Michigan Lefts outside Michigan

[tradephoric]

Two so far: one is on WIS 29 at CTH VV near Green Bay (has all cross traffic take a right-left-right while left-turning from 29 has left-turn "ramps", the other has all turning traffic turn right then left and left turns off WIS 23 at CTH M pass the intersection and turn there as well.

Wisconsin doesn't have any Michigan Lefts. 

WIS 29 @ CTH VV is a Restricted Crossing U-turn (RCUT) intersection with direct left turns.

https://www.google.com/maps/preview?ll=44.57447,-88.16600&z=19&t=h (NOTE: aerial may not be updated to show new design)

[SSOWorld]

I have to disagree with that statement to a point - that is the concept of a Michigan left - with the cross-street being cordoned off as shown making it different.

[cl94]

I have to disagree with that statement to a point - that is the concept of a Michigan left - with the cross-street being cordoned off as shown making it different.

The concept, yes, but the direct left turns and cut-off cross street are what differentiate a Michigan Left from a superstreet/RCUT. It derives from the Michigan Left, but isn't.

[dgolub]

Yes, my hometown of Port Washington, New York, has some on West Shore Road (Nassau CR 15).  The exits for the beaches are only on the northbound side, and turnarounds are used to connect between them and the southbound lanes.  See http://goo.gl/maps/TL8ZN.  The Ocean Parkway has a similar setup for almost all of its exits, except for the Bay Parkway and the Robert Moses Causeway, which have cloverleaves, and the Wantagh Parkway, which has a traffic circle.

Also, if we're counting highways, then we can include the interchange of US 9 and US 44/NY 55 in Poughkeepsie, New York.

[jakeroot]

I've been thinking about this for a while, so you all let me know what you think:

The basic concept of the Michigan Left is a roundabout where two of the entry legs do not yield. If the space is available to build a roundabout, why do engineers bother with a Michigan Left?

What I'm looking for is a Michigan Left/roundabout comparison.

Things that come to mind personally, is that Michigan Lefts do not typically require traffic on the major carriageway to slow down, like a roundabout. So perhaps the Michigan left is preferable in a rural environment?

[cl94]

I've been thinking about this for a while, so you all let me know what you think:

The basic concept of the Michigan Left is a roundabout where two of the entry legs do not yield. If the space is available to build a roundabout, why do engineers bother with a Michigan Left?

What I'm looking for is a Michigan Left/roundabout comparison.

Things that come to mind personally, is that Michigan Lefts do not typically require traffic on the major carriageway to slow down, like a roundabout. So perhaps the Michigan left is preferable in a rural environment?

There are quite a few traffic circles around village squares in New York and New England where the main road (always state route or higher) does not yield. With low traffic speeds in villages and towns, this setup, while not ideal by modern standards, works well because there is a minimal collision risk. When speeds get above 30 mph, things get dicey. That's where the Michigan Left comes in. Through traffic on both routes is able to pass through without using the U-turn ramps while traffic turning left waits in a dedicated U-turn lane for a break in traffic. In areas that already have a significant amount of development and narrow ROWs, namely New York, New Jersey, and New England, such a setup is impractical to install on an existing road. That is where jughandles come in, because a wide median isn't required.

[Brandon]

I've been thinking about this for a while, so you all let me know what you think:

The basic concept of the Michigan Left is a roundabout where two of the entry legs do not yield. If the space is available to build a roundabout, why do engineers bother with a Michigan Left?

What I'm looking for is a Michigan Left/roundabout comparison.

Things that come to mind personally, is that Michigan Lefts do not typically require traffic on the major carriageway to slow down, like a roundabout. So perhaps the Michigan left is preferable in a rural environment?

It works great in the urban environment as well, such as along Telegraph Road (US-24) or Eight Mile Road (M-102).  There's little to beat it for proper signal progression.

Telegraph Road Progression

/Mods, what happened to the YouTube embedding?  It used to the a [youtube] tag.

[tradephoric]

Here's a good link looking at the safety and operational benefits of a Median U-Turn Intersection. 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/07033/

A Median U-Turn Intersection can lead to a 30% reduction in injury crashes when compared to a conventional intersection.   According to a 2000 Institute for Highway Safety study, modern roundabouts reduced injury crashes by 76% when compared to a conventional intersection (more recent studies by WDOT found injury crash reductions of roughly 50%).  Michigan Lefts in Metro Detroit are mainly along major 6-8 lane boulevards (with 70,000+ ADT).  It's unlikely Michigan Lefts will ever be able to reduce injury accidents as much as a modern roundabout (since traffic  can still move through the intersection at 50+ mph as opposed to ~ 25 mph through a roundabout), but they can be a good way to reduce injury crashes along major corridors where roundabouts aren't practical.

[SSOWorld]

I've been thinking about this for a while, so you all let me know what you think:

The basic concept of the Michigan Left is a roundabout where two of the entry legs do not yield. If the space is available to build a roundabout, why do engineers bother with a Michigan Left?

What I'm looking for is a Michigan Left/roundabout comparison.

Things that come to mind personally, is that Michigan Lefts do not typically require traffic on the major carriageway to slow down, like a roundabout. So perhaps the Michigan left is preferable in a rural environment?

It works great in the urban environment as well, such as along Telegraph Road (US-24) or Eight Mile Road (M-102).  There's little to beat it for proper signal progression.

Telegraph Road Progression

/Mods, what happened to the YouTube embedding?  It used to the a [youtube] tag.

Seems to be broken now that YouTube - like most of the major sites - uses https now.  Will research

[jakeroot]

I've been thinking about this for a while, so you all let me know what you think:

The basic concept of the Michigan Left is a roundabout where two of the entry legs do not yield. If the space is available to build a roundabout, why do engineers bother with a Michigan Left?

What I'm looking for is a Michigan Left/roundabout comparison.

Things that come to mind personally, is that Michigan Lefts do not typically require traffic on the major carriageway to slow down, like a roundabout. So perhaps the Michigan left is preferable in a rural environment?

It works great in the urban environment as well, such as along Telegraph Road (US-24) or Eight Mile Road (M-102).  There's little to beat it for proper signal progression.

Telegraph Road Progression

/Mods, what happened to the YouTube embedding?  It used to the a [youtube] tag.

Seems to be broken now that YouTube - like most of the major sites - uses https now.  Will research

You all are copying the link from the "share" button, right? I'm on Tapatalk right now so I can't test it.

[SSOWorld]

works fine - here it is - http is the way - you'll have to drop that s for now

[SSOWorld]

A sad name for the new intersections in WI: a "J-Turn"???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4FBgagbpyg&list=PLB3995DECC4B6C61A

[tradephoric]

An update on the Michigan Left in Plano, Texas.  The city has decided to remove the Michigan left at the intersection of Preston Road and Legacy Drive due to public opposition.  According to the city, 95% of the calls they received about the intersection were negative.

A sad name for the new intersections in WI: a "J-Turn"???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4FBgagbpyg&list=PLB3995DECC4B6C61A

I've heard the Restricted Crossing U-Turn Intersection referred to as either a J-turn or a superstreet intersection. 

[jakeroot]

A sad name for the new intersections in WI: a "J-Turn"???

If I was selling the idea to areas far away from Michigan, I wouldn't call them a Michigan Left either. J-turn makes sense to me, since the only other obvious choice is U-turn, which is technically correct but probably sells the wrong concept to the people.

Median U-turn is nice but a bit lengthy. Roundabout works so well because it's easy to say and catchy. ThrU-turn only makes sense when properly punctuated, which is a failure when trying to spread the concept on social media (sooo many capital-less sentences).

J-turn is a step in the right direction, but we need to come up with a term that is catchy and hyphen-less. Something that could be trademarked (not that we ever would, of course).

[mrsman]

works fine - here it is - http is the way - you'll have to drop that s for now

Watching this video was really something.   Going through 15 traffic lights on a two-way street without hitting a light.  Imagine if other areas would incorporate Michigan Lefts and signal progression in such a fashion.  It would lessen the need for new expressways and really put a dent in traffic.

[tradephoric]

Watching this video was really something.   Going through 15 traffic lights on a two-way street without hitting a light.  Imagine if other areas would incorporate Michigan Lefts and signal progression in such a fashion.  It would lessen the need for new expressways and really put a dent in traffic.

Here are some other corridors in Metro Detroit that utilize Michigan lefts: 

Good signal progression is possible in metro Detroit due to the heavy use of Michigan lefts.  For example, Telegraph Road utilizes Michigan lefts from Eureka Road to Orchard Lake Road (a 30 mile stretch of road).  The annoyance of not being able to make a direct left is offset by the fact you just drove 10 miles without getting stuck at a red light. 

Cities outside of Michigan are starting to incorporate the Michigan left, but only at spot intersections.  The problem with this approach is drivers still experience poor signal progression since all the surrounding signals are likely conventional 4-phase signals with inefficient left turn phases.  Drivers are annoyed they can't make a direct left and they still stuck at every other red light along the corridor (lose-lose scenario).  The Michigan left at Preston & Legacy in Plano only lasted for a few years before public opposition forced the city to convert it back to a conventional intersection.  A city really needs to focus on converting an entire corridor before the benefits of good signal progression will be apparent.  Cities may be setting themselves up for failure when they only do spot improvements.

[tradephoric]

Median U-Turn at U.S. 280 and Valleydale/Cahaba Beach Road near Birmingham, Alabama:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.4200923,-86.6947249,213m/data=!3m1!1e3

[tradephoric]

Just experienced my first Michigan left ever...in Metairie, Louisiana.  Funny thing is I commented to the guy next to me on the bus that what we were doing was called a "Michigan left", and guess where the gentleman was from.  Yup..Michigan.

Here's an examples of a Median U-Turn at Metairie Ave and Cleary Ave in Metairie, Louisiana.  It's a bit of a poor man's version as there is no lane to queue in for crossover traffic.

https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.98201,-90.17026&z=18&t=h&output=classic&dg=brw

[rickmastfan67]

I've been thinking about this for a while, so you all let me know what you think:

The basic concept of the Michigan Left is a roundabout where two of the entry legs do not yield. If the space is available to build a roundabout, why do engineers bother with a Michigan Left?

What I'm looking for is a Michigan Left/roundabout comparison.

Things that come to mind personally, is that Michigan Lefts do not typically require traffic on the major carriageway to slow down, like a roundabout. So perhaps the Michigan left is preferable in a rural environment?

It works great in the urban environment as well, such as along Telegraph Road (US-24) or Eight Mile Road (M-102).  There's little to beat it for proper signal progression.

Telegraph Road Progression

/Mods, what happened to the YouTube embedding?  It used to the a [youtube] tag.

Seems to be broken now that YouTube - like most of the major sites - uses https now.  Will research

HTTPS videos from Youtube now work.

[tradephoric]

A unique Michigan left in Juarez, Mexico with collector/express lanes.

https://www.google.com/maps/@31.6430292,-106.3890158,591a,20y,41.32t/data=!3m1!1e3