How are the streets in your city?

[Monkeyleg]

I don't remember streets or highways in OR or WA being bad. Is this something new in the last couple of years?

The one thing I will say for the Milwaukee metro area is that the streets are largely laid out in a grid like God intended.

With the exception of Fond du Lac Avenue, Lisbon Avenue, Forest Home Avenue, and  Teutonia Avenue, all of which run diagonally out from the center of the ghetto for a faster exit.

[Gewehr98]

Yup, there are some sorry-assed roadways out there in the nation.  You'll have to do some General Lee mods to the Mustang when you hit the Alabama dirt highway system. Maybe a brush guard? 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/riverratnb/3809278925/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPsV6oPPCsE

[MechAg94]

I took a pilgrimage to the CMP store in Anniston a couple years ago.  I thought at least the major roads in Alabama were pretty good.  We didn't go adventuring into the backwoods though. 

I know a few gravel/unpaved roads in Texas, but they are typically not easy to get to or on private land.  Most of the roads I have seen in Texas are in pretty decent shape.

[Monkeyleg]

GW, we were just down in Alabama in August, and the roads were beautiful. We weren't doing any trips into the woods or stuff like that, but we got out into farm country and didn't notice any bumps.

[Perd Hapley]

GW, we were just down in Alabama in August, and the roads were beautiful. We weren't doing any trips into the woods or stuff like that, but we got out into farm country and didn't notice any bumps.

But they probably aren't bathed in salt all winter long, or plowed every other day. 


I don't know if freeways fit into this discussion, but I've been shocked by the construction on Highway 64/40 out here.  In the first phase, they shut down a few miles (both lanes) and actually re-opened early.     They're about to complete the next phase early, too, and under-budget.  Yes, under budget. 

Apparently, their success is due to some crazy thing called "design-build." 

The whole Saint Louis area was braced for massive gridlock on the alternate routes, and websites were put up to help people find other ways to get to work and such.  But from what I've heard, it really hasn't been all that bad. 

These are such bizarre happenings, I half expect the four horsemen to come galloping down the newly-opened freeway next month. 

[Monkeyleg]

But they probably aren't bathed in salt all winter long, or plowed every other day.

I realize that winter takes a heavy toll on the roads. I was just trying to point out that the roads we experienced on our trip weren't like dirt side roads leading to Jed Clampett's house.

[brimic]

I work on Milwaukee's East Side. There are three direct ways to get out- North Avenue-->HWY 43, Locust Street---->HWY 43, Lafayette--->Lincoln Memorial---->I94.  I have to use one of the first two to get to Cedarburg at the end of the day to pick up my kids. North Ave and Locust Streets look like they were shelled by artillery, Lafayette, isn't any better. I broke the front sway bar on my Grand Prix on North avenue one day(the say bar is about 3/4" dimeter steel bar). To top that off, a huge chunk (40-50' diameter iirc)of Lucust street fell into a sink hole one day- about an hour after after I drove over the same spot.

[AJ Dual]

I work on Milwaukee's East Side. There are three direct ways to get out- North Avenue-->HWY 43, Locust Street---->HWY 43, Lafayette--->Lincoln Memorial---->I94.  I have to use one of the first two to get to Cedarburg at the end of the day to pick up my kids. North Ave and Locust Streets look like they were shelled by artillery, Lafayette, isn't any better. I broke the front sway bar on my Grand Prix on North avenue one day(the say bar is about 3/4" dimeter steel bar). To top that off, a huge chunk (40-50' diameter iirc)of Lucust street fell into a sink hole one day- about an hour after after I drove over the same spot.

And once you get out of the 3-4 marginaly decent blocks of "Riverwest" where the last remnants of East-Side "college/bohemian" gives way to plain old "ghetto", when going west on those streets towards I-43, it's nowhwere you'd want to break down.

I almost have to wonder if shall-issue CCW might provide a minor boost to the inner-city economy.

Monkeyleg knows first hand from almost being lynched at a community meeting, that much of the Inner City views shall-issue CCW as "hunting licenses" on their habitually criminal children. However, I wonder if a modest percentage of travel and suburban money might start making it's way through Milwaukee's north-side core again, if people weren't afraid to actually cross it, or actualy patronize whatever business actually is there.

The slightly smaller south-side Hispanic-dominated core at least has some businesses and economic activity like the popular Mexican resturaunts, and the retro-shopping on Mitchell Ave. And while it's still noticably depressed as compared to the burbs, downtown, the East Side, or the Third Ward, that seems to keep it from devolving into complete blight/flight.

CCW might just give a teeny boost to the north side in the same way.

Or they can fill the potholes and maybe people will feel less likely they'll break down in the worst part of town...  

[brimic]

And once you get out of the 3-4 marginaly decent blocks of "Riverwest" where the last remnants of East-Side "college/bohemian" gives way to plain old "ghetto", when going west on those streets towards I-43, it's nowhwere you'd want to break down

Yeah, I had a moment with some pucker factor when I had my car in the shop on Holton AVE, about 4 blocks north of Locust. I was on my bike when I went in to pay the bill. When I left the shop to go south to locust, my bike stalled out 2 blocks from Locust. I thought it was my ignition module that crapped out because the engine was having some timing issues, but it turned out that I forgot to turn the petcock back on. Nothing like pulling up to a curb there frantically trying to restart a bike when there is a group of homies 20 feet away eyeing you and your ride up.

edit: that street was bad/rough too.

I used to take Fondulac ave (another pothole riddled street) to HWY 45, but don't anymore after having a beer bottle thrown at me around center street. With the car/truck I could potentially keep things that go boom out of sight/mind, but its not as easy on  a bike.

[roo_ster]

Quad Cities, IA/IL.

Truly awful roads.

[Scout26]

Quad Cities, IA/IL.

Truly awful roads.

I live in Northeastern Illinois (Chicago and Suburbs).....The roads that aren't torn up due to construction are just torn up.

[Monkeyleg]

I lived on the lower east side (Humboldt and Kane) 39 years ago. I don't think they've fixed the streets in that area since before I lived there.

As for carrying in the inner city, I wouldn't go there, permit or no permit. Why go someplace knowing that you stand a good chance of having to shoot someone and be late for dinner?

[brimic]

As for carrying in the inner city, I wouldn't go there, permit or no permit. Why go someplace knowing that you stand a good chance of having to shoot someone and be late for dinner?

Where else can you get an education about junkies, bums, hookers, and various other denizens of the ghetto?
Then there's always a pretty good  chance that you might get diverted off one of the 'nice' streets like FDL ave at 11:30 PM onto some of the more interesting side streets because the police have the block cordoned off after a shooting at a stop&rob.

You're right, its not worth it.