This is so true. Not many people know this @MadMax So many roads that don't have a dedicated right turn lane. Or if they do, it's way too short. Not sure if you're familiar with Kingwood, but they are turning Northpark into an Allen Parkway-like road right now. The middle lanes will have no lights and will go over the train tracks at 494 all the way to 59. A 1 mile stretch that currently takes 30 minutes during rush hour will take about 1 minute at the most. Need more ideas like this around Houston.
We reallly could use more roundabouts. The # of dangerous T and 4-way interactions is TOO DAMN HIGH. Also, just stop trying to merge people | |\ \ .......NO ONE KNOWS TO MERGE. Create dedicated entrance/exit lanes. You can reduce traffic on 288 by reducing the merges. Anyone who drives that highway knows what I am talking about. Merges on bridges, merges on the left lane.. Like look at this sht! Left lane merge, so people get dumped into the fastest lane....then 1/4 mile later, merge from the right, then 0.1 miles later a major exit (518).
Great post! Bad road design. Ever wondered how you come to a full stop on the freeway in only moderate traffic? Lane changing. The root issue isn't so much the merge, it's lane changing ...which is the very next thing that happen when people merge onto a road so it's kinda a moot point if merges are a root cause or a symptom. If you had better road design that reduced the number of lane changes, which would massively help! Fast Lane: 1. Keep trucks out of the fast lanes 2. Fast lane is for passing, not driving. Stripe the fast lane differently to make it clear. Also signs. 3. Maybe make it illegal to drive in the fast lane for more than 60 seconds (or so). This one needs more thought but you get it. 4. Reinstate Safe Clear and get cars off the road during accidents ASAP. Also, have PSAs so people know about it The aholes (you know who you are, and I do it too sometimes. ) that are constantly changing lanes going down the freeway. Rarely does this behavior result in significantly shorter drive by more than a few seconds (often it actually slows you down). But abrupt lane changes causes a chain reaction of break tapping ...causing more lane changing behavior of the next impatient a-hole (probably me). Just yesterday I got impatient to get around an 18-wheeler so change, change, change. 2 minutes later, that same 18-wheeler passed me. Fail. lol. ...and I know better. Just be more patient. But better road design would help, a lot!
