Good day!
I hate driving in cities. With a vengeance. With the fiery hated of a thousand suns.
In particular, I hate driving in Denver, mostly because I live there.
Anyway, I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on the ins and outs of getting around this fair city we've got going, so I thought I'd give a quick overview of the dos and donts, as well as the birds and bees of city driving. (I feel dirty after writing that)
I realize not everyone lives in the Mile High city (though it seems like they do), but I hope that this instructable will inspire others to create similar guides for their metropolitan/urban areas of their choice.
I hate driving in cities. With a vengeance. With the fiery hated of a thousand suns.
In particular, I hate driving in Denver, mostly because I live there.
Anyway, I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on the ins and outs of getting around this fair city we've got going, so I thought I'd give a quick overview of the dos and donts, as well as the birds and bees of city driving. (I feel dirty after writing that)
I realize not everyone lives in the Mile High city (though it seems like they do), but I hope that this instructable will inspire others to create similar guides for their metropolitan/urban areas of their choice.
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Signing UpStep 1: Geography and street layout
First off, the most important thing for any driver is knowing where you are in relation to your destination. The best way to know where you're at is to know which way is north (or south)
Luckily, we here in Denver are the noble decendants of those intrepid explorers who came west on wagons, saw the mountains, and said "Screw it, we're here!"
The Rocky Mountains are to the west. This is easily the most helpful advice anyone ever could get for driving here.
The mountains can also be seen from pretty much anywhere in Denver, and once you've got a handle on that, you can find your way north or south, because anywhere is better than where you're at right now, which is, inexplicably, Denver.
Another helpful fun fact: 90% of the roads here run on a grid, meaning north-south, or east-west. The only areas this doesn't apply are downtown and in the suburbs (places like Littleton and Highlands Ranch, but what are you doing there?)
The streets in Downtown Denver are on a angle, they run northwest-southeast and vice versa. The reason for this is ingenious: in winter, all the streets will get a good 3-4 hours of sunlight, which would melt the snow! Brilliant! Except when it really snows (like four or five feet, which is rare), it's never sunny! Wheeee....
Luckily, we here in Denver are the noble decendants of those intrepid explorers who came west on wagons, saw the mountains, and said "Screw it, we're here!"
The Rocky Mountains are to the west. This is easily the most helpful advice anyone ever could get for driving here.
The mountains can also be seen from pretty much anywhere in Denver, and once you've got a handle on that, you can find your way north or south, because anywhere is better than where you're at right now, which is, inexplicably, Denver.
Another helpful fun fact: 90% of the roads here run on a grid, meaning north-south, or east-west. The only areas this doesn't apply are downtown and in the suburbs (places like Littleton and Highlands Ranch, but what are you doing there?)
The streets in Downtown Denver are on a angle, they run northwest-southeast and vice versa. The reason for this is ingenious: in winter, all the streets will get a good 3-4 hours of sunlight, which would melt the snow! Brilliant! Except when it really snows (like four or five feet, which is rare), it's never sunny! Wheeee....
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If I still lived in Boston I'd cover that city - it definitely takes some insider know-how to navigate quickly and successfully.
I went to Denver about 10 years ago on vacation and I learned to navigate by which shoulder the mountains were on. Once I figured that out, I didn't feel too lost, except for that one time I went downtown. But it wasn't too bad. Away from the mountains = east, towards the mountains = west. Left shoulder = north, right shoulder = south. My hotel was west. :)
Of course, I actually prefer biking in Boston! You get there faster, and can actually find a place to park.
First, if a light turns yellow, keep going - don't even bother to slow down (or you'll get honked at).
Next, there is a mandatory 3 car minimum for running red lights. So if your in the first three vehicles when a light turns red, you have to go through (or suffer the wrath of the idiots behind you as they get infuriated because you didn't go when you had the chance).
Also, on the highways the speed limit is more like this; slow lane = add 5. Center lane(s) = add 10. Fast lane = add 15-20. And yes, I am serious. I get passed ALL THE TIME when I am doing 5-10 over in the center lane. And I frequently am passed right and left, one of the slowest cars on the highway, doing 5-10 MPH over the limit.
Now, the traffic can be worse elsewhere... but that is generally due to the constraints of the roads and such. Here in Colorado the drivers are just horrible!
*Now, for public transit and such, D.C. has the worst drivers in America... I have had taxi drivers go an entire block on the wrong side of the street (into oncoming traffic) to get past cars stopped at a light, just make a left hand turn. I was scared... very scared.