Most Worthless Control Cities

[RobbieL2415]

I have problems with this one. How many people are going to Framingham that it needs top billing as a control city? Boston would be just fine. And Taunton?? The old sign used to be NH-Maine/Cape Cod!
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2632457,-71.5719557,3a,75y,67.81h,86.22t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbWnZ6bJ-LxIIBqj_ZxgoyA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

Just Berlin would have been fine, here.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6223891,-72.7266385,3a,75y,309.95h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sQG076J7O0td-sRucaZ8KCg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DQG076J7O0td-sRucaZ8KCg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D318.2488%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

This is not a control city and is therefore worthless. Probably should be NYC here.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5302772,-72.7699033,3a,75y,192.66h,99.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soDmDPIzQZwcZiNGpa8vU9w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

First one, I agree it should be Portsmouth and Cape Cod.
The last one, Wilbur Cross Pkwy is a good control because of the vehicle restrictions on the Pkwys. Road names can be useful controls. They don't need to have cities.

There's ample "No Trucks" signage along the C/D.

[roadman65]

Taunton I guess is used cause it's where its southern interchange is with I-95 is. We can say it's the Benson of NC or the Lake City of FL.

[SkyPesos]

Missouri with Kansas City out of St. Louis on I-70, but cross into St. Louis County and Wentzville suddenly appears, followed by Columbia after  Wentzville.  KC don't appear again until after Columbia.

Eastbound I-70 uses St. Louis from west of KC in Kansas, then Columbia takes over after leaving the KC metro and then Columbia vanishes way before Columbia is reached.

MoDOT does a bunch of whack stuff with control cities that I don't like. Once you're out of St Louis city limits, Wentzville and Columbia replaces Kansas City on I-70 WB's overhead signs, same with Rolla replacing Tulsa on I-44 WB, and Cape Girardeau replacing Memphis on I-55 SB. Imo the overhead signs, as well as the bottom line on mileage signs, should be kept as Kansas City, Tulsa and Memphis the whole way on I-70 WB, I-44 WB and I-55 SB respectively, and they can sign Wentzville, Rolla, etc on minor interchange on-ramps.

[hbelkins]

Missouri with Kansas City out of St. Louis on I-70, but cross into St. Louis County and Wentzville suddenly appears, followed by Columbia after  Wentzville.  KC don't appear again until after Columbia.

Eastbound I-70 uses St. Louis from west of KC in Kansas, then Columbia takes over after leaving the KC metro and then Columbia vanishes way before Columbia is reached.

MoDOT does a bunch of whack stuff with control cities that I don't like. Once you're out of St Louis city limits, Wentzville and Columbia replaces Kansas City on I-70 WB's overhead signs, same with Rolla replacing Tulsa on I-44 WB, and Cape Girardeau replacing Memphis on I-55 SB. Imo the overhead signs, as well as the bottom line on mileage signs, should be kept as Kansas City, Tulsa and Memphis the whole way on I-70 WB, I-44 WB and I-55 SB respectively, and they can sign Wentzville, Rolla, etc on minor interchange on-ramps.

I don't know about Rolla, but I-44 should have Spriingfield and Joplin as control cities before Tulsa gets listed.

[Roadgeekteen]

I have problems with this one. How many people are going to Framingham that it needs top billing as a control city? Boston would be just fine. And Taunton?? The old sign used to be NH-Maine/Cape Cod!
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2632457,-71.5719557,3a,75y,67.81h,86.22t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbWnZ6bJ-LxIIBqj_ZxgoyA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

Just Berlin would have been fine, here.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6223891,-72.7266385,3a,75y,309.95h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sQG076J7O0td-sRucaZ8KCg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DQG076J7O0td-sRucaZ8KCg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D318.2488%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

This is not a control city and is therefore worthless. Probably should be NYC here.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5302772,-72.7699033,3a,75y,192.66h,99.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soDmDPIzQZwcZiNGpa8vU9w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

I also liked NH-Maine/Cape Cod at the Pike/I-495 interchange as well, since I-495 is the de facto route for those heading to northern New England or Cape Cod while still serving commuters in Massachusetts. But I'm sure MassDOT either felt some local pressure or decided to follow the book by using Portsmouth and Taunton. As far a local cities go, I would have been OK with using the even older Marlborough/Milford.

Milford is an abysmal choice. Not big and not a major intersection. Foxborough would be a better local choice.

[bing101]

I will die on my hill that "Sacramento" is a terrible control city for the 405. Yes, it provides indirect access to Sacramento. But so does I-805 by that logic. There are also plenty of closer cities that could be listed: Bakersfield, Fresno, Stockton. Sacramento is fine for a control city, I just don't think it makes a lot of sense for the 405.

I agree with this point. Sacramento is a terrible control city anywhere that far south. There are a lot of notable places in the Central Valley that are accessible from I-5 that should get control city status: Bakersfield, Modesto, and Stockton are big enough on their own. There's also the argument that San Francisco or Oakland could work as a control city since it's the quickest way there from Los Angeles. Sacramento is one of the worst possible options for I-5 in LA.

Ignoring almost the entirety of the Central Valley makes no sense.

Sacramento is bigger than Bakersfield and any other central valley cities, plus those cities aren't on I-5.

Turns out that Fresno is actually larger than Sacramento among Central Valley Cities. Yes this is like San Jose is officially the Bay Areas largest city but San Francisco gets the credit for being the largest city. I know what you mean it's the next largest city on I-5 going northbound after you reach north of DTLA.

[hobsini2]

Missouri with Kansas City out of St. Louis on I-70, but cross into St. Louis County and Wentzville suddenly appears, followed by Columbia after  Wentzville.  KC don’t appear again until after Columbia.

Eastbound I-70 uses St. Louis from west of KC in Kansas, then Columbia takes over after leaving the KC metro and then Columbia vanishes way before Columbia is reached.

MoDOT does a bunch of whack stuff with control cities that I don't like. Once you're out of St Louis city limits, Wentzville and Columbia replaces Kansas City on I-70 WB's overhead signs, same with Rolla replacing Tulsa on I-44 WB, and Cape Girardeau replacing Memphis on I-55 SB. Imo the overhead signs, as well as the bottom line on mileage signs, should be kept as Kansas City, Tulsa and Memphis the whole way on I-70 WB, I-44 WB and I-55 SB respectively, and they can sign Wentzville, Rolla, etc on minor interchange on-ramps.

I don't know about Rolla, but I-44 should have Spriingfield and Joplin as control cities before Tulsa gets listed.

On 44, I would use Joplin over Rolla for something in state if not Tulsa. I would avoid using Springfield because of how close and in the opposite direction Springfield IL is.
On 55, Cape Girardeau is a good secondary, not a primary.
On 70, I got no problem with using Columbia because of it being a major university town but it should also have Kansas City the whole way from St Louis. No Wentzville as a primary.

[roadman65]

Missouri is inconsistent I will say. I don't like when control change too often. NC along I-95 is also that way, though since Benson is been into the mix it seemed to settle on that though.

New Jersey on US 46 recently has gotten inconsistent with different construction signing contractors using different pull through destinations between Clifton and Dover. It all used to be Dover WB from Clifton. Now it's Little Falls, Fairfield, Wayne, Parsippany etc on the various sign replacements/ additions. Going EB from Wayne you have Fort Lee, Elmwood Park, Palisades Park etc. where prior it was either George Washington Br. or simply New York.

[3467]

I thought of the Danville Illinois control sign on Illinois 394. That might date from the time Illinois 1 corridor was considered for a supplement freeway. Then Indiana made 41 4 lanes .
Also Illinois 1 to 17 to I 57 seems more logical . It's only 2 miles longer and misses a lot of winding road and towns and 57 is usually less congested than Bishop Ford.
Also there is a too Peoria sign by 180 . A supplemental was added there to save face for FHWA getting suckered in 180.
That route would be same mileage as 74 55 and is no longer under consideration.

[SkyPesos]

Missouri with Kansas City out of St. Louis on I-70, but cross into St. Louis County and Wentzville suddenly appears, followed by Columbia after  Wentzville.  KC don't appear again until after Columbia.

Eastbound I-70 uses St. Louis from west of KC in Kansas, then Columbia takes over after leaving the KC metro and then Columbia vanishes way before Columbia is reached.

MoDOT does a bunch of whack stuff with control cities that I don't like. Once you're out of St Louis city limits, Wentzville and Columbia replaces Kansas City on I-70 WB's overhead signs, same with Rolla replacing Tulsa on I-44 WB, and Cape Girardeau replacing Memphis on I-55 SB. Imo the overhead signs, as well as the bottom line on mileage signs, should be kept as Kansas City, Tulsa and Memphis the whole way on I-70 WB, I-44 WB and I-55 SB respectively, and they can sign Wentzville, Rolla, etc on minor interchange on-ramps.

I don't know about Rolla, but I-44 should have Spriingfield and Joplin as control cities before Tulsa gets listed.

I would prefer to keep Tulsa for I-44. The other control cities out of St Louis are of cities of substantial size (Kansas City, Indianapolis, Chicago, Memphis, Louisville), so Tulsa fits with the rest of the group. Also, Springfield MO could easily be confused for Springfield IL, which is in the opposite direction at a shorter distance from St Louis, and probably more well-known due to its state capital status. And Joplin is irrelevant outside of the I-49 junction. Tulsa it is.

[Vaulter]

Taunton I guess is used cause it's where its southern interchange is with I-95 is. We can say it's the Benson of NC or the Lake City of FL.

The interchange is in Foxborough, not Taunton.

[roadman65]

^^^^It's close enough.  Though Foxborough is home to the New England Patriots. You figure that and I-95 and 495 meeting there would be more prominent over Taunton.

[RobbieL2415]

^^^^It's close enough.  Though Foxborough is home to the New England Patriots. You figure that and I-95 and 495 meeting there would be more prominent over Taunton.

Foxboro would be a better control city than Taunton IMO.

[JKRhodes]

With regard to Eastbound I-10 at CA 111 and "other desert cities,"  there was a discussion in the "there is no way that is MUTCD-compliant"  Facebook group. One of the members informed me that the sign refers to Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, etc. that Caltrains' intent was to encourage people to stay on the freeway and exit later, which sort of makes sense.

[Amaury]

So, according to Wikipedia, the level for communities goes:
* Cities
* Towns
* Census-designated places
* Unincorporated communities

Correct me if I'm wrong on these.

Anyway, I don't know if it's the worst, but on Interstate 90, Exit 254 is signed for Fishtrap (https://goo.gl/maps/RZzmXaCXnm4GeEoL8). It's obviously not a city or town, but I don't even know if it's categorized as the last two on in that list. There's not even a Wikipedia article on it, so it's not even really that important of a place, like Hyak, which does have a Wikipedia article. Personally, I think the exit could have just been signed for the name of the road, like some other exits do. In this case, Spraque Highway Road East.

Looking eastbound:
https://goo.gl/maps/qdSfBNvWdtpvRt4J7
https://goo.gl/maps/rY95nPpeQCSTvzqj9

[ran4sh]

Using the street name on an exit sign is for urban conditions where the city name is not very helpful because of the number of exits that serve the city.

[US 89]

Using the street name on an exit sign is for urban conditions where the city name is not very helpful because of the number of exits that serve the city.

Or for extremely rural exits that do not go to any kind of settlement or named place. Better a road name than something like "Morton Salt Plant" or "Geneva Rock Quarry".

[roadman65]

  .

Limon.


Oh wait, in an April Fool thread we all agreed it's useful. 

[Flint1979]

Well a couple weeks ago I was in Detroit at a Tigers game with a guy from Denver. So I asked him if he knew where Limon was at in Colorado and he told me he knew where it was at. This guy isn't even a Colorado native and has lived in Denver for several years but isn;t from Denver. I told him that there is a group of people that actually discuss this kind of thing in regards to Limon being a control city on I-70. He said it's not a very big place but it's where a lot of people change highways. That was his exact response.

[The Nature Boy]

Taunton I guess is used cause it's where its southern interchange is with I-95 is. We can say it's the Benson of NC or the Lake City of FL.

The interchange is in Foxborough, not Taunton.

Given the prominence of the New England Patriots, Foxborough would actually be a useful control city.

[JayhawkCO]

Want a worse one than Limon in Colorado?

[roadman65]

How about this:



Bay St. Louis.

IMO it should be Gulfport or Mobile. What significance does Bay St. Louis have for I-10 travelers.

[Flint1979]

How about this:



Bay St. Louis.

IMO it should be Gulfport or Mobile. What significance does Bay St. Louis have for I-10 travelers.

Probably should be Gulfport, it's the second largest city in Mississippi even though it's not really that big of a city.

[roadman65]

Gulfport is where US 49 intersects and is a popular beach destination.  It's much better than Bay St. Louis, that was a hold out from when I-10 was still being built as it ended there ( or before there) which is why LADOTD chose that originally.

[Flint1979]

If I was to pick one I think I'd just go with Mobile. Followed by Tallahassee and Jacksonville east of there.

For WB I'd just use Baton Rouge, then Lafayette, Beaumont, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Phoenix, Los Angeles.