OK Halifax, what the hell is up with unmarked lanes at intersections? So, you’re driving along and suddenly there is a solid white line dissecting the lane. Choose your own adventure, I guess. What happens, though, when you’re at the red light intending to go straight, but the vehicle beside you has the same intention? Which lane is correct? Who yields to whom? Who gets to honk? It happens all the time, and the result is almost always a race or a close call, and always a plain pain in the arse. Drive up Windsor Street and you’ll know what I mean. Isn’t it easy enough to put up a sign marking which lane does what? —Unmarked
This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2012.
Valid bitch. I’ve also felt this frustration. There is another instance of this, too, heading North up Novalea where Young intersects it, (Hydrostone Market on your left). Same thing. One lane gets split into two but with no markings. It’s a crap shoot as to which lane has right of way if going straight and ultimately comes down to who’s got the best reaction time off the line. It’s ridiculous. I’ve never understood it, either.
Going down oxford at quinpool is another hot mess… there’s always someone parked on the street and the right ‘lane’ gets chopped off at the ankles. Best just totally avoided.
ack! you mean it’s not just me? i thought the lack of signage in the entire province was because ‘locals’ just intuited where to go/where they are/what leads to where.
whenever i have asked for directions, prefacing always with ‘i’m not from here’ what i get is ‘you turn where the old ________ used to be’.
ummm.
some traffic designs seem to be made by monkeys on crack. either that, or some one at the planning dept. wanted to have some fun with you.
i guess they went to work one day, and said,” let’s piss off so and so today”. they found your name, and acted upon it. just to piss YOU off.
OK just where did you all get your drivers licenses from? It’s always the outside lane that ends, Always! Outside lane is always the one to merge and therefore always the one to Yield.
I’d like to get my hands around the throat of the sick, twisted, demented motherfucker who designed the Windsor Street Exchange….and then the second sick, twisted, demented motherfucker who spent months and millions “improving it”!?
Thank God I don’t have to deal with that nightmare anymore. Civic planning in this city is a joke!
it’s always the outside lane that ends! always… no exceptions ever…
…
just one question, why do these signs exist then?
http://rlv.zcache.com/left_lane_ends_highw…
A solid white line just indicates that one cannot change lanes at that point.
Presumably, there’s two lanes on the other side of the intersection for both cars so I don’t understand what the issue is here.
If there are two lanes that merge into one after the intersection, protocol is that the left lane is for turning left, and the right lane is for going straight or turning right. Common sense people, use it!!
Troodon, one of the intersections OB is talking about is at Windsor & Robie. I have the pleasure of driving it everyday, and OB is spot on.
One lane magically turns into 2 right before the set of lights and then immediately after the set of lights there is only one lane again. And, there are other places around the city like this.
I’m sure the intent was to facilitate left-turning and right-turning drivers, but it was poorly done.
And Yeah, it is ‘choose your own adventure’:
If there’s a red light and cars in both lanes, I believe that the left has the right of way if both vehicles are going straight…(could be wrong, but that’s what I’m going with here). Unless someone in the right lane is there first and I happen to pull up into the left lane, then I will usually let righty go first.
As a rule of thumb, I head to the left lane even if I’m going straight so I don’t block those that want to turn right on red….and in about 5% of cases this works.
Usually there are already cars ahead of me in the left lane and some in the right. Then it’s a crap shoot because no one in this city knows how to use signals so if you decide to choose the left lane, you’ve gotta leave enough space in front of you to change lanes if any cars ahead decide to turn left at the last minute/without signals (happens all the time…)
And of course, more often than not it turns into a drag race.
Anyway, agree with OB 100%. It’s a bitch.
SHITD, makes sense. Unfortunately, most people (myself included) aren’t doing things that way so I guess common sense isn’t that common.
You mean you people behind the wheel around here don’t even know what lane you’re supposed to be in at an intersection but you have the nerve to shit talk people on bikes? No wonder I see so many people with bikes on the sidewalk around here.
some drivers don’t know what signs mean, you expect them to know which lane to drive in^^