I get signs telling you there’s a bump ahead, or deer might run out in front of you, but I’ve never understood why there are signs telling people not to build unlawful driveways. Are that many people doing it on a daily basis in that area that they need a fully visible sign? Surely it’s just an ordinance, why does it need a road sign?

I’ve been wondering this for years and hope someone has an answer that makes sense.

  • litchralee@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    10·
    1 month ago

    Another possibility is related to a [citation needed] claim about the Romans and their roads. Roman roads are remarkable in that some have stood the test of time, some still recognizable today, I’m told.

    Supposedly, Roman roads were engineered as all-weather roads because their engineers understood the importance of drainage. Water destroys all, in what we understand today as freeze/thaw cycles and soil erosion undermining the road foundation.

    It is said [again, citation needed] that the penalty for messing with the drainage of a Roman road was severe, possibly being the death penalty.

    As roads then and now are often constructed with flanking drainage ditches, adding a driveway would necessarily affect the drainage of the road if done improperly, so perhaps some jurisdictions prohibit driveways additions unless properly engineered and permitted.

    TL:DR: could modern governments be following the same logic undertaken by the Romans about road drainage? Have you thought about the Roman Empire today? :)

    /s