Improving
the Massachusetts Highway System
Suggestions
to Create a Better Way to Get Around
Introduction
As a
Massachusetts driver for most of my life, I am often amused, confused,
and sometimes frustrated driving the state's highway system. This page
is an attempt, be it by an avid road enthusiast with no training in
engineering, traffic control, or as an employee of MassDOT, to define
what kind of state route system I would like to see, and then to make
some suggestions as to how this could be achieved. I happily accept
comments and other suggestions you may have, perhaps together some of
these changes can actually happen.
Defining an Ideal Highway System
The basic
definition of a state's highway system is a series of roadways that get
people, goods and services from A to B in the most efficient way
possible. While Massachusetts has done a reasonably good job, today's
system is still largely based on that created from traffic patterns of
the 1920s through the 1960s and could use some updates to make it a more
efficient system for the rest of the 21st Century. To do so though
will require a more specific set of standards to define an ideal, more
efficient highway system. Thus for the purposes of this website --
An ideal state
route system:
1. Provides the
most direct route from A to B according to current highway travel
patterns.
2. Should be
simple to follow with logical start and endpoints.
3. Should avoid
unnecessary route concurrencies.
4. Should have
routes ending at other routes (state borders and geographic features
like coastlines, excepted).
5. Should be well
signed.
Based on the
above standards, I have created the following pages dedicated to:
Have Comments, Suggestions feel free to E-mail me at rmalme7374 at gmail.com.
(c) Robert H. Malme 2020
Unofficial Site Debut: April 30, 2020