Philly to Buffalo: Yahoo driving directions weird?

Can someone help me?

I need to drive from Philadelphia to Buffalo, and will need to do so once
month.. Take a look at this Yahoo! map:

http://snipurl.com/h211

They want me to go straight north on the PA Turnpike, then straight west on
the NYS Thruway.

This seems bizarre, since the hypotenuse of a right triangle is always
shorter than the two other legs, right? IOW, the shortest distance between
two points is always a straight line.

Can anyone give me some advice? I bet there is a route that is more direct,
and that will also take less time, right?

Thanks!

Julie P. wrote:
> Can someone help me?
>
> I need to drive from Philadelphia to Buffalo, and will need to do so once
> month..


Here is what I would do.
476 north to 81 north to Binghamton.
17/I-86 west to 390 north.

Now take 390 north, I would stay on it to the NY Thruway, I-90 then go
west on the Thruway to Buffalo.

However there is NY 39/63 from Geneseo to Batavia that you could take
that avoids some of the Thruway. It would save you some miles, but it
is two lanes and goes through Batavia and a couple of other towns that
would slow you down.


Be forewarned that when winter arrives this is a very tough trip to
take.
Happy trails.
Take care,
Randy, Fanwood, NJ

"Julie P." > wrote:

> Can someone help me?
>
> I need to drive from Philadelphia to Buffalo, and will need to do so
> once month.. Take a look at this Yahoo! map:
>< snip >
> Can anyone give me some advice? I bet there is a route that is more
> direct, and that will also take less time, right?

There are shorter routes, but they aren't faster. You will be trading off
speed for distance, plus some savings in Thruway tolls.

The shortest practical route would take you along 6, 220, and 17 from
Scranton thru Sayre to Elmira and Corning, then up 390 to the Thruway. It
is only 15 miles or so shorter than the way Yahoo suggests, but will
probably take 45 minutes longer for the trip. The Scranton-Sayre section
is not fast. You will also save about $3 in Thruway tolls.

Another possibility would be to take 17 across from Binghamton to Corning,
then north on 390 to the Thruway. That is 15 miles farther than the route
Yahoo suggests, but there will be a bit less traffic and again you will
save some of the Thruway toll.

"Julie P." > wrote in message
...
> Can someone help me?
>
> I need to drive from Philadelphia to Buffalo, and will need to do so once
> month.. Take a look at this Yahoo! map:
>
> http://snipurl.com/h211
>
> They want me to go straight north on the PA Turnpike, then straight west
on
> the NYS Thruway.
>
> This seems bizarre, since the hypotenuse of a right triangle is always
> shorter than the two other legs, right? IOW, the shortest distance between
> two points is always a straight line.
>
> Can anyone give me some advice? I bet there is a route that is more
direct,
> and that will also take less time, right?

Not real likely. A "straight line" between Philly and Buffalo takes you
through mountains, requiring you to do lots of zigzagging on roads generally
not nearly as good as the Interstates Yahoo! recommends. The Yahoo! map
hints at that, but look at a more detailed road atlas and you'll see what I
mean.

NY 17 west of Binghamton (turning into I-86), to I-390 up to Rochester,
looks more like the straight line you're hoping for, and would save you a
little on tolls. But MSN Streets and Trips 2005 (which recommends the exact
same route as Yahoo! does) estimates the NY 17/I-390 alternative will add
about a half-hour to your trip. You might want to take that alternate route
in one direction of your trip anyway, for a change of pace and scenery.

--
Oscar Voss - - Arlington, Virginia

my Hot Springs and Highways pages: http://users.erols.com/ovoss/

> wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> Julie P. wrote:
>> Can someone help me?
>>
>> I need to drive from Philadelphia to Buffalo, and will need to do so once
>> month..
>
>
> Here is what I would do.
> 476 north to 81 north to Binghamton.
> 17/I-86 west to 390 north.
>
> Now take 390 north, I would stay on it to the NY Thruway, I-90 then go
> west on the Thruway to Buffalo.

But keep in mind, there is ongoing construction on NY 17 (in Horseheads /
Elmira especially), and also to fix some rickety portions of 390 north in
Steuben County. I can say what to expect in New York State, but not in
Pennsylvania.

>
> However there is NY 39/63 from Geneseo to Batavia that you could take
> that avoids some of the Thruway. It would save you some miles, but it
> is two lanes and goes through Batavia and a couple of other towns that
> would slow you down.

When I lived in Buffalo, and had to make a trip to Long Island, I would use
the shortcut from Batavia to Geneseo (NY 98 to NY 63), since it did cut some
miles, and a little time as well. I would recommend the Binghamton area as
a good stopping point on the way as it about halfway between Philly and
Buffalo.

>
>
> Be forewarned that when winter arrives this is a very tough trip to
> take.
> Happy trails.
> Take care,
> Randy, Fanwood, NJ
>

"Douglas Kerr" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>>
>> Julie P. wrote:
>>> Can someone help me?
>>>
>>> I need to drive from Philadelphia to Buffalo, and will need to do so
>>> once
>>> month..
>>
>>
>> Here is what I would do.
>> 476 north to 81 north to Binghamton.
>> 17/I-86 west to 390 north.
>>
>> Now take 390 north, I would stay on it to the NY Thruway, I-90 then go
>> west on the Thruway to Buffalo.
>
> But keep in mind, there is ongoing construction on NY 17 (in Horseheads /
> Elmira especially), and also to fix some rickety portions of 390 north in
> Steuben County. I can say what to expect in New York State, but not in
> Pennsylvania.
>
>>
>> However there is NY 39/63 from Geneseo to Batavia that you could take
>> that avoids some of the Thruway. It would save you some miles, but it
>> is two lanes and goes through Batavia and a couple of other towns that
>> would slow you down.
>
> When I lived in Buffalo, and had to make a trip to Long Island, I would
> use the shortcut from Batavia to Geneseo (NY 98 to NY 63), since it did
> cut some miles, and a little time as well. I would recommend the
> Binghamton area as a good stopping point on the way as it about halfway
> between Philly and Buffalo.
>
>>
>>
>> Be forewarned that when winter arrives this is a very tough trip to
>> take.
>> Happy trails.
>> Take care,
>> Randy, Fanwood, NJ
>>
>


Hey, thanks everyone! It seems like the Yahoo! route would actually be the
best then. Although I am somewhat tempted to take the Southern Tier
Expressway in NY, instead of the Thruway. I grew up there, but this was not
completed at the time. Would the Southern Tier Expressway be just as fast as
the Thruway?

> >
> > But keep in mind, there is ongoing construction on NY 17 (in Horseheads /
> > Elmira especially), and also to fix some rickety portions of 390 north in
> > Steuben County. I can say what to expect in New York State, but not in
> > Pennsylvania.
> >
> >>
>
> >>
> >
>
>
> Hey, thanks everyone! It seems like the Yahoo! route would actually be the
> best then. Although I am somewhat tempted to take the Southern Tier
> Expressway in NY, instead of the Thruway. I grew up there, but this was not
> completed at the time. Would the Southern Tier Expressway be just as fast as
> the Thruway?


The Southern Tier is the NY 17/I-86 I mentioned.
But see Doug Kerr's advice above.

Take care,
Randy, Fanwood, NJ

In article >,
Julie P. > wrote:
>Can someone help me?
>
>I need to drive from Philadelphia to Buffalo, and will need to do so once
>month.. Take a look at this Yahoo! map:
>
>http://snipurl.com/h211
>
>They want me to go straight north on the PA Turnpike, then straight west on
>the NYS Thruway.

There are more direct routes, but they'll take much longer. A relief
map might provide some insight into why, but the ultimate reason is
there aren't any highway which go more directly.
--
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can
result in a fully-depreciated one.

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:25:55 -0400, "Julie P." > wrote:

>Can someone help me?
>
>I need to drive from Philadelphia to Buffalo, and will need to do so once
>month.. Take a look at this Yahoo! map:
>
>http://snipurl.com/h211
>
>They want me to go straight north on the PA Turnpike, then straight west on
>the NYS Thruway.
>
>This seems bizarre, since the hypotenuse of a right triangle is always
>shorter than the two other legs, right? IOW, the shortest distance between
>two points is always a straight line.
>
>Can anyone give me some advice? I bet there is a route that is more direct,
>and that will also take less time, right?
>
>Thanks!

Pretty much anywhere, your best route is usually the interstate highway route.
In Pennsylvania, this is especially true, as the secondary roads are usually
mountainous so therefore have lots of curves that you have to slow down for.
This kills your average speed.

Plus, the interstate highways are safer. The secondary roads can have
intersections "whenever", and any one of them can have some yahoo run a stop
sign.

But the deer don't even need an intersection to access the secondary roads, and
have a much easier time getting close to the road before jumping out in front
of you. On the interstates, the _usually_ have to cross some open space before
reaching the road, giving you somewhat of a chance to react and do something
about them.

Plus, Pennsylvania seems to have some reason for making anything that isn't an
interstate into a 45 mph speed limit road, not 55, so you _really_ lose a lot
of time if you obey that limit, or risk losing a lot of money if you don't.

It looks like the computer generated route is not that bad. The Pa. Turnpike
is a scary road at times - try not to drive it in the rain or at night, and
especially not when its raining _and_ night. The edges have "Jersey barriers"
that are inches from the edge of the road - real exciting when there's not so
good visibility from trucks kicking up big sprays and limited traction from the
water on the road.

Dave Head

wrote:

>
>> >
>> > But keep in mind, there is ongoing construction on NY 17 (in Horseheads
>> > / Elmira especially), and also to fix some rickety portions of 390
>> > north in
>> > Steuben County. I can say what to expect in New York State, but not in
>> > Pennsylvania.
>> >
>> >>
>>
>> >>
>> >
>>
>>
>> Hey, thanks everyone! It seems like the Yahoo! route would actually be
>> the best then. Although I am somewhat tempted to take the Southern Tier
>> Expressway in NY, instead of the Thruway. I grew up there, but this was
>> not completed at the time. Would the Southern Tier Expressway be just as
>> fast as the Thruway?
>
>
> The Southern Tier is the NY 17/I-86 I mentioned.
> But see Doug Kerr's advice above.
>
> Take care,
> Randy, Fanwood, NJ

The scenery is a bit more varied than the Thruway; It's an alternate to take
if you get bored, but IH 390 between JNS 1-3 is an absolute nightmare, even
in a car with brand new shocks.

--
Comrade Mister Yamamoto
http://mryamamoto.50megs.com
"Every existing thing is born without reason,
prolongs itself out of weakness,
and dies by chance." – Jean-Paul Sartre