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[dmuzika]

Some things I did find interesting though:

The "Prepare to Stop" signs/lights that turn on before a light turns yellow, people seem to start braking when they go on, and they seem to act as an extension of a yellow light. I found that to be quite interesting, and maybe beneficial for Ontario to consider those as well, as it clearly could reduce rear-end crashes.

The flashing "Prepare to Stop" signs/lights are pretty common throughout Western Canada, though it feels like they aren't as common in other jurisdictions.

[LilianaUwU]

Some things I did find interesting though:

The "Prepare to Stop" signs/lights that turn on before a light turns yellow, people seem to start braking when they go on, and they seem to act as an extension of a yellow light. I found that to be quite interesting, and maybe beneficial for Ontario to consider those as well, as it clearly could reduce rear-end crashes.

The flashing "Prepare to Stop" signs/lights are pretty common throughout Western Canada, though it feels like they aren't as common in other jurisdictions.

It's not rare to see them in Québec in low visibility or high speed situations.

[jakeroot]

Some things I did find interesting though:

The "Prepare to Stop" signs/lights that turn on before a light turns yellow, people seem to start braking when they go on, and they seem to act as an extension of a yellow light. I found that to be quite interesting, and maybe beneficial for Ontario to consider those as well, as it clearly could reduce rear-end crashes.

The flashing "Prepare to Stop" signs/lights are pretty common throughout Western Canada, though it feels like they aren't as common in other jurisdictions.

It's not rare to see them in Québec in low visibility or high speed situations.

They’re not as common elsewhere in Canada likely because no other agency requires them. British Columbia literally requires them at every signalized intersection with an approach speed or speed limit 70 km/h or greater. Like, every single one. Period. So yeah, they’re extremely common because that sort of situation is really common.

[RoadMaster09]

Some things I did find interesting though:

The "Prepare to Stop" signs/lights that turn on before a light turns yellow, people seem to start braking when they go on, and they seem to act as an extension of a yellow light. I found that to be quite interesting, and maybe beneficial for Ontario to consider those as well, as it clearly could reduce rear-end crashes.

The flashing "Prepare to Stop" signs/lights are pretty common throughout Western Canada, though it feels like they aren't as common in other jurisdictions.

It's not rare to see them in Québec in low visibility or high speed situations.

They’re not as common elsewhere in Canada likely because no other agency requires them. British Columbia literally requires them at every signalized intersection with an approach speed or speed limit 70 km/h or greater. Like, every single one. Period. So yeah, they’re extremely common because that sort of situation is really common.

That's overkill. I think 60 mph or higher is what should be needed to trigger them without other circumstances (such as poor visibility, rogue signal on an expressway that would otherwise be a freeway, or first signal in a long time). Higher-speed highways should have them for both road and rail crossings, but to have them at speeds of many lower-frontage suburban arterials is seriously overkill.

[TXtoNJ]

Some things I did find interesting though:

The "Prepare to Stop" signs/lights that turn on before a light turns yellow, people seem to start braking when they go on, and they seem to act as an extension of a yellow light. I found that to be quite interesting, and maybe beneficial for Ontario to consider those as well, as it clearly could reduce rear-end crashes.

The flashing "Prepare to Stop" signs/lights are pretty common throughout Western Canada, though it feels like they aren't as common in other jurisdictions.

It's not rare to see them in Québec in low visibility or high speed situations.

They’re not as common elsewhere in Canada likely because no other agency requires them. British Columbia literally requires them at every signalized intersection with an approach speed or speed limit 70 km/h or greater. Like, every single one. Period. So yeah, they’re extremely common because that sort of situation is really common.

That's overkill. I think 60 mph or higher is what should be needed to trigger them without other circumstances (such as poor visibility, rogue signal on an expressway that would otherwise be a freeway, or first signal in a long time). Higher-speed highways should have them for both road and rail crossings, but to have them at speeds of many lower-frontage suburban arterials is seriously overkill.

BC speed limits are a lot slower than you think.

[stevashe]

For road design:

The turn arrows to me look weird, like they were drawn by kids...
Some signs are also strange (such as a "MERGE" sign as opposed to just, using the pictoral sign of a lane ending)
And don't get me started on the traffic signals!! Why do the signals on the side look rather neglected (with no backplates), and why are they 8-8-8-12???? Ahhhhhh

The arrows in British Columbia are not completely unique to BC. They are also used in WA, by a few cities. I've always preferred them simply because I find them easier to comprehend.

I do not understand the MERGE sign either. So many symbols and yet they write that one out. Weird.

The arrows used in WA aren't quite the same, though, and I prefer the look. I don't like how the BC arrows have such a long straight tail and then a tiny little curve, and I think that might be part of the reason why andrepoiy said they look "drawn by kids".

Here's a comparison, with BC on the left and WA (from Bellevue) on the right.



The more interesting thing (from my perspective) about BC turn arrows is that darn near every intersection in the province uses that same exact style! In the cities around Seattle, it seems like every other city (not to mention WSDOT) has its own unique style


Also on that merge sign, I really don't get why they use that, given the whole bilingual situation and a very well established symbol that can take the place of it. You'd think that with a whole host of symbolized signs you can see throughout the province that aren't used in the US, that there wouldn't be an example of the opposite case, but here we are! I will say BC isn't the only place I've seen a spelled out "MERGE" sign though, I have seen quite a few in Minnesota when I've been there a couple times, which struck me as odd then too, though the ones there do also feature a sideways arrow at least. (Example)

[jakeroot]

The arrows in British Columbia are not completely unique to BC. They are also used in WA, by a few cities. I've always preferred them simply because I find them easier to comprehend.

I do not understand the MERGE sign either. So many symbols and yet they write that one out. Weird.

The arrows used in WA aren't quite the same, though, and I prefer the look. I don't like how the BC arrows have such a long straight tail and then a tiny little curve, and I think that might be part of the reason why andrepoiy said they look "drawn by kids".

Here's a comparison, with BC on the left and WA (from Bellevue) on the right.



The more interesting thing (from my perspective) about BC turn arrows is that darn near every intersection in the province uses that same exact style! In the cities around Seattle, it seems like every other city (not to mention WSDOT) has its own unique style

British Columbia's arrows do have a pretty distinct advantage over most other designs: they are narrow enough that most cars can pass on either side of them, but they are still long enough to be imposing. With the angle of approach, there is a distinct advantage to "longer" designs rather than wider designs, and I think most Washington State (and US) arrows miss that mark.

Most of Washington (outside of Bothell, Bellevue, and the few other places that use the BC-esque design) use really small arrows, both width-wise and length-wise. I don't find them particularly useful compared to the much larger arrows used in British Columbia (on left, WA on right):

[jakeroot]

Also on that merge sign, I really don't get why they use that, given the whole bilingual situation and a very well established symbol that can take the place of it. You'd think that with a whole host of symbolized signs you can see throughout the province that aren't used in the US, that there wouldn't be an example of the opposite case, but here we are! I will say BC isn't the only place I've seen a spelled out "MERGE" sign though, I have seen quite a few in Minnesota when I've been there a couple times, which struck me as odd then too, though the ones there do also feature a sideways arrow at least. (Example)

There is a MERGE sign on I-705 in Tacoma, although it's rectangular: https://goo.gl/maps/De19idFxSJmTdvqEA

The idea of unnecessarily writing things out reminded me today of the HOV lanes in British Columbia, which use text in addition to the diamond, as opposed to a diamond with accompanying signage (as is the norm elsewhere). I would think the diamond would be enough in addition to the black-on-white signage also indicating who/what can use the lane...here's a picture I took today:


HOV LANE, Hwy 1, Surrey, BC by Jacob Root, on Flickr