Why doesn't I-90 go through Rochester? (bill, design, automobile)
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This is a good point. The way I-90 bounces through Cleveland is ridiculous. And don't try to use it as way to get through Chicago.
The later a highway was built, the farther they got away from the original "Autobahn" concept.
And the interstates were built through cities since it solved many problems at once...
...cheaper since Federal money built local limited access feeders, ramps, and mainlines,
...closer, giving voters the feeling they got something of value for the neighborhoods they gave up,
...supposed economic benefits due to entering and exiting traffic (something nobody wants anymore), etc.
You can see how the science and engineering of building a transportation "system" was soon overridden by political and economic interests., regardless of the impact on actually moving frieght and people great distances.
Oh well.
Too bad Lonsberry keeps getting on WHAM and jacking his jaws about interstates having an exit every mile.
I've driven real interstates where limited access was enforced, like the Thruway, and others that were built to replace local two lane (dirt) roads with exits too close, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, and I can predict where the accidents will occur.........no brainer.
Besides, what's the difference if you drive ten or fifteen miles alongside the same road you are about to enter? Does anyone think ramps, bridges, signage, (sometimes toll booths) come for nothing, are maintained for nothing? These are the kinds of long-term decisions which have been made which directly affect operating budgets for generations!
As others have stated, I-90 is a city bypass highway for getting across the state.
It's not a mystery why there's no tolls on "the 90" in Buffalo (or Cheektowaga, rather--no, it doesn't run through the city). This is because it's used for commuting (traffic backs up every morning and evening around the blue water tower, the beginning of 290).
I think if I-90 was used by a plurality of Rochester commuters they'd have a good chance of lobbying for the removal of tolls. But it's not.
I think the Thruway originally DID have tolls through the stretch in Cheektowaga, and well as "the Niagara Section" that went up to NF. I'm guessing the uburban auto commuters lobbied to have the tolls removed.
I found out a while ago, much to my surprise, that the word suburb is very old.
It is even in the Old Testament (Numbers 35:2) - "... ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them."
It is an old word, but I think it may have been used differently in the past. I remember when my cousins moved out of the city of Rochester in the 1960s to Chili (a quintessential suburb!). They called it "the country"! Don't know if that was just a regional thing, or just what termonology peopl used back then.
The later a highway was built, the farther they got away from the original "Autobahn" concept.
And the interstates were built through cities since it solved many problems at once...
...cheaper since Federal money built local limited access feeders, ramps, and mainlines,
...closer, giving voters the feeling they got something of value for the neighborhoods they gave up,
...supposed economic benefits due to entering and exiting traffic (something nobody wants anymore), etc.
You can see how the science and engineering of building a transportation "system" was soon overridden by political and economic interests., regardless of the impact on actually moving frieght and people great distances.
Oh well.
Too bad Lonsberry keeps getting on WHAM and jacking his jaws about interstates having an exit every mile.
I've driven real interstates where limited access was enforced, like the Thruway, and others that were built to replace local two lane (dirt) roads with exits too close, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, and I can predict where the accidents will occur.........no brainer.
Besides, what's the difference if you drive ten or fifteen miles alongside the same road you are about to enter? Does anyone think ramps, bridges, signage, (sometimes toll booths) come for nothing, are maintained for nothing? These are the kinds of long-term decisions which have been made which directly affect operating budgets for generations!
The sad thing about 490 (aka the Eastern Expressway) is that it overlaid the city subway (which overlaid the Erie Canal). Now cities are spending millions building what Rochester casually threw away in the 1950s.
I think the Thruway originally DID have tolls through the stretch in Cheektowaga, and well as "the Niagara Section" that went up to NF. I'm guessing the uburban auto commuters lobbied to have the tolls removed.
Do you remember there being tolls along I-90 through Cheektowaga? I don't, but it could have been before my time. You're right that there were tolls at Ogden St and Breckenridge on the 190. They were removed 5 years ago. But as far as I know there was never a toll between Blasdell and Williamsville on the Thruway.
The sad thing about 490 (aka the Eastern Expressway) is that it overlaid the city subway (which overlaid the Erie Canal). Now cities are spending millions building what Rochester casually threw away in the 1950s.
And what nobody wanted back in the 20's. It was the Fast Ferry of its day.
And what nobody wanted back in the 20's. It was the Fast Ferry of its day.
You kidding? The subway was designed to take the interurban railway cars off the city streets, and it did just that (until the interurbans went bust in the 30s). At the time, it was a win-win for both the railroads and the automobile interests.
I'll make the argument that the interstate highway system may have done more harm than good.
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