Or just remove cars from the city altogether.
Remove left turns for less dangerous city traffic
21–30 of 174 posts
Re: Remove left turns for less dangerous city traffic
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
And while we're at it, in the UK at least they should have an option for not sending you down bidirectional single track roads. No, that 35 mile drive down twisty single track country lane with occasional passing spots will not save any time over the 40 mile motorway. Even if the road is _technically_ 60mph, you'll never reach that speed unless you're on a motorbike...
There's this awful route Google Maps will give you, through the twisty back roads of SF because it thinks it can get you to the 101 faster. But it's sending everyone that way, so there's huge traffic on these narrow neighborhood roads. It's not a shortcut if everyone knows about it. I think map apps should be optimizing for something more complex, like least amount of directions within a five minute arrival window. S…
Agreed - a "least hassle" route would be better.
Google maps has sent me on some really werid routes with endless turns left, right right left right right right left left right left etc etc vs just staying on a main road with only one or two turns for only an extra couple of minutes minutes more
I'd be more than happy to stay on the easy main roads and turn once or twice rather than hack through the backstreets just to save <5% distance/time
Re: Remove left turns for less dangerous city traffic
#23Probably one on the most American articles I've read in a while... "Great job team"... Also, I wonder the impact of introducing proper diving tests and learning to drive.
Once again, a clear warning that an article is US-specific would be nice.
Re: Remove left turns for less dangerous city traffic
#24Here in Melbourne Australia, lots is being done to remove right turns (we drive on the left here) at the busiest intersections.
Several "P turns" [1,2] have been introduced in the most congested areas, in which you need to go straight through the intersection, then wait to do a U-turn at a designated place, then turn left into the road you wanted to turn right into (or vice versa if you're coming from the other direction).
And because we have trams (streetcars), many intersections with trams have long had "hook turns" [3], signed as "right turn from left only", in which to turn right you must first pull over to the left to clear the lanes in your direction, wait for the lights to turn green in the road you're entering, then turn right. (This is not exactly eliminating right turns but it's a much safer and less disruptive way of doing them).
It all works well when you understand it, but it confuses the hell out of visitors.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIREzujqOUg
Re: Remove left turns for less dangerous city traffic
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am biased but why do we even need cars in the city center, or at the very least why should they be convenient? Could there not be a situation where you walk to the edges of the city center to pick up your car and leave from there? There are specific accessibility concerns that certainly need to be accounted for, but the idea that the average driver loses 20 minutes on a trip that should be 5-10 minutes doesn't seem…
I was waiting for this response. As someone who doesn’t live in the city center, and has no easy means of mass transportation to get there, my response is: fine I just won’t go then. You lose my money. In NYC or Chicago that’s probably not a big deal. In the vast majority of the rest of the US, that’s how you kill a city center. I can tell you in my case, given the homelessness issue that’s been getting worse the las…
You could replace cars with public transport rather than just moving the cars. If you don't want to build too much infrastructure then buses and bus lanes work well.
Re: Remove left turns for less dangerous city traffic
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am biased but why do we even need cars in the city center, or at the very least why should they be convenient? Could there not be a situation where you walk to the edges of the city center to pick up your car and leave from there? There are specific accessibility concerns that certainly need to be accounted for, but the idea that the average driver loses 20 minutes on a trip that should be 5-10 minutes doesn't seem…
In my town you have largely 4 options: - walk - drive - take a bus/tram - bike Walking is too slow and cumbersome for most people (e.g. 6-8 km one way to work seems like too much to do every day), and impossible if you want to go shopping anywhere except on your way to work. Public transport is really slow and not as flexible as you want (many places without good connections, wait times 15-20 minutes, transit times 2…
Biking is not that susceptible to weather imho. When it rains you can wear a rain coat and rain trousers. When it's cold you can wear any outdoor jacket (gore tex is great even if maybe not healthy). When it snows you have to work a bit harder. When there is ice you can use tires with spikes for great grip. The worst is hot weather, since you can only shed so much clothing. An ebike helps here, but that reduces the health benefits.
Re: Remove left turns for less dangerous city traffic
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am biased but why do we even need cars in the city center, or at the very least why should they be convenient? Could there not be a situation where you walk to the edges of the city center to pick up your car and leave from there? There are specific accessibility concerns that certainly need to be accounted for, but the idea that the average driver loses 20 minutes on a trip that should be 5-10 minutes doesn't seem…
I was waiting for this response. As someone who doesn’t live in the city center, and has no easy means of mass transportation to get there, my response is: fine I just won’t go then. You lose my money. In NYC or Chicago that’s probably not a big deal. In the vast majority of the rest of the US, that’s how you kill a city center. I can tell you in my case, given the homelessness issue that’s been getting worse the las…
One thing to remember about NYC's crazy tolls and congestion pricing plans is that there are not many reasons why visitors should need to drive in. There's NJTransit, PATH, light rail to Hudson valley and CT, LIRR, Amtrak, so many regional bus routes and frequent shuttles to EWR and other popular places, where most of these have park-and-ride options. And then of course once in the city there are subway and buses. Other cities that want to copy the car-discouraging policies should think about what the alternatives are.
Re: Remove left turns for less dangerous city traffic
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am biased but why do we even need cars in the city center, or at the very least why should they be convenient? Could there not be a situation where you walk to the edges of the city center to pick up your car and leave from there? There are specific accessibility concerns that certainly need to be accounted for, but the idea that the average driver loses 20 minutes on a trip that should be 5-10 minutes doesn't seem…
I was waiting for this response. As someone who doesn’t live in the city center, and has no easy means of mass transportation to get there, my response is: fine I just won’t go then. You lose my money. In NYC or Chicago that’s probably not a big deal. In the vast majority of the rest of the US, that’s how you kill a city center. I can tell you in my case, given the homelessness issue that’s been getting worse the las…
Park + ride at the outer edges of the city center. But most American cities are probably a lost cause.
Re: Remove left turns for less dangerous city traffic
#29Probably one on the most American articles I've read in a while... "Great job team"... Also, I wonder the impact of introducing proper diving tests and learning to drive.
Once again, a clear warning that an article is US-specific would be nice.
Agreed. Advice to "avoid left turns " is not directly applicable to "drive on the left" countries.
Re: Remove left turns for less dangerous city traffic
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am biased but why do we even need cars in the city center, or at the very least why should they be convenient? Could there not be a situation where you walk to the edges of the city center to pick up your car and leave from there? There are specific accessibility concerns that certainly need to be accounted for, but the idea that the average driver loses 20 minutes on a trip that should be 5-10 minutes doesn't seem…
I was waiting for this response. As someone who doesn’t live in the city center, and has no easy means of mass transportation to get there, my response is: fine I just won’t go then. You lose my money. In NYC or Chicago that’s probably not a big deal. In the vast majority of the rest of the US, that’s how you kill a city center. I can tell you in my case, given the homelessness issue that’s been getting worse the las…
Lol, have you been to the Midwest? In small and medium sized cites there downtowns are often dead, including the small city I grew up in. All of them easily accessible by car. Dead city centres in North America more have to do with the post war experiment of subsidizing inefficient sprawling car dependent suburbs. If you want to actually understand this read more from the advocacy group Strong Towns[0] they also have a great YouTube channel. Now compare small Midwest cities to small cities in the Netherlands like Leiden or Haarlem and you’ll see limiting traffic from downtowns has little to do with how well they do economically.