What are your roads like?

"Max Finkel" (2fast2finkel) 02/02/2015 at 19:07 • Filed to: roads, askoppo, infrastructure, askjalopnik

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This morning I walked to class today through puddles of slush, over temporary steel plates over ditches, and around growing snow banks. Through all the hazards, I couldn't get past how poorly the NYC DOT and Dept. of Sanitation were doing maintaining the roads during a storm. It also got me wondering how this response compared to that of other cities' DOTs, and by extension, how road conditions I'm experiencing (and not even as a driver!) in New York City compared to those in other places in general. I'm curious as to whether there's a pattern to where roads are good, where they're poorly laid-out, where they're rough and where they're always under construction.

So, what are road conditions like where you live? Is the streetscape well-designed and maintained? Do weather conditions factor in heavily? Are they mitigated by a maintenance authority of some sort? Are conditions consistent or do they vary?

Post pictures if you've got 'em!

Photo credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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OPPOsaurus WRX > Max Finkel 02/02/2015 at 19:08

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HammerheadFistpunch > Max Finkel 02/02/2015 at 19:13

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The joke in Utah is that it has two season:

Winter

Construction

Milky > HammerheadFistpunch 02/02/2015 at 19:22

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Michigan has the same joke.

ly2v8-Brian > Milky 02/02/2015 at 19:36

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as does Minnesota

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > HammerheadFistpunch 02/02/2015 at 19:40

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And Mass

JGrabowMSt > Max Finkel 02/02/2015 at 19:49

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This is how it felt, I can tell you that much (I really need to fix the time on my dashcam).

This is how it looked for most of my commute this morning. Dashcam doesn't show the snow very well, but it was pretty bad. I made it to work without problem, but it certainly wasn't worth it, if I'm to be really honest. I like my job, but I like my car and my life as well. I need the latter two before I can even consider the former.

Desu-San-Desu > Max Finkel 02/02/2015 at 19:49

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Um...dry and clear. And boring.

Max Finkel > Desu-San-Desu 02/02/2015 at 19:52

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Yes, I see no problems here. Might even suggest bald tires for grip.

T5Killer > HammerheadFistpunch 02/02/2015 at 19:54

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Since our winters are semi mild (minus the northern part of the state)We just call New Mexico the "land of the orange barrels"

epidemike > JGrabowMSt 02/02/2015 at 20:29

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Which dashcam are you using?

JGrabowMSt > epidemike 02/02/2015 at 20:37

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Says it in the timestamp. Papago GS110 (Go Safe 110). It's decent, or should I say marginal? It has certainly been worth having , but I'm looking to replace it with a much higher quality one very soon, and do a permanent install instead of the suction mount on the dashboard. I'm looking at the Cobra dashcams that also record GPS speed and higher quality footage. I'd very much like to be able to make out license plates and more details at night.

All that said, it cost me about $90 with a 32gb Samsung weather proof microSD card, so for $90, it's absolutely better than no dash cam. Turns on and off with the car, and has continuous recording. The most important things to me and anyone else. Would I recommend it? Yes, it's absolutely important to be a member of #dashcamarmy. Anything can happen.

George McNally > Max Finkel 02/02/2015 at 20:38

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I live in York PA.........if anyone drives the Rt 83/ Rt 30 corridor and also has to use the Market St exit....there is a pothole that is several feet deep next to the curb...if you'd hit it- it would rip the wheel off of your car.

Mt.Rose Ave isn't any better, they've been doing construction on this 2 mile section of road from Haines Rd to Cape Horn road for the past 2 years and they aren't even close to being done. They had to stop mid paving when it got cold out and the road is a mixture of 3 or 4 different surfaces all at different heights.

Once they get Mt Rose Ave done.....they are going to tear the bridge on Mt Rose Ave over Rt 83 out and built a new bridge and a completely new interchange.

I drive this piece of shit every day......I have 9 more years to retire- I'm betting they won't be done in 9 years.

twochevrons > Max Finkel 02/02/2015 at 20:50

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They're shockingly bad in Minneapolis, and even worse in St. Paul. I'm pretty sure that the main road near my place consists of more patches (which inevitably get ripped up every time a plough comes along) than actual road. Giant ruts and wheel-swallowing potholes abound, not to mention the encrustation of salt that gets everywhere.

When I got my Volvo, the previous owner threw in a set of 15" steelies with winter tires, in addition to the lovely 17" alloys. His recommendation after bending several rims was to keep the steelies on not just until the end of icy conditions, but until the city got around to fixing all the potholes.

Leadbull > Max Finkel 02/02/2015 at 21:17

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America's infrastructure on a whole is frighteningly sub-par.

911e46z06 > Max Finkel 02/02/2015 at 23:31

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For a place with zero severe weather, the roads in San Diego (the city) are shockingly bad. The county roads are fine. I drove my Corvette today. It was 75 degrees and sunny.