Highway Data Discussion > Solved Highway data updates
DC: Beach Drive
Duke87:
Making a general note here of something a decision may have to be made on.
Previously, this road was closed to automotive traffic on weekends from Broad Branch Road to the DC/MD line (over 4 miles, a majority of the route), but open during the week. In April 2020, with a highly reduced need for commuting and a highly increased need for people to have outdoor spaces for recreation/exercise, the closure to automotive traffic was made 24/7.
Officially, this is still temporary, but there is a decent likelihood it will ultimately be made permanent.
In the event it is made permanent, I intend to remove the closed portion from usanp on the grounds of it being no longer a driveable road. But this then raises the question of whether the two remaining separate segments (just over 1 mile in MD, 2 miles and change in DC) warrant inclusion in their own right, which based on the inclusion criteria for usanp I am not sure they would.
--- Quote ---1) a missing gap in an existing system (eg Mammoth Cave, California Routes, Yellowstone)
2) a specific NPS unit for the road (eg Natchez Trace, Blue Ridge, George Washington Memorial and Baltimore-Washington Parkways)
3) a through route linking roads already in (eg Painted Canyon Road)
4) an extension of an existing system into a park
5) roads that seem important enough and link with other roads - even if they dead-end
--- End quote ---
But I am still mulling this, which there is time to do as it is a potential future development. And the possibility remains it may be rendered moot if a decision is ultimately made to reopen the road to motorized use.
vdeane:
This also opens up a question about whether non-motorized routes should be in or not, given that MI 185 is. This also affects West River Parkway in NY (which was removed from TM but the situation is still ambiguous especially given the criteria for inclusion in usanyp). Is MI 185 the only example of a road closed to cars but still in TM, similar to how the interstates are the only roads that are allowed to be in without signage? Or are there actual criteria determining whether a road officially and permanently closed to cars gets to remain?
Duke87:
--- Quote from: vdeane on December 12, 2021, 05:57:47 pm ---This also opens up a question about whether non-motorized routes should be in or not, given that MI 185 is. This also affects West River Parkway in NY (which was removed from TM but the situation is still ambiguous especially given the criteria for inclusion in usanyp). Is MI 185 the only example of a road closed to cars but still in TM, similar to how the interstates are the only roads that are allowed to be in without signage? Or are there actual criteria determining whether a road officially and permanently closed to cars gets to remain?
--- End quote ---
M-185 is the only road I know of in TM that prohibits all motorized traffic, though there are a couple other examples that prohibit cars:
- the summit of Prospect Mountain Highway in NY, which is closed to cars but can be clinched via shuttle bus (and possibly sometimes by motorcycle?)
- Truck US 219 in Ridgway, PA, which normally prohibits cars and is supposed to be used by trucks only but... this is not enforced (I've clinched it in a car, no one stopped me)
Normally a road which is permanently or indefinitely closed to motorized traffic is not included. See for example:
- the northern end of CA 39 (legally closed to all users, though unenforced if you are inclined to hike it)
- the middle section of CA 173 (legally closed to motorized traffic except if needed for evacuation purposes, otherwise explicitly open to non-motorized traffic)
- the eastern end of AK 10 in Cordova (isolated from all other roads by a washout which will likely never be repaired)
- Crater Rim Drive in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (most of the road is closed to all users due to volcano hazards, part of it has physically collapsed)
oscar:
I would not remove Beach Dr., even if it's no longer open to autos, since it's clinchable by other means for those of us who haven't clinched it by car when that was possible. However, I would not add bike paths (unless we develop a system for such) that have never been open to non-motorized traffic. That's consistent with our practice of allowing route clinches on bicycle or foot, which I've done on occasion for roads temporarily closed to auto traffic, or for numbered routes within London's "congestion zone" (open to autos, but usually with stiff tolls).
Markkos1992:
--- Quote from: Duke87 on December 12, 2021, 06:39:33 pm ---
--- Quote from: vdeane on December 12, 2021, 05:57:47 pm ---This also opens up a question about whether non-motorized routes should be in or not, given that MI 185 is. This also affects West River Parkway in NY (which was removed from TM but the situation is still ambiguous especially given the criteria for inclusion in usanyp). Is MI 185 the only example of a road closed to cars but still in TM, similar to how the interstates are the only roads that are allowed to be in without signage? Or are there actual criteria determining whether a road officially and permanently closed to cars gets to remain?
--- End quote ---
M-185 is the only road I know of in TM that prohibits all motorized traffic, though there are a couple other examples that prohibit cars:
- the summit of Prospect Mountain Highway in NY, which is closed to cars but can be clinched via shuttle bus (and possibly sometimes by motorcycle?)
- Truck US 219 in Ridgway, PA, which normally prohibits cars and is supposed to be used by trucks only but... this is not enforced (I've clinched it in a car, no one stopped me)
Normally a road which is permanently or indefinitely closed to motorized traffic is not included. See for example:
- the northern end of CA 39 (legally closed to all users, though unenforced if you are inclined to hike it)
- the middle section of CA 173 (legally closed to motorized traffic except if needed for evacuation purposes, otherwise explicitly open to non-motorized traffic)
- the eastern end of AK 10 in Cordova (isolated from all other roads by a washout which will likely never be repaired)
- Crater Rim Drive in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (most of the road is closed to all users due to volcano hazards, part of it has physically collapsed)
--- End quote ---
There is also NC 172, which requires a Department of Defense sticker through Fort Lejeune. I may be able to get that if I visit my friend that just moved down to the area.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version