A single lane which becomes impromptu dual (or more) lanes

[jeffandnicole]

Since this topic became alive again...something interesting happened...

One I see on a regular basis is the outer ramp of a cloverleaf exit, from NJ 29 North to Calhoun St. in Trenton, NJ. ( http://goo.gl/maps/A6FQo , the ramp is the one that starts at the bottom (Rt. 29) and ends at the top (Calhoun St)) The width of the ramp is only about 16' wide or so, but almost every morning, two lanes of vehicles will form on the ramp.  The left lane normally is for people turning left at the light (onto State Street) just beyond the interchange; the right lane is for people turning right at that light.  For those going straight thru the upcoming intersection and staying on Calhoun, they tend to take either lane, then eventually merge in on Calhoun when possible.  It's not possible to squeeze two rows of vehicles next to each other when buses or wide vehicles use the ramp.

Since the pandemic, this doesn't occur anymore.  Most people now wait in a single line, rather than squeezing next to each other.  It may have a little to do with the traffic light mentioned - it was rebuilt, providing for a left turn arrow coming off of Calhoun onto State Street.  The light even has traffic sensors that may actually work (although that's a bit debatable).  So while the queue of traffic may stretch down to the highway at the busiest points of rush hour, it's not as likely to see people squeezing side-by-side on the ramp.

[NoGoodNamesAvailable]

This happens at Route 3 West in Rutherford onto Marginal Road/Ridge Road (the exit is signed for Riverside Avenue, for no discernible reason).

It's the typical deal of drivers making two lanes out of one, which wouldn't bother me, the problem is that it squeezes down into a two-way street going straight onto Marginal Road. And you can't see beyond the intersection due to a hill.

The drivers who use the exit regularly know that the left lane is de facto "left turn only" and the right lane is for straight/right. But if you aren't familiar with the area you would have no idea and it's not very safe. I would rather it be marked the way people actually use it with a left turn only lane.

[cwf1701]

a lot of our left turns in Michigan are like that (the famous Michigan Left). there is one lane for the turn, but in the median there is sometimes 2 lanes even thou most Michigan Lefts are not striped for two lanes. the left lane is used for roads turning in the opposite direction of the road one turned right onto, while the right lane is used for traffic turning left from the divided highway.

[pderocco]

I second the mention of Massachusetts, although my visits in this century suggest that they've improved a lot. When I grew up and learned to drive there, there were lots of ad hoc intersections with little or no striping. "Just let people figure out for themselves", was the apparent motivation. And sometimes lanes would just disappear, too, with no warning sign.

I moved to California, and it's just the opposite. They sign and stripe everything up the wazoo. I always figured it was because everyone was stoned in California, so they needed to be told exactly what to do at all times.

[index]

Crazy to think, isn't it? ... that people will drive two cars abreast in places where there's room for cars to drive two abreast.  It's almost like people are smarter than little bits of paint on the ground.

It doesn't seem like anyone has really been either complaining about that or acting surprised/confused.