Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with roads

How can I learn NYC's street repair status?

mhz — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:08:30 -0800

How can I learn NYC's street repair status? Is it possible to learn the scheduled start/stop of road repairs in New York City? They're always fixing roads, and every once in a while another stretch is 'scratched' up (whatever it is that they do,) and is a pain to drive on and downright scary to bike on.

Is there a place to find out when these projects are scheduled for? When they're at least supposed to end? All I could find with Google was bridge and tunnel status, nothing about regular street.

Should anyone have specific current information, right now I'm concerned mainly with Bedford Avenue from approximately Willoughby to Flushing, as well as the few blocks of Flatbush Avenue that are currently scratched.

Thanks!

reveal the mystic truth!

garethspor — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:33:55 -0800

What is the explanation for spirals of crack-sealing tar I see on the roads periodically? Examples here and here.

I photographed these in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

How much can a road cost?

Ollie — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:47:35 -0800

Have you ever cut a road into a densely wooded area? This is a somewhat vague question, as I'm not too sure on the details myself. But: there is a parcel of land in Vermont that my family owns. No one has ever built on it, as it is landlocked by other parcels of land. There is an easement over one of the adjoining pieces of land, so we can legally cut in a road--but all anyone says is "it would be too expensive." So how expensive IS it? I don't even know how long a road it would have to be, but let's assume for the purposes of discussion it's between 1/4 and 1/2 mile. Has anyone here ever done it, and what'd it cost you?

Can I make it back to NYC post-inauguration, pre-Wednesday morning?

ethel — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:29:42 -0800

Inauguration question: with all the road and bridge closures on January 20, will we be able to get out of Washington DC area and back to NYC? I'm flying into NYC from San Francisco, hitching a ride with a friend down the the inauguration in DC (we even managed to get tickets!). We should have no problem getting there, as we are arriving on the 18, but will we be able to leave the area late night on the 20th?

This article says that many roads and bridges will be closed until rush hour Wednesday morning, but my friend has to be back to work in NYC at that time, so we were going to leave super late on the 20th.

I've checked the Secret Service web site and found this:
http://www.secretservice.gov/press/GPA01-09InaugMap.pdf

but I am super unfamiliar with the roads in the area, so am looking to Mefi for some reassurance that we will be able to make it home!

thanks in advance folks!

Running against the flow?

gyusan — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:25:33 -0800

Why do some runners run in the road ... against traffic? I've noticed in the past, and today in particular, that a majority of the runners I pass are running in the road, against traffic. Not all, but most. The presence or absence of a sidewalk or trail alongside doesn't seem to make a difference.

I bicycle alot, and one reason I notice this is that inevitably they are running in the bike lane, against traffic. This morning's ride in San Francisco went through the Sunset, the Richmond, the Presidio; both on the urban streets and the more "rural" roads in the Presidio ... many runners going the "wrong" way, out in the traffic lane.

On a bike as a kid you learn early to "go with the flow" ... is there opposing advice for runners?

Why aren't roads made out of plastic?

lpsguy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 05:55:04 -0800

Why aren't roads made out of plastic? Just passed some road construction on my way to work, and read an article on the decaying U.S. roadways, and it got me thinking. Why hasn't there been a radical improvement in road paving materials? Why asphalt? Why not plastic? Or rubber? Or artificial turf? It seems to be materials science should have, by now, come up with something that would be freeze/thaw impervious, non-slick, and not need to be replaced every few decades. Why not a one-and-done for 200 years paving solution? Anybody know?

How bad are the roads in Patagonia?

MattS — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 10:46:15 -0800

Are the roads in Patagonia really that bad? I'm going on a hiking/camping trip next month in Southern Argentina and Chile. Planning on driving from El Calafate to El Chaten, Puerto Natales, and Torres del Paine. I would just take buses, but time is precious on this trip, and I don't want to lose a day because I've missed a bus. I've read a lot in travel books about how bad the the gravel roads can be down there, but all the car rental agencies want to rent me tiny little cars with very little clearance.

Is it worth spending the extra money for a monstrous 4x4?

How do you build a road?

frykitty — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 07:33:50 -0800

Why does road construction take so long? It seems that there is always a road around here being re-paved, built, etc. This is a natural part of living in a growing city. I've noticed some projects take years--we have two multi-year projects going in my city right now. Roadbuilders: what is the process, and why does it often so lengthy?

what do roads really cost?

R343L — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 22:12:43 -0800

What do our (United States) roads really cost? I want to do some kind of comparison of the "true" costs of various ways of organizing human transportation, with an emphasis on california (and specifically the san francisco area). Specifically, you see citations that say only X% of a transportation system's budget is paid for by directed charges (rider fares, gasoline taxes, etc. depending on what kind of system it is). What I'm looking for are studies/reports that say how much money is spent building and maintaining, e.g., all the roads in a geographical area (highways, interstates, local roads, etc.) Afterall, I hear about new projects, new funding, etc. all the time often in the millions and billions of dollars. For instance, the California DOT budget in 2001/02 was 8 *billion* dollars. How do I figure out how much was spent over time in general on road building/maintanence?

The aim to all of this is trying to figure out if various public/mass transit systems are really as inefficient as people say. Whenever people (or organizations) argue about it, they say "but fares don't cover the entire cost of running the " or they say "no one rides it" or "I don't want to subsidize something I don't use". But there are a lot of "hidden" costs to any form of human transportation. The US Dept of Transportation has studies that show that at least for the highway system, user fees such as gasoline taxes, etc. do not pay the full cost.

Is is perhaps just the case that in the US, we choose to subsidize one system over another? Thus, that publically we pretend that car transportation costs are primarily or entirely born by the drivers/truckers, but that because mass transit is inefficient, stupid, etc., the users have to be subsidized.

I am having an inordinately difficult time finding good stuff online for this. Lots of policy recommendations (including privitization of all roads!) and some statistics, but not a lot of "we spent X dollars in this area on these transportation systems". I might have to break down and go to a uni library! But perhaps someone here as tried this before and can point me in the right direction. :)

Live in paradise or rent free in Beverly Hills?

crewshell — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 10:39:02 -0800

Which direction in my life do I take? (plenty of info inside) What should I do with my life? I am at a cross road…

Short back story – I moved to NY 2 years ago to pursue my acting (I moved from DC) while there I worked several survival jobs until I started in real estate. After 5 months in that I closed a very big deal and had to decide what to do. Stay in NY Real Estate or move to LA to continue my acting dreams… I choose LA. I moved here and from the few small acting jobs I had had in NY I was able to join the union (SAG). Now its been a year and 2 months since I’ve been in LA and my acting career is completely stalled.. I’ve gotten several commercial call backs from auditions this year but I do not really have any theatrical representation… In the last 5 months the truth is I’ve had to focus on my day job (which again has turned to real estate) to pay the bills and have not put as much energy into my acting career. Because of which I have just recently received my CA State real estate license so I can attempt to move out of assistant and into the role of an agent…

Now with all of this in mind I bring my real question…

While I am not guaranteed the slot, I have a very good chance of acquiring it if I put fourth the effort. So should I pursue a free apartment in Beverly Hills (it’s an apartment in a very large house) where I would be there to look after the estate but generally a work free position… this would be long term and would give me a very nice great free place to live. And free up a large chunk of my monthly bills. (if I choose this option, then my second decision would be – do I stay in real estate… or find something a bit more consistent, while continueing to follow my acting goals..)

Or

Should I take my good friends offer to move to the Virgin Island (st. Thomas) and help him open up a new restaurant… I have some restaurant experience but at this point he is more looking for people he trusts and knows – that on top of my experience I think it could work out really well.. The only draw back is that I would need to unload my car and I am probably about a grand upside down on it (if I were to sell it privately) and would not have a large amount to move with.. and of course would still have whatI call "baggage bills" credit cards, student loans, etc... things that would follow me there.

Both of these opportunities are fast upon me and I need to come to a decision…

I know there are lots more details… but I just am at one of those moments and not really sure which direction to go, any and all opinions welcome…

What does Norway do to prevent frost-heave on its roads?

stokast — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 10:41:37 -0800

How do countries with long, cold winters deal with frost-heave in their roads? Is there a kind of frost-resistant road? Is it much more expensive?

Blue lights on traffic lights?

TheOnlyCoolTim — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 01:29:42 -0800

Early nineties, blue lights on a traffic light below the standard green one. Am I crazy? What were they for? This was in Westchester County, NY. (North of NYC.) The blue light was much the same as the other lights but with a blue lens, hanging below the green light. I never saw one lit. They're not around anymore, and they were always sort of rare, but there were several if my memory isn't failing me.

I find on Google two kinds of references to it - both of them seemingly new things since the internet became mainstream. One is for catching people running red lights, one is for emergency vehicles. The former seems to imply that I would have seen the blue light on at some point, and the latter has a white light attached as well.

I definitely remember childhood conversations about the nature of the blue light, but no one knew what it was for.

Can I run that red light?

mike9322 — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 08:34:42 -0800

Can I proceed through a red light when it is clearly not possible for traffic to be coming from the opposing direction? I am a contractor working on a large naval base. Through some logic that my non-military mind cannot apparently fathom, the most heavily trafficked gate has been closed lately at lunch time. When I return from lunch, rather than continuing straight across an intersection into the main gate, I have to turn left and enter another gate. The left turn signal is painfully short; however, the green "straight" lights remain lit for quite some time. Since it is impossible for traffic to be coming from the other direction (the gate is closed - IMPOSING IRON GATES and all), is it okay for me to turn left even with a red left turn arrow?

My logical mind is telling me this is a stupid question, but we all know that the law and a traffic cop's interpretation of it may not exactly be "logical". I find myself looking around to make sure there are no cops before proceeding.

How

parma — Sat, 19 Feb 2005 10:45:21 -0800

Have you ever come across a site that gives you driving directions, like yahoo maps or mapquest, but lets you fiddle a bit with which roads to take/not to take? I want to be able to avoid traffic jams, or find directions that make the least possible turns and change of roads. (Like when I don't want to risk getting lost and ending up in a bad area of town after dark.)

Mapping Better Bike Routes

benjh — Sat, 01 May 2004 19:47:09 -0800

I'd like to bicycle more, and would love to commute to work on bike. However, the most direct route to work is up a 35-40 MPH road. Are there any software packages for mapping that allow me to make routes that exclude certain roads, so I can exclude the heavily traffic routes.