Wikipedia's iffy about articles about roads, its editors deeming specific thoroughfares and arteries not worth of note. So the people writing those articles decided to create their own Wikipedia, just for roads. I'd have called it One for the Road but AARoads suffices.
Our mission is to provide the most comprehensive coverage of roads and highways online. Featured throughout our site are photo guides, highway history, project news, maps and other resources. A variety of topics on AARoads aids in trip planning and research while providing the latest information on an assortment of subjects covering roads across the United States.
Be sure to check out the Shield Gallery.
Slate's Stephen Harrison reports on the final departure of a Wikipedia subculture to its own network.
One flashpoint that inspired the recent revolt was a strict interpretation of the site's reliable sourcing policy. Take the example of an article about West Virginia Route 891, a short east–west highway that ends on the Pennsylvania state line. A volunteer editor seeking to contribute content to the page might use information found on the West Virginia Department of Transportation's website as a reference source. However, policy sticklers are likely to deny this usage because DOT is a primary source for highways (directly involved in the subject matter). According to the site's policies, Wikipedia should be based mainly on reliable secondary sources, such as newspapers.
Angry road editors like Ben are up in arms, claiming that this hard-line interpretation of the guideline does not reflect the realities of the situation. With local newspapers going out of business left and right, there are rarely any other sources to draw from for these kinds of articles. Why not allow Wikipedians to cite from DOT, which is responsible for publishing highway routes?
Seems like a great example of why the notability criterion makes little sense when you have unlimited publishing space. What's the bad thing that happens when a state road gets its own article?
Previously: Wikipedia gets an update, first one in a decade
