Thoughts from A Freeway Lover

There are legitimate problems with the Interstate Highway System. But they still are vital to American infrastructure.

Note: The following is something I originally wrote in 2010. I’ve added a few points to clarify my views on transportation. My opinion on freeways haven’t really changed in the intervening decade, but I do wonder how best to balance the need for freeways with other modes of transportation such as mass transit.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been fascinated with transportation. Airports, train stations, subway platforms, you name it, I’ve had a fascination with it.

(This is probably in keeping with my having Aspergers: a lot of people with high-functioning autism tend to be really interested in transport.)

Of all the modes of transportation, the one that held my interest the most was the freeway. Maybe it was growing up the son of autoworkers, but I’ve always had an interest in the Interstate Highway System. I remember sitting with a Rand McNally map of the United States and just spending time looking at all the routes of the various interstates throughout the country. I would even draw imaginary places that had freeways crisscrossing the area and going to other cities nearby.