🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <2q6tab$t0s@clarknet.clark.net>,
Jonathan Hazzard <thonhazz@clark.net> wrote:
>
>   There's a growing thread about the confusion caused by renumbering 
>exits and the duplication of beltway exit numbers in Maryland and 
>Virginia and it all brings me to this question:  Do people actually 
>navigate by exit numbers?  What I mean is, do you tell someone to take 
>exit 4B to Leesburg or do you say Route 7 West?  (Before you flame me, I 
>admit that I have NO IDEA what exit number Rte. 7 carries.)  
>   I know that radio ads cite exit numbers when giving directions and 
>confusion can be eliminated by numbering each individual exit separately, 
>but I personally would rather know what road to look for than what exit 
>number.  

   Having lived in Baltimore for past four years I gotta say I know
   of no one who navigates the beltway here by exit number (and the
   numbers here do not repeat) -- people usually just say which road
   you gotta get off when giving directions.  Or when someone asks
   where a road is, you can say, "Liberty Rd is near the northwest
   section of the beltway".  Giving the beltway exit number confers no real
   idea as to where it is in most people's minds.

   HOWEVER, in New Jersey or Long Island, where exit numbers run
   sequentially, the exit number is equated to the general area or
   its distance.  For instance, on Long Island, exit 63 is pretty
   far out (east) on the Island, and in New Jersey, exit 120 is 
   up north on the Garden State Pkwy.  

   Distancewise, say, if someone lives at exit 25 off the Long Island
   Expressway, and they have to go to exit 70, that's quite a trek.

   In a beltway scenario you wouldn't know exactly unless you knew
   where the numbering begins and ends, and what range...  

   What I *hate* about beltways is that you're often limited to
   driving "around in a circle" to get from one place to another.
   For instance, if you're in the center of the beltway in Baltimore
   and you want to get to Route 40 west, you can cut through the 
   city and deal with the very poorly timed traffic lights or you
   can drive the extra distance and drive north on I-83 and take
   the beltway back down.  Thus taking the "highway" can take less
   or more time depending...

   Also when you're deciding which direction to take on the beltway,
   and you're new to the area, sometimes the roadsigns don't help
   at all, ie. 695:Essex or 695:Pikesville gives no meanings to
   newcomers. 

   I'm sure the Capital Beltway has these annoying "features" as well.

   Jason