Highway, Freeway, or Interstate (dangerous, safety, parking)

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

they just say expressway in Chicago.

we said interstate or highway in Tennessee.

All of Chicago's "freeways" and "interstates" are tolls.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas

Here in Dallas we don't put the word "The" in front of a freeway number though like they do in California. It's just 35, not The 35.

Thats right! In San Diego you travel on the 8, the 15 or the 5. Even the state routes ("I took the 125 to Chula Vista and it was so fast") have "the" in front of them in everyday speak.

[motormaker]

Originally Posted by miamiman

Freeway - Highway or Interstate within an urban area

Interstate - Interstate outside of an urban area

Highway - Numbered route outside of an urban area

Ref Interstate: But what about I5 throught he heart of Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland and Seattle?

Ref Highway: CA91 and CA 60 pass through many urban areas.

[lammius]

In the NNJ/NYC area we have three different words:

expressway: usually an interstate, not usually tolled (except at bridges or tunnels), open to cars, trucks, and buses.

parkway: like expressways, parkways are limited-access. most date back to the 1930s-50s and therefore have lower clearances and shorter accel/decel pockets. No trucks allowed!! The parkway right of ways are usually large, with the extra space serving as "parkland." It was quite an urban planning fad at the time to have the "experience" of driving through parks and woodland.

turnpike: like an expressway, open to cars trucks and buses, but they are tolled. the term "turnpike" dates back to colonial days. large wooden pikes blocked the road, and when the toll was paid, the pike was turned away to allow travelers to pass.

Another interesting thing about the NY/NNJ area is that people call these roads by their full names, not numbers. For example, I-495 is called the Long Island Expressway. Nobody calls it 495, rather by its name or the abbreviation L.I.E. Similarly, I bet few people would know the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) as Interstate 278.

[miamiman]

Originally Posted by motormaker

Ref Interstate: But what about I5 throught he heart of Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland and Seattle?

Ref Highway: CA91 and CA 60 pass through many urban areas.

For instance, it's the 5 freeway when it passes through SD, LA, Portland, and Seattle. However, in rural areas I would say Interstate 5.

It's the 91 freeway and the 60 freeway in urban areas, and Highway 91 and Highway 60 in rural areas.

[motormaker]

Originally Posted by lammius

.

Another interesting thing about the NY/NNJ area is that people call these roads by their full names, not numbers. For example, I-495 is called the Long Island Expressway. Nobody calls it 495, rather by its name or the abbreviation L.I.E. Similarly, I bet few people would know the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) as Interstate 278.

We did that in CA to until the freeways (usually named after where the freeway ended) got to running through so many cities people where starting to get confused.

[ainulinale]

Originally Posted by lammius

parkway: like expressways, parkways are limited-access. most date back to the 1930s-50s and therefore have lower clearances and shorter accel/decel pockets. No trucks allowed!! The parkway right of ways are usually large, with the extra space serving as "parkland." It was quite an urban planning fad at the time to have the "experience" of driving through parks and woodland.

I was wondering where the term "parkway" came from. Thought maybe it was from all the cars seemingly parked on the roads at rush hour. I typically call anything a highway, but in Pittsburgh we have the Parkway East (I-376), Parkway North (I-279) and Parkway West (" ").

[motormaker]

Originally Posted by ainulinale

I was wondering where the term "parkway" came from. Thought maybe it was from all the cars seemingly parked on the roads at rush hour. I typically call anything a highway, but in Pittsburgh we have the Parkway East (I-376), Parkway North (I-279) and Parkway West (" ").

Right or wrong, this is what Wikipedia has to say about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkway

[krudmonk]

highway: government designation as such
freeway: highway with full grade-separation
interstate: just a formal title
expressway: a surface street with fewer driveways, more lanes and higher speed limit

[motormaker]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

highway: government designation as such
freeway: highway with full grade-separation
interstate: just a formal title
expressway: a surface street with fewer driveways, more lanes and higher speed limit

I'll drink to that.