Unpopular Anything Road-Related Opinions

[Bruce]

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.

SEA isn't widely used because it's easy to confuse with other terms using SEA as an abbreviation (or...the sea). Sea-Tac is already short enough.

[OCGuy81]

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.

I always thought SNA and SAN should perhaps be revised to avoid confusion.

SAN *could* be San Antonio, San Jose, hell even San Francisco.  Maybe SDO would be a better fit or SDX?

SNA could be JWA.  I've heard it referred to way more often as Orange County or John Wayne Airport. Hell, Disneyland Field! A lot of DL bound tourists go through that airport.

[Dirt Roads]

I always thought SNA and SAN should perhaps be revised to avoid confusion.

That was a huge problem for Dulles when it was DIA and National was DCA.  They switched over to IAD in 1968 to resolve the confusion. 

[OCGuy81]

I always thought SNA and SAN should perhaps be revised to avoid confusion.

That was a huge problem for Dulles when it was DIA and National was DCA.  They switched over to IAD in 1968 to resolve the confusion. 

Wasn't DIA also used for Denver Int'l?

[Scott5114]

I always thought SNA and SAN should perhaps be revised to avoid confusion.

That was a huge problem for Dulles when it was DIA and National was DCA.  They switched over to IAD in 1968 to resolve the confusion. 

Wasn't DIA also used for Denver Int'l?

Maybe as an informal spoken acronym, but I believe the airport code was always DEN, even when it was called Stapleton.

[jmacswimmer]

I always thought SNA and SAN should perhaps be revised to avoid confusion.

That was a huge problem for Dulles when it was DIA and National was DCA.  They switched over to IAD in 1968 to resolve the confusion. 

Wasn't DIA also used for Denver Int'l?

Maybe as an informal spoken acronym, but I believe the airport code was always DEN, even when it was called Stapleton.

Yes - Wikipedia states that the modern Denver Int'l briefly used DVX after its runways were completed but before full opening, and then took over DEN from Stapleton once it closed.  The airport is indeed frequently referred to as DIA, but that has never been its IATA code.

(But in hindsight, another good reason that Dulles switched to IAD a couple decades prior to the new DEN opening, or that would have opened another can of worms.)

[OCGuy81]

I always thought SNA and SAN should perhaps be revised to avoid confusion.

That was a huge problem for Dulles when it was DIA and National was DCA.  They switched over to IAD in 1968 to resolve the confusion. 

Wasn't DIA also used for Denver Int'l?

Maybe as an informal spoken acronym, but I believe the airport code was always DEN, even when it was called Stapleton.

Yes - Wikipedia states that the modern Denver Int'l briefly used DVX after its runways were completed but before full opening, and then took over DEN from Stapleton once it closed.  The airport is indeed frequently referred to as DIA, but that has never been its IATA code.

(But in hindsight, another good reason that Dulles switched to IAD a couple decades prior to the new DEN opening, or that would have opened another can of worms.)

Gotcha.  I knew I'd heard something to the effect of it having a different airport code used, albeit briefly.

There's also some fun conspiracy theories about Denver Int'l if you find that type of stuff amusing.  Hidden symbols and it having underground facilities in event of nuclear fallout.

[Dirt Roads]

That was a huge problem for Dulles when it was DIA and National was DCA.  They switched over to IAD in 1968 to resolve the confusion. 

Wasn't DIA also used for Denver Int'l?

I wrote the same thing and then fact-checked my post.

Yes - Wikipedia states that the modern Denver Int'l briefly used DVX after its runways were completed but before full opening, and then took over DEN from Stapleton once it closed.  The airport is indeed frequently referred to as DIA, but that has never been its IATA code.

And I should have known better, since I worked some on the APM system at Denver International Airport, and was on the project recovery team for the baggage system.  I'm pretty sure that the City and County of Denver Department of Aviation originally asked the FAA for the DIA code, but was granted the DVX code temporarily since it was planned to completely close Stapleton. 

[kphoger]

Heck, Wichita commonly goes by its IATA code in general:  ICT.

[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.

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.

The word "Airport"  is still in there, so for cities with a single commercial airport, no info is being taken away from the general public. This is mostly for airports without a secondary name. For those with a secondary line, like Ohare and Midway, those can be used instead.

[Scott5114]

I would submit that anyone who is likely to be doing business at a specific airport should have seen the airport code at some point before they get on the road (either they are departing from there and saw it on their itinerary documents, or they are picking someone up from there, so they should have a general awareness of it), so even if the code is obscure, something like "✈ IAD" should be recognizable to anyone who needs to be following it.

[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.

And the city it's located in?

Oklahoma City. And if you had said that the code for the Oklahoma City airport is blindingly obvious, I probably would have agreed with you. But you didn't.

[Scott5114]

What other city would name an airport after Will Rogers? Dayton, Ohio?

[CtrlAltDel]

What other city would name an airport after Will Rogers? Dayton, Ohio?

Well, he was born just north of Tulsa, so that would also be a good choice.

[andrepoiy]

What if a freeway leads directly to the airport? I think that the airport control city would be appropriate

Here in Toronto, it's signed as "[airport symbol] Pearson", and simply just the airport symbol on smaller signs.

[webny99]

Yeah, LAX, SFO, PDX, SEA... most the West Coast codes, at least, are very common.

SEA isn't widely used because it's easy to confuse with other terms using SEA as an abbreviation (or...the sea). Sea-Tac is already short enough.

That's fair. I wasn't necessarily trying to say it's common in local usage, but rather that many people know the code because it's so obvious.

What if a freeway leads directly to the airport? I think that the airport control city would be appropriate

Yeah, that's a little different. More of a local exit destination than a true control city.

[formulanone]

SEA isn't widely used because it's easy to confuse with other terms using SEA as an abbreviation (or...the sea). Sea-Tac is already short enough.

Personally, I was initially a little disappointed that it didn't have a more unusual code.

American airports got the pick of the litter for the obvious codes, though there's the oddity of ICAO and IATA codes that don't remotely match up.

...and now I'm getting off-topic.

[webny99]

Rural exits should have 2 mile advance signs.

All exits should have at least 3 advance signs.

[kphoger]

Rural exits should have 2 mile advance signs.

All exits should have at least 3 advance signs.

This would get very cluttered in rural Texas.

[webny99]

Rural exits should have 2 mile advance signs.

All exits should have at least 3 advance signs.

This would get very cluttered in rural Texas.

Which one, or both?

For the former, exceptions can be made if there's less than two miles between exits.

[StogieGuy7]

I always thought SNA and SAN should perhaps be revised to avoid confusion.

That was a huge problem for Dulles when it was DIA and National was DCA.  They switched over to IAD in 1968 to resolve the confusion. 

Wasn't DIA also used for Denver Int'l?

Denver-area media incessantly referred to it as DIA during it's planning and construction (in the late 80's/early 90's) and the moniker stuck to an extent. But the 3 digit airport ID has been DEN since the day that service was flash cut from Stapleton to the new airport. 

Another city/airport where the locals use a different reference for their airport than anyone else is Kansas City: locals call it KCI, despite it's code being MCI (which was supposed to stand for Mid Continent International Airport).   

[kphoger]

Rural exits should have 2 mile advance signs.

All exits should have at least 3 advance signs.

This would get very cluttered in rural Texas.

Which one, or both?

For the former, exceptions can be made if there's less than two miles between exits.

Both.

Here are the southbound exits, heading down I-35 from the Oklahoma state line...

(502 . Travel information center)
501 . FM 1202
500 . FM 372
(498B . Livestock inspection station)
498A . US 82
497 . FM 51
495 . Frontage Road
494 . FM 1306
491 . Spring Creek Road
489 . FM 1307
486 . Frontage Road
485 . Frontage Road
483 . FM 3002
482 . Chisam Road
481 . View Road
480 . Lois Road
479 . Belz Road
478 . FM 455
477 . I-35-BL
475B . Rector Road
475A . FM 156
473 . FM 3163
472 . Ganzer Road
471 . US 77 South

That's 26 exits in a stretch of 33-mile stretch of rural highway.  At three advance signs each, that comes to a total of 78 advance exit signs.  Talk about clutter!

[webny99]

Subtract the ones with back-to-back numbers, presuming they're less than two miles apart. That gets down to about ~68 signs over 26 miles. I bet that's only a fraction of the total number of signs already posted along that stretch.

Plus, some can likely be combined on overheads, and in the cases where there's three or more closely spaced exits, interchange sequence signs could be used, which would count as one of the three for each exit on the sign.

Granted, rural Texas is a little different than the Thruway, or I-81 (where NY recently started using 2 mile advance signs). But I still stand by my opinion, with the less-than-2-miles-between-exits exception.

[kphoger]

Rural exits should have 2 mile advance signs.

All exits should have at least 3 advance signs.

For the former, exceptions can be made if there's less than two miles between exits.

That's 26 exits in a stretch of 33-mile stretch of rural highway.  At three advance signs each, that comes to a total of 78 advance exit signs.  Talk about clutter!

Subtract the ones with back-to-back numbers, presuming they're less than two miles apart. That gets down to about ~68 signs over 26 miles.

Do you mean that your under-2mile exception now applies to both of your opinions, not just the first one?

[webny99]

Rural exits should have 2 mile advance signs.

All exits should have at least 3 advance signs.

...

Do you mean that your under-2mile exception now applies to both of your opinions, not just the first one?

Sorry, I wasn't very clear. No, not necessarily.

If there's more than 2 miles between exits, the 3 signs would be:
2 MILES
1 MILE
➚


If there's less than 2 miles between exits, the 3 signs would be:
1 MILE
1/2 MILE
➚


If there's less than 1 mile between exits, the 3 signs would be:
1/2 MILE
1/4 MILE
➚

Exact mileages may vary, and of course, if there are any interchange sequence signs they would count towards the total.