Bluebonnet Parkway

[Heights2Bastrop]

I was driving up 187 on the east side of Austin a few weeks ago, and I saw a sign for Bluebonnet Parkway, also know as Hwy290. When did that happen?

Although 290 seems like a logical choice for using that name, my feeling is that 71 from Columbus to Austin deserved consideration, given the fact there are more bluebonnets along 71 that 290.

[MidtownCoog]

Agree about 71. I thought the same thing a few weeks ago when driving to Austin.

290 is ugly compared to 71.

[Subdude]

Not to mention it is hardly a parkway. Unfortunately, mis-naming roads "parkways" has become quite the fad among image-conscious municipalities. Exhibit 1 - St Joseph "Parkway" downtown.

I rest my case.

[desirous]

Parkways don't suffer alone. Ordinary roads have a tendency to be called loops, at least in Austin. I should make it a mission to build a perfectly straight road and name it circle. Spite knows no limits.

[JLWM8609]

Parkways don't suffer alone. Ordinary roads have a tendency to be called loops, at least in Austin. I should make it a mission to build a perfectly straight road and name it circle. Spite knows no limits.

Explanation for the "Loop" designation from the Texas Highway Man.

http://texhwyman.home.att.net/tex.htm

"Loop"

A term you are sure to hear across the state is "Loop". Even when they're Interstates, you'll usually hear beltways and other bypasses referred to as "Loop." For example, I-410 is usually called "Loop 410", and I-610 is known simply as "The Loop" (usually with the location inserted, i.e. "the West Loop.") There are state highways officially called and marked Loop. In many cases, however, a "Loop" may not be circular or even a bypass! Short state highways whose main purpose is to connect two or more highways are usually designated as a Loop. A good example is Loop 1 (MoPac Expressway) in Austin. It is basically straight and runs pretty much through the heart of the city, but it connects several US, SH, and FM routes along the way.

[H-Town Man]

I was driving up 187 on the east side of Austin a few weeks ago, and I saw a sign for Bluebonnet Parkway, also know as Hwy290. When did that happen?

Although 290 seems like a logical choice for using that name, my feeling is that 71 from Columbus to Austin deserved consideration, given the fact there are more bluebonnets along 71 that 290.

It could be because 290 brings you to the Official Texas State Bluebonnet Festival in Chapel Hill. There is also a Bluebonnet Trail that you can see on state maps, that tends to meander in the counties that 290 runs through. I'd agree that 71 is much more scenic than 290 for the first half hour or so east of Austin.

[plumber2]

Not to mention it is hardly a parkway. Unfortunately, mis-naming roads "parkways" has become quite the fad among image-conscious municipalities. Exhibit 1 - St Joseph "Parkway" downtown.

I rest my case.

Exhibit 2 - NASA Parkway.............I still call it NASA Rd #1.

I rest my ass.

[Subdude]

Exhibit 3 - Fort Bend Parkway.

Over to you.

[Vertigo58]

Exhibit 2 - NASA Parkway.............I still call it NASA Rd #1.

I rest my ass.

and as of late it has become a most ugly site. Repulsive is a better word. Just too small/narrow now. I still call it Nasa Rd #1.

rest my az 2.

[DaTrain]

Exhibit 4

Sam Houston Parkway. Not counting North BW8, it seems redundant for the mainlanes to be designated Tollway while the frontage road is designated the Parkway. Off topic: I didn't know BW8 does not apply to the Tollway mainlanes but the frontage road anyway. That don't make no sense to me.

I rest my brain.

[JLWM8609]

Exhibit 4

it seems redundant for the mainlanes to be designated Tollway while the frontage road is designated the Parkway.

Why is it redundant? They are both two different roads, the frontage roads are maintained by TxDOT for maintainence and are part of the State Highway system though they made a special "Beltway" shield for it. The tollroad is maintained by HCTRA.

[Subdude]

Sam Houston Parkway is really stretching it. That is about as un-parkway as a road can get.

[tmariar]

I posted this in another thread recently, but forgot to add it here. This is the link to the City of Houston's "street naming standards". Which provide in part that:

Street name suffixes must be assigned as follows:

- Court, Circle or Loop are reserved for cul-de-sac or loop streets[.]

- Boulevard, Speedway, Parkway and Expressway are reserved for major thoroughfares or divided streets with at least 2 lanes of traffic in each direction.

- Highway and Freeway shall be reserved for designated highways or freeways under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Transportation.

Is St. Joseph's Parkway even "divided"? (I think someone else may have linked to or summarized this Chronicle article about the naming of St. Joseph's Parkway already.) Buffalo Speedway couldn't really be said to be "divided" in the sections where it runs through neighborhoods (where the "Speedway's" speed limit is 30 mph - more false advertising).