# right to travel vs. freeway restrictions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417 "2013-07-13T19:27:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/1 "2013-07-13T19:27:48Z")
The right of people to travel by common roads is a principle going back to English common law, with centuries of precedent regarding right-of-ways. So how do modern laws setting restrictions on traffic on freeways (no pedestrians, bicycles, etc.) reconcile this? And as a possibly related question, are state and local road planners required to make it possible (even if incredibly inconvenient) to reach any destination by roads that are not controlled-access, or are there places in America you literally cannot reach except by freeway? ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/2 "2013-07-13T19:32:05Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > The right of people to travel by common roads is a principle going back to English common law, with centuries of precedent regarding right-of-ways. So how do modern laws setting restrictions on traffic on freeways (no pedestrians, bicycles, etc.) reconcile this? Because it IS a “reasonable exercise of the police power”, to legally sum it up. From a case from memory; In the absence of national legislation covering the subject, a state may prescribe uniform regulations necessary for safety and order in respect to operation of motor vehicles on its highways, including those moving in interstate commerce. [Hendrick v. Maryland | 235 U.S. 610 (1915) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center](http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/235/610/case). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/3 "2013-07-13T19:44:19Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > are there places in America you literally cannot reach except by freeway? Barring travel by sea or air, I’m guessing Key West would count. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/4 "2013-07-13T20:02:17Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Barring travel by sea or air, I’m guessing Key West would count. Route 1 is a two-lane highway. There’s no definition by which it’s a freeway. Of course government has the power to set reasonable limits to road use in the name of safety. Every road in the country has some set of limits: speed limits, weight limits, tire-type limits, height limits, vehicle-type limits. There is absolutely nothing unique or even unusual about freeways. I’m positive that no restrictions prohibit a freeway from being the only access. The only places that this might be true are a few island sites, though. Look at any map of state road systems. Surface roads outnumber freeways a zillion to one. But all the roads are an interconnected system. Why should anybody care whether the access is by freeway or not. Right of access (assuming that such a thing exists as a modern legal concept) is not the same as a right to demand access by a certain type of transportation. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/5 "2013-07-13T20:25:46Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Route 1 is a two-lane highway. There’s no definition by which it’s a freeway. The definition by which it’s free ([number 2 here](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freeway)), as opposed to a toll road. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/6 "2013-07-13T20:28:36Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > But all the roads are an interconnected system. Why should anybody care whether the access is by freeway or not. Because of the aforementioned restrictions. If I can’t even in theory get there by walking or biking, are the freeway restrictions then in effect forbidding me access to a destination? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/7 "2013-07-13T20:52:29Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > The definition by which it’s free ([number 2 here](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freeway)), as opposed to a toll road. Freeway has a near-universal connotation as a expressway without tolls, not an ordinary two-lane state highway. > [@Lumpy](#): > > Because of the aforementioned restrictions. If I can’t even in theory get there by walking or biking, are the freeway restrictions then in effect forbidding me access to a destination? No. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/8 "2013-07-13T21:06:04Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > If I can’t even in theory get there by walking or biking, are the freeway restrictions then in effect forbidding me access to a destination? And what if they are? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/9 "2013-07-13T21:27:54Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Freeway has a near-universal connotation as a expressway without tolls, not an ordinary two-lane state highway. [US 1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_1) is not a state highway. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/10 "2013-07-13T21:32:09Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > No. Mind expanding on that a little? > [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > And what if they are? Then what happened to the freedom to travel? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/11 "2013-07-13T21:34:27Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > [US 1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_1) is not a state highway. Yes it is. Interstate highways and US highways are state highways. They’re owned and maintained by states, not the federal government. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/12 "2013-07-13T22:06:38Z")
In England, and the rest of the UK, we have motorways which are the equivalent of your freeways. You are not allowed to cycle, ride a horse, or drive a vehicle as a learner on a motorway. In every case there is an alternative road. The M25 is a motorway that almost encircles London. To the East, where it crosses the Thames, there is a toll bridge for southbound traffic and a tunnel (actually two) for Northbound traffic. The short length of road between the nearest exit on either side is not classified as motorway. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/13 "2013-07-13T22:11:56Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > The M25 is a motorway that almost encircles London. To the East, where it crosses the Thames, there is a toll bridge for southbound traffic and a tunnel (actually two) for Northbound traffic. The short length of road between the nearest exit on either side is not classified as motorway. Does that mean you can walk or ride a bike on the M25 where it crosses the Thames? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/14 "2013-07-13T22:50:53Z")
No - but they take you over FOC: [Real cycling: Cycling above and below the Thames at Dartford Crossing](http://realcycling.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/cycling-above-and-below-thames-at.html) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/15 "2013-07-13T23:10:37Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Mind expanding on that a little? > > Then what happened to the freedom to travel? You are free to travel. You are not free to travel in any mode that you desire. You must abide by the restrictions that are attached to each and every road. You’ve never given any backup for your contention that restricting modes of travel actually violate any real, existing laws. You’ve never given any backup for your contention that freeways are somehow different than any other roads. If neither of these things are true, then the only answer to your question is “no.” ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/16 "2013-07-14T08:55:08Z")
Freeway originally meant a road free of cross traffic from intersections and driveways. The number of lanes was not specified. But the idea that it’s a road free of tolls is a later interpretation of the term, a sort of folk etymology. ---
**Author:** ![thicksantorum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@thicksantorum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thicksantorum)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/17 "2013-07-14T09:23:53Z")
The OP is bordering on FotL logic. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/18 "2013-07-14T12:48:08Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You are free to travel. You are not free to travel in any mode that you desire. You must abide by the restrictions that are attached to each and every road. Maybe I’m too poor to afford a motor vehicle. > [@](#): > > You’ve never given any backup for your contention that restricting modes of travel actually violate any real, existing laws. That’s what I was _asking_ about: Has the subject of restricted access freeways impinging on right-of-way ever been legally addressed? > [@](#): > > You’ve never given any backup for your contention that freeways are somehow different than any other roads. They’re roads that you are legally forbidden to walk or ride a non-motorized vehicle on; why do you seem to have so much difficulty understanding that? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/19 "2013-07-14T13:12:19Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Maybe I’m too poor to afford a motor vehicle. Hitch a ride, get someone you know to drive you there, see if there’s a bus company that provides service, rent a boat? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417/20 "2013-07-14T14:23:50Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > The right of people to travel by common roads is a principle going back to English common law, with centuries of precedent regarding right-of-ways. So how do modern laws setting restrictions on traffic on freeways (no pedestrians, bicycles, etc.) reconcile this? Can you provide _any_ of these centuries of precedent regarding the “right of people to travel by common roads” and how restrictions on types of traffic and tolls affect these? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-travel-vs-freeway-restrictions/663417.md?page=2)