[ram2]

Originally Posted by beachmouse

Michigan is also in a pretty unfortunate climate spot when it comes to high annual freeze/thaw cycling, which it can’t do anything about and allows higher weights for semitrailer, which it could control. Both of these things can have big impacts on road wear and tear

Michigan is not the only place in the US which has freeze/thaw cycles.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by PacificaViews

Canada has a 55mph speed limit.

No, incorrect. The speed limit in Alberta is 120 km/hr (75mph).

[ram2]

Originally Posted by WestsideMac

Ohio might have good roads, but I don't think Indiana should be your point of comparison.

Drive on any road starting in Indiana and cross the border into Michigan. Everyone can tell when you are in Michigan by the bumpy roads.

[WestsideMac]

Originally Posted by ram2

Drive on any road starting in Indiana and cross the border into Michigan. Everyone can tell when you are in Michigan by the bumpy roads.

Not disagreeing, but you can definitely find plenty of exceptions to the rule.

The stretch of I-69 from Coldwater to Lansing is bumpy for sure. I get out of the car after that stretch and I can still feel the gyrations in my arm as if I'm driving that stretch of road still. Wouldn't say it's in terrible condition though, definitely not ideal with the bumps, but last I drove it in June there weren't potholes or other major issues.

However, 31 from South Bend to border is pretty bad on the Indiana side (last I went through there Indiana had some new construction project going on with it, also in June). From the Michigan border to the terminus of 31 near St Joe/Benton Harbor is in better shape than the Indiana side.

It is also hard to compare them because both states have plenty of roads that are in great condition, but also lots of roads that aren't. Michigan being a bigger state does have way more roads to try and worry about too than Indiana both in terms of repairs and funding. Same for Detroit vs Indianapolis. I drive more in Indianapolis area and can tell you there are many that are not reported on the website they have for such things. Indy Pothole Viewer Over 100 cases not fixed currently and of the ones reported over 1,000 took over a week to deal with. Michigan has a way to report potholes, but no map to show potholes that I could find easily. https://www.zeemaps.com/mobile?group=74486 There was this, but not sure dates of those and I am sure you have more than the ones posted there.

From that perspective of Indiana "should" have less roads to worry about here is another reason I say Indiana shouldn't be your point of comparison like Ohio which is a bigger state like Michigan. Again having said that we still have so much construction going on with roads to fix things that shouldn't have broken down yet. As that article stated though many times the Indiana government chooses the cheapest bid so you get what you pay for. Costs Indiana less up front, but in long run you are repairing it sooner and making up the difference there. https://www.metrotimes.com/the-scene...ng-to-this-map Finally, this map using Twitter hashtags (Yes, I know its not the most scientific) shows at least some of the frustration both our states have with road issues, namely potholes.

My point is just that there are good and bad roads everywhere. Indiana does not have it road wise as good as you think. I am not trying to say we have it worse or turn this into a pissing contest of what state is better or worse, just a reality check. It's not like crossing over into Indiana and magically our roads are gold plaited, automatically heated (I wish), pristine, pot hole free drives/experiences. That is not the case. It all depends on where you drive. I have not been into Detroit in over 15 years, haven't been on Lansing streets outside of the interstate and same for Grand Rapids. If I solely based my driving experiences on the other cities, towns, and highways I drove in Michigan then your state would seem better. I know that's not reality as many of those roads are the first repaired due to Commercial Semis, Tourists and others using those in comparison to more localized streets. Same for Indiana. If you just compare it with the interstates and roads in the towns and smaller cities than Indiana will seem better.

[PacificaViews]

Originally Posted by ram2

No, incorrect. The speed limit in Alberta is 120 km/hr (75mph).

Oops. Yes you are correct. Interesting to know about Alberta. But in Ontario, Canada, next to Michigan, the speed limit is slower - 110km/hr. But I did mis-type previous post, though.

The speed limit in Ontario last year was 100km (62mph) but it was just was increased to 110km (68mph) in 2019.

We drive Kings Highway 402, and last time I drove the signs still read 100km = 62mph.

So effectively in Michigan, the signs say 75mph, but people drive about 90-95, and in Ontario, speed limit is now 68mph, and maybe they drive about 75mph, and the roads are nicer, so overall driving experience nicer.

Anyway, it was a very noticable and drastic change in driver speeds and overall courtesy on the roads in Ontario, Canada. Plus the Ontario roads and so many of the communities are so sparkling new and nice. It is quite a nice get away for us Michiganders. But there may be other areas of Ontario that aren't as new and nice. The stretch we drive is straight to Niagara Falls on Hwy 402, passing through Sarnia.

[FrozenI69]

If I was given a choice to vote between Whitmer and a moderate Republican, I’d probably side with the moderate Republicans. Whitmer hasn’t really delivered on her promises, and I 75 has remained a mess from Ohio state line up to Flat Rock. Unless you have a truck with air suspension, it feels like a constant rumble strip.
That area is in need of a major clean up. Not just the road, but all the nasty chemical smells as well.

[Filthy_Phil]

Originally Posted by Zenstyle

You’re hearing the complainers, and those who are afraid of women in power. (There still are some people like that, unbelievably.)
Big Gretch is loved by most Michiganders for her determination to keep us as Covid-free as possible. Of course, she doesn’t have a magic wand, and the state contains about as many Deplorables.as any other state.

So because I can’t stand our governer and her ridiculous executive orders not to mention her nastiness means I’m threatened by a woman in power or just a complainer?

This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve read, so congrats

Loved by most Michiganders? Haha, just wow. I’d think twice before calling someone else a deplorable

[michikawa]

Gov. Whitmer has done an OK job handling the COVID situation, but I don't think anyone can do a great job trying to suppress a new strain of the common cold, unless you consider forcible locking people in their homes like the CCP a great job.

What strikes me as off, and insincere, about Gov. Whitmer, as a 35-49 year-old male with a graduate degree, is how calculated her image is. She hams up the nasally Michigan accent, calculates all of the knickknacks posed in her home office, and spends far too much time thinking about/talking about/defending her wardrobe choices. She's playing to her base of college educated, upper middle-class, suburban women, at the expense of others in the electorate, but if that is what keeps her in office, I can't blame her for it.

Calling me a traditionalist, but I like my elected officials like I like my doctors, boring and in bed by 9PM. Being governor should largely be an unceremonious civic duty, but in the age of Twitter, Facebook, and raging narcissistic rule, that opinion seems to have lost a lot of traction. All politicians, after enough years, stay in the game for the money and power. I just wish decorum of being a statesmen was a little more highly valued, by the public and by the elected officials themselves.

[MI1287]

My biggest issue with her COVID response has been her exaggerated zeroing in on specific sectors and making them a borderline public enemy. First, it was barbers/hair salons. Fought tooth and nail to keep them closed (retaliation toward Karl the barber played a small part I'm sure) but now in this supposedly deadly second wave they are open. Then, it was gyms. Fought tooth and nail to keep them closed and called them "petri dishes of infection" but now in this supposedly deadly second wave they are mostly open. Currently, it's restaurants. Too dangerous to be open now yet they were reopened back in June before many other sectors. Soon enough, the focus will likely move to something else.

[mgkeith]

Covid cases were WAY down in June. Now they are way up. Deaths are up, too.

It's hard to eat and drink and keep moving with a mask off, too. These are situations that greatly increase the spread of the virus. The virus is airborne.

We can keep our masks on for hair services, but might not be the safest thing for someone whose hair care take hours. We have to choose our risk factors. Many people don't want to risk the gym, either.



I really don't understand the fuss about waiting and suffering just a teensy bit during a pandemic. We are so terribly spoiled! So many people in previous generations have had to put up with a lot more inconvenience.