User:Hjal/Sandbox/Roadgeeking

<!-- Please do not remove or change this AfD message until the issue is settled --> {{AfDM|page=Roadgeek (2nd nomination)|date=2008 July 13|substed=yes|origtag=afdx}} <!-- End of AfD message, feel free to edit beyond this point --> [[Image:Alaska tok cutoff.jpg|thumb|right|Driving south on The [[Tok Cut-Off|Alaska Tok Cutoff Highway]].]] A '''roadgeek''' (sometimes '''roadfan''' or '''Roads Scholar''', the latter being a play on the term [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholar]]) is a person who is interested in [[road]]s as a [[hobby]].<ref>[http://www.houstonfreeways.com/statesman_2004-12-12.htm Road to future or a dead end.], ''Austin American Statesman,'' 12 December 2004 (accessed [[20 January]],[[2007]])</ref> ==Roadgeek behavior== [[Image:OldalignIL.jpg|thumb|An abandoned early [[Route 66]] alignment in southern [[Illinois]] in 2006.]] [[Image:Highway Gothic sample.svg|thumb|right|[[FHWA Series fonts]]–also known as Highway Gothic]] In 2002, the [[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] reported that "road enthusiasm" was an internet phenomenon:<blockquote> Road enthusiasm is a phenomenon that developed with the Internet. People who for years thought they were the only ones who eagerly awaited the release of the new Rand McNally road atlases each fall suddenly stumbled on to hundreds of people with whom they could trade pictures, share ideas and debate the finer points of interchange design. In addition to hundreds of Web sites, there is a newsgroup, misc.transport.road, where the discussion meanders from road-trip routing and construction projects to quirks and inconsistencies in signage.<ref name=Lamb>[http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/SL/lib00170,0F63781FF9F53473.html "'Road Geeks' Ramp up Their Hobby on the Information Superhighway,"] William Lamb, ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]],'' [[September 22]], [[2002]], p C-1, accessed [[July 20]], [[2008]]</ref> </blockquote> Typical roadgeek behaviors include: *Taking [[road trip]]s for the roads rather than the destination (sometimes called '''roadgeeking''' or '''Roads Scholaring''') *Bragging about the extent of their travels, such as the number of [[Interstate Highway]] sections they have "clinched"<ref>[http://www.triskele.com/highway-heaven/my-clinched-freeways Mike the Actuary's Musings, My Clinched Freeways], accessed [[November 16]], [[2007]]</ref> *Taking photos of [[road sign]]s or the highways themselves *Collecting old [[road map]]s to study the roads *Maintaining [[web site]]s dedicated to the road network or highway system in a particular area. *Correcting errors in newspaper articles and other publications about highway terminology and the history of highways<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40612-2005Feb20.html John Kelly "A Long Way to Go for a Refund: Highways, Revisited," ''Washington Post,'' Page C11, February 21, 2005], accessed [[June 27]], [[2008]]</ref> *Designing graphics or fonts to facilitate the work of others.<ref>[http://www.triskele.com/roadgeek-fonts Mike the Actuary's Musings, Roadgeek Fonts], accessed [[November 16]], [[2007]]</ref> {{clear}} ==Sites of interest to roadgeeks== ===[[Arkansas]]=== *[[Arkansas Highway 43]]/[[Oklahoma State Highway 20]] [[concurrency]], possibly unique instance of two highways from different states overlapping<ref>[http://roads.tulok.net/u-a43.html "Oklahoma Terminus: Arkansas SH-43"], Martin McMahon, ''[http://roads.tulok.net/index.html Roadklahoma],'' accessed [[July 17]], [[2008]]</ref> ===[[California]]=== [[Image:Zzyzx Road.jpg|right|thumb|[[Zzyzx, California|Zzyzx]] Road exit sign on [[Interstate 15]]]] * The [[Ridge Route]], the first paved highway directly linking the [[Los Angeles Basin]] with the [[San Joaquin Valley]] over the [[Tejon Pass]], a portion of which is in the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. It was documented by uber-Roadgeek, Harrison Irving Scott, in 2002. in ''Ridge Route: The Road That United California.'' *[[Skyline Boulevard]], the road that spans the highest ridge of [[Santa Cruz Mountains]], making it possible to see the [[Pacific Ocean]] and [[San Francisco Bay]] simultaneously. *Decomissioned portions of [[U.S. Route 6 in California#History|U.S. Route 6]], now part of [[California State Route 14#History|State Route 14]], are the subject of significant roadgeek interest.<ref>[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/119615812.html?dids=119615812:119615812&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=May+14%2C+2002&author=LISA+LEFF&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=BEHIND+THE+WHEEL%3B+Road+Scholars+Driven+to+Go+the+Extra+Mile%3B+A+small+but+dedicated+band+of+buffs+spends+free+time+studying+and%2C+yes%2C+traveling+the+state's+highways+and+byways.&pqatl=google Lisa Leff, ''Los Angeles Times,'' May 14, 2002, "BEHIND THE WHEEL; Road Scholars Driven to Go the Extra Mile; A small but dedicated band of buffs spends free time studying and, yes, traveling the state's highways and byways"], accessed [[June 27]], [[2008]]</ref> *[[Zzyzx Road]], a landmark about halfway between [[Los Angeles]] and [[Las Vegas]], known for its unusual name. It is the last place on Earth, at least in the English alphabetical order. ===[[Colorado]]=== *[[Glenwood Canyon]], an engineering marvel *[[Eisenhower Tunnel]], the highest point on the [[Interstate Highway System]] [[Image:Y-Bridge 1.JPG|thumb|right|The Y-Bridge looking east]] ===[[Maryland]]=== *I-70's eastern terminus at a Park & Ride on [[Security Boulevard]] in Baltimore, one of the more unusual Interstate termini ===[[Missouri]]=== *Galena [[Y-Bridge (Galena, Missouri)|Y-Bridge]], an unusual bridge with three land connections ===[[Montana]]=== *[[Going-to-the-Sun Road]], a scenic road crossing [[Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park]], designated both a [[National Historic Landmark]] and a [[Historic Civil Engineering Landmark]].<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/goingtothesunroad.htm National Park Service "Going-to-the-Sun Road"]</ref> ===[[Oklahoma]]=== [[Image:Abandoned Turnpike.jpg|right|thumb|Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike]] *[[Arkansas Highway 43]]/[[Oklahoma State Highway 20]] [[concurrency]], possibly unique instance of two highways from different states overlapping ===[[Pennsylvania]]=== *[[Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike]], an example of 1930's-era highway standards *[[Breezewood, Pennsylvania]], a gap in [[Interstate 70]] that routes traffic down US 30 through town *[[Centralia, Pennsylvania]], site of underground coal fires undermining the area highways == Notable roadgeeks == *Steve Anderson, creator of [http://www.nycroads.com/ NYCROADS.COM], "described himself as a 'hard-core road fanatic' (others, he allowed, might say 'road geek') from childhood" according to ''The New York Times'' in 1999<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00EED91F31F933A25753C1A96F958260 Marcia Biederman, "Giving Highways Their Due," October 10, 1999, ''The New York Times''], accessed [[June 27]], [[2008]]</ref> *Nick Christensen, also known as "Nick Mojave," created the Las Vegas Freeways Page in the early 2000s, and was "perfectly comfortable being referred to as a road geek," according to the ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' in 2001.<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LVRB&p_theme=lvrb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FD394895CFE7ABD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "One man's traffic is another's obsession"], Michael Squires, ''Las Vegas Review-Journal,'' [[October 21]], [[2001]], accessed [[July 17]], [[2008]]</ref><ref>[http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=190247 "Geekier than moi?"], KVBC News 3, accessed [[July 17]], [[2008]]</ref> *Andy Field and Alex Nitzman of [http://www.aaroads.com/ AARoads] were noted by the ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' and others since 2002 for maintaining "a site with an exhaustive guide to the interstate highway system."<ref name=Lamb/><ref>[http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/SR/lib00139,10B88BC2510164C0.html "Road geeks get their kicks on Route 66, or even on I-90: Studying, documenting, discussing the nation's roadways and signage is highway to heaven for these enthusiasts,"] [[The Spokesman-Review]], [[August 4]], [[2004]], accessed [[July 20]], [[2008]]</ref> *James Love of [http://www.milebymile.com Mile By Mile Media] has the largest collection of highway photos in the world.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} *Adam Prince, of [http://www.gribblenation.com/ GribbleNation.com] and "a self-described 'road geek' whose hobby is learning everything he can about America's highways and byways," according to the ''Washington Post''<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A56265-2004Feb19?language=printer ''Washington Post Answer Man'', Sunday, February 22, 2004; Page M08, "What is the Seminole Trail? What do the green signs that say 'Seminole Trail' along Route 29 in Virginia refer to?"], accessed [[June 27]], [[2008]]</ref> *David Steinberg, creator of [http://www.ihoz.com/interstates.html "The ZZYZX Interstate Highway List"], as featured in ''The Telegraph'' of Nashua, New Hampshire in 1999.<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NTGB&p_theme=ntgb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10708D6DB5EE35E8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "And you may ask yourself, where does that highway go to?"], [[The Telegraph (Nashua)]], New Hampshire, [[December 21]], [[1999]], accessed [[July 17]], [[2008]]</ref> == See also == *[[Bus spotting]] *[[Metrophile]] *[[Railfan]] *[[Road trip]] *[[Sport touring]] == References == {{reflist}} == External links == *[news://misc.transport.road misc.transport.road] ([[Usenet]]) *[http://www.roadfan.com/mtrfaq.html misc.transport.road FAQ] *[http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/ Society for All British Road Enthusiasts (SABRE)] [[Category:Road transport]] [[Category:Hobbies]]