Author Topic: CO: Should AcaBlvd in Colorado Springs remain in the usasf system?  (Read 1548 times)

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Offline oscar

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A short freeway segment of Academy Blvd. in Colorado Springs was added to the HB, as part of the usasf (Select Named Freeways) system, this morning along with many other Colorado changes. I think this hasn't been discussed on the forum, except it was listed in a much longer discussion in January 2020 about freeways omitted from usasf.

Does it belong in usasf at all? It's less than two miles long, and isn't a major link in the local Colorado Springs highway system except to the extent the mostly non-freeway Academy Blvd. is a significant road for local travelers.

We've talked about tightening up what's added to or included in usasf, which is after all a "select" highway system, to make it more selective. While we haven't settled on criteria, I suspect that anything less than two miles long will presumptively not make the cut. I have on hold a longer unnumbered freeway route in the Bakersfield CA area, while we sort this out.

If CO AcaBlvd stays, should its west endpoint CovDr/HarSt be relabeled? The manual says we can include two route numbers in a waypoint label, but no such provision for intersecting road names. I suggest picking one and dropping the other. CovDr is more consistent with where the waypoint is placed; if we used only HarSt, the waypoint should be at the Hartford Street overpass about 0.08 mile to the west.
« Last Edit: November 27, 2020, 02:56:47 pm by oscar »

Offline ntallyn

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Re: CO: Should AcaBlvd in Colorado Springs remain in the usasf system?
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2020, 02:57:07 pm »
If CO AcaBlvd stays, should its west endpoint CovDr/HarSt be relabeled? The manual says we can include two route numbers in a waypoint label, but no such provision for intersecting road names. I suggest picking one and dropping the other.

If it stays, why not extend its west end to CO115?

Never mind, I forgot about the light at PPCC.

Offline yakra

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Re: CO: Should AcaBlvd in Colorado Springs remain in the usasf system?
« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2020, 05:46:05 pm »
If it were me, I'd have probably not included it.

Quote from: me on GitHub, WRT Shawnee Mission Parkway in KCK
Not something I'd be interested in adding. To my eyes, it's more of a boulevard that happens to have a few interchanges on it.
To add something to usasf, I'd want it to be an all-freeway facility, preferably something that forms a cohesive link in the larger network.
To clarify, I think of a "cohesive link" as being something that connects to something else in the TM network, preferably at >1 point and/or at least one end. This only has the single US85/87 point in the middle.
For "all-freeway facilities", I prefer including a facility in its entirety over having an all-freeway route in the HB that's a truncated freeway-only part of a larger overall facility.
For truncated routes that do get included, I'd like to see at least half of the overall facility be included.

This facility is a bit of a mishmash. One graph connection in the middle @ US85/87. A short, truncated route with a few at-grade junctions separating it from a couple more interchanges' worth that don't get included. Even if that section were included, it would still be quite a small percentage of the overall Academy Boulevard facility.

While we haven't settled on criteria, I suspect that anything less than two miles long will presumptively not make the cut.
My take on this is not that this would necessary be a hard-and-fast criterion, but rather, just the end result in practice of the decisions the maintainers make.
Maintaining New England, I wouldn't want to see size alone ruling routes out; things are pretty compact here. 5/10 New England usasf routes are < 2 mi long (Storrow Drive barely squeaks in at 2.00446 mi). Everything meets at least a "has >1 graph connection including at least one end" standard, except for Soldiers Field Rd. Rd Soldiers Field is also truncated to <50% of its overall length; if we were to settle on guidelines for usasf that would exclude it, it wouldn't bother me to toss it.

If CO AcaBlvd stays, should its west endpoint CovDr/HarSt be relabeled?
Yes.

The manual says we can include two route numbers in a waypoint label, but no such provision for intersecting road names.
It does however prohibit this for names designations.

I suggest picking one and dropping the other. CovDr is more consistent with where the waypoint is placed; if we used only HarSt, the waypoint should be at the Hartford Street overpass about 0.08 mile to the west.
I could see it at the existing coords with either name, on "misbehaving parclo" grounds.

At the other end, MilProPkwy and DreRd should be collapsed into a single point midway between, per 1PPI.

...If we even do keep it...
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Offline the_spui_ninja

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Re: CO: Should AcaBlvd in Colorado Springs remain in the usasf system?
« Reply #3 on: December 27, 2020, 08:37:29 pm »
OK, I'm back after an internet/semester/family related hiatus (December was inordinately busy). There's two people who entered this in their files, but if you all want me to toss it I will. I think I have a bit more expansive view of this system than most, but I'll follow what everyone else wants.
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. - G.K. Chesterton

Offline compdude787

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Re: CO: Should AcaBlvd in Colorado Springs remain in the usasf system?
« Reply #4 on: December 27, 2020, 09:20:53 pm »
I feel like it would be a bit more useful if it was extended west a little bit to I-25. I'd support it staying if this was done.

Thoughts?

Offline the_spui_ninja

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Re: CO: Should AcaBlvd in Colorado Springs remain in the usasf system?
« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2020, 09:51:31 pm »
I feel like it would be a bit more useful if it was extended west a little bit to I-25. I'd support it staying if this was done.

Thoughts?
Well I made it to extend for the full freeway length based on the Sam Jones Expressway in Indianapolis (here).
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. - G.K. Chesterton

Offline compdude787

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Re: CO: Should AcaBlvd in Colorado Springs remain in the usasf system?
« Reply #6 on: December 28, 2020, 04:05:17 pm »
I feel like it would be a bit more useful if it was extended west a little bit to I-25. I'd support it staying if this was done.

Thoughts?
Well I made it to extend for the full freeway length based on the Sam Jones Expressway in Indianapolis (here).

Oh yeah, forgot about that one. On that basis, I'd support getting rid of this route.

Offline the_spui_ninja

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Re: CO: Should AcaBlvd in Colorado Springs remain in the usasf system?
« Reply #7 on: December 28, 2020, 08:33:28 pm »
Alright, if anyone wants me to save it speak up; I'll wait for 1 week (to 1/4/21) to give additional time for public comment then axe it.
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. - G.K. Chesterton

Offline the_spui_ninja

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Re: CO: Should AcaBlvd in Colorado Springs remain in the usasf system?
« Reply #8 on: January 07, 2021, 09:04:01 pm »
Alright, if anyone wants me to save it speak up; I'll wait for 1 week (to 1/4/21) to give additional time for public comment then axe it.
No takers; will be axed the next time I do a highway update.
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. - G.K. Chesterton

Offline the_spui_ninja

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An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. - G.K. Chesterton