I found a new way to get home from work and it is awesome

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
03/04/2019 at 12:20 • Filed to: None

One of the worst parts of my job is the commute home. It isn’t far and it doesn’t take very long, but depending on when I leave there are a few nasty problems. (Sorry, boring personal post. Have a pupper.)

The nearest on- ramp comes in at the same point a major highway splits from the one I am getting on. Take my word for it, this thing is a terrible merge. At least 1-2 accidents per day and I’ve personally had several near misses.

Then there is construction on the highway at my exit, which has traffic down to one lane and people acting erratically there too.

Then the next intersection gets backed up 2-3 light cycles, which are loooooong, because the light is super short and people are too busy looking at their phones to drive. Also it is a double left, which only about 20% of people passing through the intersection seem to realize, which causes problems.

THEN there is an unprotected left onto a major street where people routinely change lanes right where I’d be entering traffic and the right turners block visibility .

Yes, writing that made me angry.

So I say all that to say when the Civic was having issues, I looked into surface street options. I’ve looked into it before, but I’d previously not found a good way to get between the highways without getting snared in traffic. Lo and behold, Google had a route for me!

I haven’t set a good benchmark time, but it seems to add about 5 min to the commute, but I’m so much happier when I get home. I’ve taken this way home every day for the last week and I am super pleased with it. Less danger, less frustration, less construction, less traffic.

Downside is it passes approximately 1.2 million schools/ school zones . Serious I don’t know the exact number, but it is at least six. Luckily by the time I’m leaving work this is no longer an issue, at least at the moment.

Still, worth it.

DISCUSSION (19)

ttyymmnn > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/04/2019 at 12:25

I will often take a longer route if it is less stressful or more interesting. I like Waze and Google Maps, but setting them to avoid toll roads and highways can make for some nice drives.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/04/2019 at 12:25

There were times when I would deliberately avoid the interstate for many of the same reasons. Two-way highways took a little longer, but were not nearly as frustrating since everyone was stuck in one lane and moving at the same speed. On rare occasions, someone would drive slower than the limit and traffic would build up behind them, but it didn’t happen very often.

jminer > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/04/2019 at 12:26

I used to have a commute like that. The highway route had a couple interchanges and there were always godawful backups at them. I found a surface street route that would on average take like 5 more minutes to get home but would save me from 20+ minute backups when there was an accident (which there was atleast twice a week).

My commute now is mostly all highway, but it’s not that bad anymore. It’s actually longer than to my previous job in miles (25 now vs 18 then) but it’s 10-15 minutes shorter most days.

Nibby > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/04/2019 at 12:27

Kinja'd!!!

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Nibby
03/04/2019 at 12:36

Kinja'd!!!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/04/2019 at 12:44

Tulsa, and the surrounding area , has to have some of the worst highway design in the nation... super-short on-ramps sometimes hidden in neighborhoods , inside on-ramps, multiple lane changes required in a quarter-mile to make an exit, needing to exit to stay on I-44 coming from the east (who knows how many drivers each year end up on the Creek Turnpike by mistake - not to mention the roads changing names in Broken Arrow and then back again on the other side)...

Also, terrible signage.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
03/04/2019 at 12:53

Yes. All of that. I like the layout and accessibility, but 44 and 51 both were clearly shoehorned into an existing city... poorly. As much as it pains me I’d actually be for a lower speed limit through town... or murdering anyone who doesn’t realize you have to get up to speed BEFORE you try and merge.

Nibby > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/04/2019 at 12:55

Kinja'd!!!

RPM esq. > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/04/2019 at 12:58

After reading all the other neighborhood names on that map, “Mayo Meadow” is really too on-the-nose.

(Just kidding, I know Tulsa is a nice and reasonably diverse city ).

TeamPunkassRacing > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/04/2019 at 13:12

Adding time to your commute to negate traffic is something I enjoyed once I moved. I can hop on the interstate and it’s 20 mins to work, or take a local route - which is part highway at one point with actual exits - which is 25. A lot less traffic. A lot less driver aggression.

And living where I am now, I rarely get on the interstate. And I don’t miss it a bit.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/04/2019 at 13:21

Holy crap... I see so many people stopped at the end of on-ramps!

I think, for some of these really short on-ramps, the right-most lane on the highway should actually have signs that say SLOW DOWN AND LET MERGING TRAFFIC ENTER.

Slow, t imid mergers + aggressive right lane drivers = traffic nightmare