(no subject)

[taerowyn]

There's a reason drivers from Massachusetts are referred to as Massholes

And frankly, if you had to deal with shit like this, you'd be one too



I mean, really, who designed this thing?

My adventure today was not aided by the fact that Revere Beach Pkwy was down to one lane in each direction about 500ft east of this pic.

Comments

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

The fact that the map labels the northward passage to Middlesex Ave. as "Fellsway" is pretty heinous. I wonder if that's its actual name for that one block?

When I lived in Malden, I accidentally discovered that, at this interchange, if you just went straight in that direction it was a remarkably direct path home, one of those secret hyperspace bypasses that you gradually collect in your mind when you drive around Boston for long enough.

The one I was proudest of, though, was discovering the utility of the Gilmore Bridge (Charlestown Ave.), connecting Land Blvd. to Rte. 99 under the Big Dig interchange. Later I found out that it had a certain shibboleth status as one of those poorly marked things Bostonians know.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

...See also my 2006 tour of Hell Rotaries of Massachusetts (http://mmcirvin.livejournal.com/293392.html).

[skunk237.livejournal.com]

maybe i'm just an oddball, but it seems pretty straightforward to me.

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

If it were single lanes of traffic all around...or even two in each direction, it might work. But with most being 3 to 4 lanes on both sides, and usually with quite heavy traffic, the sheer amount of cars cutting each other off, being in the wrong lane and trying to wedge themselves into the right one once they figure out they're going the wrong way, blind corner if you're heading N and want to turn east (without getting sucked into the roundabout aspect and heading back south) etc. make it truly evil.

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

Powderhouse is such a pain in the ass. For the most part, I think rotaries do work fairly well, if they're large enough (space wise, not number of incoming/outgoing roads wise) and designed well enough they work. But that many roads in that little of a space? As you said, constant snap decisions which means lots of almost accidents.

[skunk237.livejournal.com]

ahh that makes a lot more sense now. i thought it was all 1 or 2 lanes.

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

See, that would make sense, which is why you'd never see it on MA roads.

[skunk237.livejournal.com]

i guess i was spoiled in MA. the hardest spot i drove was the downtown Boston I-95 (before the Dig), and i found my way nonetheless.