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A non-rules question froma Brit!
08-21-2008, 07:16 AM
Post: #1
A non-rules question froma Brit!
Inspired by Beorndog's question regarding which state Woodinvale is in, under the "Project Woondivale" thread, I thought of a question to ask our US contingent:

Are there a lot of towns in the US with only one road into & out of town?

Apart from LNoE, I have seen this plot device used quit a few times in films & TV. Off the top of my head it was used in the 2008 DAY OF THE DEAD (awful film) & in at least one episode of THE SIMPSONS, when Springfield is threatened by a meteor and the rocket that is launched to destroy it instead blows up the only bridge out of town.

So, it this just a plot conceit or are there really towns with only one way in & out?

I can't think of a similar town in the UK. Some of the coastal towns maybe but even then there is usually a coastal road as well as the main road.
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08-21-2008, 12:27 PM (This post was last modified: 08-21-2008 12:36 PM by mqstout.)
Post: #2
RE: A non-rules question froma Brit!
Yes, there definitely are such towns. Well, they tend to be hamlets more than towns, but they exist. I doubt they're quite as common as the medias and arts would like to portray, but it's still a great plot device.

For one example, check out the Florida Keys (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=key+west). Until the terminal island in the chain towards the mainland, they're definitely "one road" towns. It's an island chain, though, and I'm certain countless more islands can be found on the US eastern coast and in the Great Lakes (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=wellesley%20island) like that.

The perfect, classic example would be Angle Inlet in the far north of Minnesota. Not only is it a one road in and out of town kind of place -- but that one road is a border crossing to Canada! (You cannot get to Angle Inlet by road without going, briefly, through Canada). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Angle

And my last example (where my boyfriend's family lives) is a small section of a small city that is separated from the rest by steep cliffs and, again, has limited traffic flow. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ge...9&t=p&z=15

EDIT: And I hadn't even considered to look in Alaska for such places. There are some there so remote, they're boat, plane, or cross-country only! It only took me a moment to find one there: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=dillingham%20alaska
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08-21-2008, 04:22 PM (This post was last modified: 08-21-2008 04:25 PM by supervike.)
Post: #3
RE: A non-rules question froma Brit!
Yeah, I'd assume islands and maybe some like mgstout mention, but I they'd be a huge oddity. Most of my state (Iowa) is rural. Even in the smallest towns I know of, there is almost always a main highway, and several gravel roads that will get you out of town.

Works nicely for a plot device though.
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