this discussion is triggered by a difference of opinion between myself
and NE2 about
the classification of US 301 & FL A1A between Ocala, Florida and
Jackonsville, Florida.
I'm bringing it up in the hopes of achieving concensus, in preference to
having an edit war in
the database.
the discussions i have participated in/observed about trunk suggest that
most of the US
mappers see it as a high speed, restricted access highway which has some
grade level
crossings, usually with traffic lights or with stop signs for the low
speed roads. the
number of such crossings are limited, and there are generally no
driveways with direct
access.
however, there is apparently some language on the wiki about major
intercity routes.
what i found in a quick dive into the wiki is this:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Trunk#International_equivalence
*US* Divided highway without ramps.
Higher speeds (65+mph). This includes some US highways and some state
highways.
so a week and a half ago, i drove US 301 from Ocala to Callahan,
and A1A from Callahan to I-95. i have driven this route a number of
times, but this
was the first since i started working on this project, so i paid careful
attention to the
nature of the road.
1) US 301 is divided, 2 lanes each way, from Ocala to I 10. It is not
divided, 1 lane
each way, from I 10 to Callahan.
2) at times, US 301 has speed limits of 65. passing through towns, its
speed limit
frequently drops to 35.
3) it is very lightly traveled, it is in fact quite overbuilt (probably
when I 4 and I 95
were completed, most of the traffic moved over to them.)
4) even in the 65mph divided sections, there are driveways directly
connecting to the
road
5) A1A from Callahan to I 95 is 1 lane each way for most of its route,
with some
divided/2 lanes each way close to I 95.
the 1 lane each way sections of US 301 and A1A have very much the
character of ordinary
country highways.
i would argue at a minimum that the 2 lane sections do not even remotely
qualify for
trunk. i really don't think, given the slow downs for the towns, the
light traffic, and the
direct connections of driveways, that even the divided sections of A1A
and US 301
qualify for trunk.
NE2, on the other hand, sees US 301/FL A1A as major intercity routes and
wants them
to be trunk roads.
we really need a clear definition of what trunk is in the US. opinions?
richard
_______________________________________________
Talk-us mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us
