/Berkeley from both directions of I-80) going northbound, as there are three obvious options: 101 (first signed for SF in Ventura about 65 miles from downtown LA), 5 (first signed for SF via 580 in Wheeler Ridge) to 580, and 5 to 152 to 101.

[national highway 1]

What is the control city on I-15 N after Salt Lake?

[huskeroadgeek]

What is the control city on I-15 N after Salt Lake?

I believe Ogden, and then Pocatello.

[thenetwork]

Do you have any numbers to show how much 80 east traffic stays on the turnpike for 76 towards Pennsylvania?

I don't know the exact count, but there was an article in one of the NE Ohio papers about 6-7 years ago which listed the Turnpike's 5 busiest toll plazas.  Excluding the mainline toll barriers at each end of the pike, Exit 218 was in the top 5 -- I-280/SR-420 south of Toledo topped the list at #1. The I-90 junction in Elyria and the I-480 western terminus in North Ridgeville were also in the top 5, in no particular order. I can't recall the fifth interchange, though.

[njroadhorse]

Do you have any numbers to show how much 80 east traffic stays on the turnpike for 76 towards Pennsylvania?

I don't know the exact count, but there was an article in one of the NE Ohio papers about 6-7 years ago which listed the Turnpike's 5 busiest toll plazas.  Excluding the mainline toll barriers at each end of the pike, Exit 218 was in the top 5 -- I-280/SR-420 south of Toledo topped the list at #1. The I-90 junction in Elyria and the I-480 western terminus in North Ridgeville were also in the top 5, in no particular order. I can't recall the fifth interchange, though.

It might be the I-71 or I-77 interchanges.  Those would make the most sense.

[The Premier]

Do you have any numbers to show how much 80 east traffic stays on the turnpike for 76 towards Pennsylvania?

I don't know the exact count, but there was an article in one of the NE Ohio papers about 6-7 years ago which listed the Turnpike's 5 busiest toll plazas.  Excluding the mainline toll barriers at each end of the pike, Exit 218 was in the top 5 -- I-280/SR-420 south of Toledo topped the list at #1. The I-90 junction in Elyria and the I-480 western terminus in North Ridgeville were also in the top 5, in no particular order. I can't recall the fifth interchange, though.

It might be the I-71 or I-77 interchanges.  Those would make the most sense.

It has to be the I-71 interchange because it was the only main connection to Cleveland. I-77 didn't have a direct connection until 2001.

[golden eagle]

When I was traveling down I-59 in Hattiesburg, the exit for U.S. 11 has South Hattiesburg. Nothing wrong with that, but I'd also include Purvis on there, though the Purvis exit is about ten miles down the road.

[Bickendan]

Seattle used to be used as a control city on I-5 northbound north of Salem or Woodburn, with Portland as the intermediary control city. They've since switched it to Portland being the final control city along the stretch.

[Interstate Trav]

Bay Area:  The control city for I-580 East should be Los Angeles, not Stockton.

Generally speaking the "piddly little town that happens to be near the state border" control city practice should be prohibited. If nobody outside of your state has heard of it, its not a good control city.

Heading east from Los Angeles, the first sign you see listing Phoenix as the control city is not until you're almost through the Indio/Coachella area, east of Palm Springs. And Phoenix isn't even listed first on the sign--little Blythe, California is listed first! Now how many people go to Blythe as a destination?

Really, the control signs on I-10 heading east from Los Angeles should read, "San Bernardino/Phoenix." East of the junction with I-215, the signs should read "Palm Springs/Phoenix." And once you get east of the Palm Springs turnoff, the control city should be Phoenix only, not Indio or Blythe.

I disagree, I think that San Bernardino alone is fine for 10 east from Los Angeles.  Indio does get mentioned at the 15 jct though.  But how many travelers are really headed east on the 10 from Los Angeles to Phoenix.  The traffic volume drops a lot after Indio.  I think that may be part of the reason Phoenix isn't mentioned until Indio.  (Well a mileage sign after Monterey Ave just before Indio)

[agentsteel53]

I think the worst one in the southern California area is Santa Ana, on I-5 between San Diego and Los Angeles.

nearly nobody goes to Santa Ana.  Most everyone couldn't differentiate it from Irvine, Anaheim, etc on the map - they're all featureless suburbs.  To give Santa Ana precedence over Irvine or whatnot is arbitrary.  To give it preference over San Diego is bordering on absurd.  To give it preference over Los Angeles - in fact, to pull off the old button copy legend for LA and tape Santa Ana over it - is criminal.

if you're going to Santa Ana, you know it.  Through traffic, which is who really could use the control cities, is going between San Diego and Los Angeles on I-5.  The local traffic is, as likely as not, going to some other faceless Orange County hellhole.

(I hate to admit it, but if you're going to pick a destination between San Diego and Los Angeles that is useful as a control, because out-of-towners are likely to be looking for it, your most logical choice would be Disneyland.)

[corco]

I still maintain Limon CO is a weird choice for a control city- if you had to pick one city in the country that has gained lots of recognition simply because it's a control city (not the other way around), I'd bet it's Limon. Most Coloradans I've run into know where Limon is, presumably because it's so well marked in Denver metro.

I feel like "Kansas" or even "Kansas City" would be a better choice. If that were ever to be changed, I'd bet a lot that the town of Limon would fight the change hard, since it seems like most people know of it because it's a control city.

I'm sort of surprised that El Paso is the control city for I-10 east of Tucson instead of Las Cruces, but I guess it doesn't really matter.

It would also be neat to see Las Vegas marked as a control city in addition to LA on I-40 west of Flagstaff.

[Scott5114]

Topeka would probably be better than Kansas City. It's already used by KDOT for I-70 and I-335. Why not Salina, though? It may not be as major, but there's a major interstate-to-interstate junction there, and if you're headed south to Oklahoma and Texas that's where you'll be turning off.

[corco]

That's true- Topeka would be a good call.

Salina itself is similar to Limon, but the junctions (at least coming from Denver) are more significant, so that would be a step up. The only thing I associate with Salina is a May 2007 roadtrip through there where I was absolutely shocked to see the Pizza Hut completely packed on a Tuesday at about 2:00 PM, making me think there's not much going on in Salina. For Oklahoma, sure, that's the best way, but Denver->Dallas you're best off getting of in...Limon! to head down 287 (from what I gathered from Wyomingites (sample size 5 or 6 unrelated) who did that drive often. Why the 287 trek was deemed faster than going over Raton Pass is beyond me, but that seemed to be the preferred route- nobody ever mentioned going through Kansas as an option)

[mightyace]

I kind of like the two tier system they are using on TN 840.

The local tier is listed at all entrance ramps and are Franklin, Murfreesboro, and Lebanon going east and Murfreesboro, Franklin and Dickson going West.

The long distance signs are at the interstate junctions only and are Knoxville going east and Memphis going west.

I-65 uses Louisville north of Nashville and Huntsville south.  As many of you know, it used to be Birmingham southbound.  In 840 style, I'd use Huntsville and Bowling Green for the local and Birmingham and Louisville for the long distance.

[codyg1985]

I-65 uses Louisville north of Nashville and Huntsville south.  As many of you know, it used to be Birmingham southbound.  In 840 style, I'd use Huntsville and Bowling Green for the local and Birmingham and Louisville for the long distance.

The mileage signs on I-65 southbound still show Birmingham. I suppose that's because you can't get to Huntsville by staying on I-65, and it would be out of the way to use I-565.

[codyg1985]

When I was traveling down I-59 in Hattiesburg, the exit for U.S. 11 has South Hattiesburg. Nothing wrong with that, but I'd also include Purvis on there, though the Purvis exit is about ten miles down the road.

I have noticed that in Mississippi there are a lot of exits that say [cardinal direction] + [city] to emphasize the part of the city you will be accessing when you get off the freeway. Examples on US 78/I-22 are West Tupelo and West Holly Springs. I think I've seen West Jackson somewhere in there, too.

[golden eagle]

I-65 uses Louisville north of Nashville and Huntsville south.  As many of you know, it used to be Birmingham southbound.  In 840 style, I'd use Huntsville and Bowling Green for the local and Birmingham and Louisville for the long distance.

The mileage signs on I-65 southbound still show Birmingham. I suppose that's because you can't get to Huntsville by staying on I-65, and it would be out of the way to use I-565.

Really? I remember Nashville used to be the control city on I-65 in Birmingham, but was switched to Huntsville around the late 90s-early 2000s. Maybe TennDOT felt no need to change it. I'm not opposed to Huntsville being the control city, but perhaps they could use both Huntsville and Nashville as control cities in B'ham.

[codyg1985]

I-65 uses Louisville north of Nashville and Huntsville south.  As many of you know, it used to be Birmingham southbound.  In 840 style, I'd use Huntsville and Bowling Green for the local and Birmingham and Louisville for the long distance.

The mileage signs on I-65 southbound still show Birmingham. I suppose that's because you can't get to Huntsville by staying on I-65, and it would be out of the way to use I-565.

Really? I remember Nashville used to be the control city on I-65 in Birmingham, but was switched to Huntsville around the late 90s-early 2000s. Maybe TennDOT felt no need to change it. I'm not opposed to Huntsville being the control city, but perhaps they could use both Huntsville and Nashville as control cities in B'ham.

On I-65 in TN, the control city is Huntsville going south, but for some reason the mileage signs were not changed to reflect that. I-65 in Alabama going north is Huntsville as well, but in Morgan County the control city off exit ramps and on mileage signs is for Nashville.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

When I was traveling down I-59 in Hattiesburg, the exit for U.S. 11 has South Hattiesburg. Nothing wrong with that, but I'd also include Purvis on there, though the Purvis exit is about ten miles down the road.

I have noticed that in Mississippi there are a lot of exits that say [cardinal direction] + [city] to emphasize the part of the city you will be accessing when you get off the freeway. Examples on US 78/I-22 are West Tupelo and West Holly Springs. I think I've seen West Jackson somewhere in there, too.

West Jackson on US 78/I-22?
On BGS for I-220, yeah.

[relaxok]

This is easy.. not a lot of choice in Marin County!

I'm in Novato, California on US-101 smack dab between Santa Rosa and San Francisco.  So there's that.  Signs tend to use Eureka for some reason, which is way way further north, and way way smaller. (Santa Rosa is about 55 miles from San Francisco, and almost 170,000 people!)

The only other significant interstate highway nearby is I-580 which ends south of here (can't get much more control city than the endpoint - which is San Rafael).

CA-1 uses San Francisco (S) and Jenner (N) as control cities at the closest junction to where I am right now.  I don't really know what I'd say there.. Jenner is an odd choice, as it has about 250 people living in it.  But there really aren't many towns between it and when it joins back up with US-101.  Should a control city on a state route ever be past the point where a route joins another one?  I can't really think of examples off the top of my head.  If it was the only route, yes, but nobody would ever take CA-1 as a 'travel route' to go up to say, Humboldt County, they'd take US-101.  CA-1 is definitely the scenic, 'i don't care if it takes me hours and hours longer' route. 

[agentsteel53]

Should a control city on a state route ever be past the point where a route joins another one?

only at the point where the route no longer goes through anything major before its terminus.  the last westbound control city on I-210 for example is Sacramento, because by that time you are likely to be taking it all the way to the 5.