Unpopular Anything Road-Related Opinions

[Angelo71]

I-71 should be rerouted from Erie to Chesapeake or Siesta Key, FL
I-79 should  be rerouted.
There should be A Virginia Turnpike
I-97 should be I-x95
I-19 should follow Delmarva's Coast, and end at I-64 in Hampton Roads
I-22 should be in Virginia
I-70 should be extended to both coasts.
I-76 should somehow go to Boston and NY, without follow I-95
I-73 should be rerouted in Virginia.
I-9,I-7,I-17,I-16,I-88,I-89,I-72,I-74,I-75,I-78,I-91,I-97,I-99 should be created in Virginia.
DE-1 should follow DE-7 until the PA Border
US-50, US-40 Should be rerouted to the west coast.

How will I-22 get to Virginia?

I mean they are all rerouted.

[Roadgeekteen]

I-71 should be rerouted from Erie to Chesapeake or Siesta Key, FL
I-79 should  be rerouted.
There should be A Virginia Turnpike
I-97 should be I-x95
I-19 should follow Delmarva's Coast, and end at I-64 in Hampton Roads
I-22 should be in Virginia
I-70 should be extended to both coasts.
I-76 should somehow go to Boston and NY, without follow I-95
I-73 should be rerouted in Virginia.
I-9,I-7,I-17,I-16,I-88,I-89,I-72,I-74,I-75,I-78,I-91,I-97,I-99 should be created in Virginia.
DE-1 should follow DE-7 until the PA Border
US-50, US-40 Should be rerouted to the west coast.

How will I-22 get to Virginia?

I mean they are all rerouted.

Huh?

[SkyPesos]

I-71 should be rerouted from Erie to Chesapeake or Siesta Key, FL
I-79 should  be rerouted.
There should be A Virginia Turnpike
I-97 should be I-x95
I-19 should follow Delmarva's Coast, and end at I-64 in Hampton Roads
I-22 should be in Virginia
I-70 should be extended to both coasts.
I-76 should somehow go to Boston and NY, without follow I-95
I-73 should be rerouted in Virginia.
I-9,I-7,I-17,I-16,I-88,I-89,I-72,I-74,I-75,I-78,I-91,I-97,I-99 should be created in Virginia.
DE-1 should follow DE-7 until the PA Border
US-50, US-40 Should be rerouted to the west coast.

How will I-22 get to Virginia?

I mean they are all rerouted.

There's a reason why state routes exist. You can have all of your favorite numbers in Virginia with state routes.

[jmacswimmer]

"Airport" should not be a control city. That's what supplementary signage and the 🛪 symbol are for:

You'd love how MDOT handles BWI, then!

I don't like the square corners of Maryland's signage, but I like almost everything else about it. That would include the airport signage, although I do question whether "Thurgood Marshall" is really necessary to include on the signage.

Well, as you can tell, MDOT went to great lengths to update all the BWI signage as soon as Thurgood Marshall's name was attached to the airport in 2005 But I agree, the replaced signage that simply read "BWI Airport" was more than adequate (I still refer to it as simply BWI, but a lot of people do say "BWI Marshall" these days).

I think if an airport would be used as a control city, my preferred format would be '[IATA code] Airport'. Like "CVG Airport" for Cincinnati, "IND Airport" for Indianapolis (current signage for that one is "Indpls Int'l Airport"), etc.

NCDOT did exactly this with sign replacements on I-85 around CLT (compare to the old signage from several years back on streetview).

I generally agree with your proposed IATA code approach, except maybe in instances where the airport has a short, well-known name easily recognized by locals (such as Logan, Dulles, O'Hare, Midway, etc...)

DEN might have to be an exception too since more people refer to it as DIA than by its code.

Happy for some airport signage discussion! I find myself especially interested in instances such as this of different modes of transportation intersecting (no pun intended).

[kphoger]

"Airport" should not be a control city. That's what supplementary signage and the 🛪 symbol are for:

Is this OK?

[Scott5114]

"Airport" should not be a control city. That's what supplementary signage and the 🛪 symbol are for:

Is this OK?

No, that's clearly IL.

*ducks*

[SkyPesos]

I think if an airport would be used as a control city, my preferred format would be '[IATA code] Airport'. Like "CVG Airport" for Cincinnati, "IND Airport" for Indianapolis (current signage for that one is "Indpls Int'l Airport"), etc.

NCDOT did exactly this with sign replacements on I-85 around CLT (compare to the old signage from several years back on streetview).

I generally agree with your proposed IATA code approach, except maybe in instances where the airport has a short, well-known name easily recognized by locals (such as Logan, Dulles, O'Hare, Midway, etc...)

DEN might have to be an exception too since more people refer to it as DIA than by its code.

Happy for some airport signage discussion! I find myself especially interested in instances such as this of different modes of transportation intersecting (no pun intended).

Another exception like DEN would be Greensboro. GSO is its airport code, but I think more people in the area call the airport PTI. Though I-73 includes both abbreviations in the airport control. Kansas City signs KCI instead of MCI, which is fine, as MCI came from its former name of "Mid-Continental International".

For Houston, do more locals call IAH by its airport code, "Bush Airport" or "Intercontinental Airport"?

[Scott5114]

MCI is the KC airport code because it was originally called "Mid-Continent International" (after Mid-Continent Airlines, which later merged with Braniff), but when it was expanded to Kansas City's main airport it became "Kansas City International". Most people just call it KCI. Kansas City has tried to get the KCI code assigned to it, but IATA won't go for it because they have a policy of not changing codes once they're printed on maps.

Interestingly, Wichita also had a "Mid-Continent Airport" until recently, when it became Wichita Eisenhower. Its code is ICT. I wonder how often confusion between the Wichita and Kansas City airports has happened.

[hotdogPi]

Kansas City has tried to get the KCI code assigned to it, but IATA won't go for it because they have a policy of not changing codes once they're printed on maps.

US airport codes can't begin with K or W because of confusion with radio stations, nor can they begin with N.

[webny99]

"Airport" should not be a control city. That's what supplementary signage and the 🛪 symbol are for:

Is this OK?

Sure. Considering that I-190 literally exists to connect the rest of the freeway network to the airport, that's more of a local exit destination than a true control city.

[Scott5114]

Kansas City has tried to get the KCI code assigned to it, but IATA won't go for it because they have a policy of not changing codes once they're printed on maps.

US airport codes can't begin with K or W because of confusion with radio stations, nor can they begin with N.

This is no longer the case.

[jmacswimmer]

Kansas City has tried to get the KCI code assigned to it, but IATA won't go for it because they have a policy of not changing codes once they're printed on maps.

Interesting....I'm sure it is indeed discouraged, but just to be devil's advocate I can think of at least 2 instances of IATA codes changing:

-Idlewild (IDL) becoming John F. Kennedy (JFK)
-Friendship (BAL) becoming Baltimore/Washington (BWI)

[ran4sh]

Also Sioux City tried to change their airport's code because it is "SUX", but when the FAA gave them a few options for what they could change the code to, they decided not to change the code.

[JoePCool14]

"Airport" should not be a control city. That's what supplementary signage and the 🛪 symbol are for:

Is this OK?

No, that's clearly IL.

*ducks*

Not only is it IL, it's Ill!

[kphoger]

MCI is the KC airport code because it was originally called "Mid-Continent International" (after Mid-Continent Airlines, which later merged with Braniff), but when it was expanded to Kansas City's main airport it became "Kansas City International". Most people just call it KCI. Kansas City has tried to get the KCI code assigned to it, but IATA won't go for it because they have a policy of not changing codes once they're printed on maps.

Interestingly, Wichita also had a "Mid-Continent Airport" until recently, when it became Wichita Eisenhower. Its code is ICT. I wonder how often confusion between the Wichita and Kansas City airports has happened.

Yeah, I thought for years after moving here that I was wrong about either (a) Kansas City's airport being Mid-Continent or (b) Wichita's airport being Mid-Continent.  Just about the time I finally realized both were correct, Wichita changed its airport's name.

[formulanone]

I think if an airport would be used as a control city, my preferred format would be '[IATA code] Airport'. Like "CVG Airport" for Cincinnati, "IND Airport" for Indianapolis (current signage for that one is "Indpls Int'l Airport"), etc.

NCDOT did exactly this with sign replacements on I-85 around CLT (compare to the old signage from several years back on streetview).

I generally agree with your proposed IATA code approach, except maybe in instances where the airport has a short, well-known name easily recognized by locals (such as Logan, Dulles, O'Hare, Midway, etc...)

DEN might have to be an exception too since more people refer to it as DIA than by its code.

Happy for some airport signage discussion! I find myself especially interested in instances such as this of different modes of transportation intersecting (no pun intended).

Another exception like DEN would be Greensboro. GSO is its airport code, but I think more people in the area call the airport PTI. Though I-73 includes both abbreviations in the airport control. Kansas City signs KCI instead of MCI, which is fine, as MCI came from its former name of "Mid-Continental International".

For Houston, do more locals call IAH by its airport code, "Bush Airport" or "Intercontinental Airport"?

Usually, I get the question "Did you fly to/out-of Hobby or Bush?" if travelling around the Houston metro (or flung out to somewhere like Victoria).

I think IAH just sounds too technical or forgettable to the layman, or the uncontrollable sound one makes before a yawn/sneeze.

[renegade]

Might want to point out that the average person does not know what an airport's IATA code is. 

[Scott5114]

Might want to point out that the average person does not know what an airport's IATA code is. 

It kind of depends on the airport. Have you ever heard anyone say the words "Los Angeles International"? Also, the code for Will Rogers World Airport is blindingly obvious.

[webny99]

Might want to point out that the average person does not know what an airport's IATA code is. 

It kind of depends on the airport. Have you ever heard anyone say the words "Los Angeles International"? Also, the code for Will Rogers World Airport is blindingly obvious.

Yeah, LAX, SFO, PDX, SEA... most the West Coast codes, at least, are very common.
And a lot of the Upstate NY ones are so easy that it's basically impossible not to know them: BUF, ROC, SYR... I mean, come on.

Most people probably couldn't tell you offhand that the codes are IATA codes or what IATA stands for, but I bet they still know that airports have three-letter codes and could list at least a few of them.

[hotdogPi]

three-digit codes

737 and 747 are not airport codes.

[webny99]

three-digit codes

737 and 747 are not airport codes.

I meant three-letter codes, fixed.

[CtrlAltDel]

Might want to point out that the average person does not know what an airport's IATA code is. 

It kind of depends on the airport. Have you ever heard anyone say the words "Los Angeles International"? Also, the code for Will Rogers World Airport is blindingly obvious.

WRW? WIL? ROG? Looks on Wikipedia: OKC.

[Scott5114]

Might want to point out that the average person does not know what an airport's IATA code is. 

It kind of depends on the airport. Have you ever heard anyone say the words "Los Angeles International"? Also, the code for Will Rogers World Airport is blindingly obvious.

WRW? WIL? ROG? Looks on Wikipedia: OKC.

And the city it's located in?

[US 89]

Might want to point out that the average person does not know what an airport's IATA code is.

Ehh... they may not know the code for *insert random airport here*, or what IATA means, but almost certainly they’ll know what it is for their home airport and any others they regularly fly to given it shows up on luggage tags and it’s the easiest way to check flight status and book flights.

[1995hoo]

I think if an airport would be used as a control city, my preferred format would be '[IATA code] Airport'. Like "CVG Airport" for Cincinnati, "IND Airport" for Indianapolis (current signage for that one is "Indpls Int'l Airport"), etc.

I highly doubt the average member of the American public knows the airport codes except for a few that are either obvious (JFK) or ubiquitous locally (RDU or ATL)–and even as to JFK, the BGSs generally said "Kennedy Airport" until relatively recently.