Ladd Lane, Hollister

[Max Rockatansky]

Recently Hollister has been in the news due to the odd striping pattern installed on Ladd Lane.  The city blamed the contractor, but it seemed like it probably was a traffic calming effort gone wrong.  Seems that there are some enterprising individuals who have found a purpose for Ladd Lane as it is presently configured:

https://benitolink.com/hollister-turns-road-used-as-drag-strip-into-kart-racing-course/?fbclid=IwAR2akAXpWd2c6XLKuSqHGucapmaiEOzJM6VeFf2z_oaBSA_SwXv-AEdTkaQ&fs=e&s=cl

[cl94]

It's on brand for Hollister to have striping like this, isn't it? This is the city with a creep fault disfiguring buildings and sidewalks, after all.

[Max Rockatansky]

It's on brand for Hollister to have striping like this, isn't it? This is the city with a creep fault disfiguring buildings and sidewalks, after all.

That story probably would have gone over better than blaming the contractor:

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Incorrectly-painted-lanes-have-drivers-doing-17327403.php?fbclid=IwAR3KKyaHW8ZBNBcybU73x0UvCstoKePjp7-ySypWO3PlpNc_il3vxnk32dc&fs=e&s=cl#l6gxp3do2tyoyuqa69p

[Max Rockatansky]

I checked out Ladd Lane today while I was out and about:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjA5mG4

The offending stripes are located between Hillock Drive and Southside Road, presently the speed limit has dropped from 45 MPH to 25 MPH.  What strikes me as weird is how wide Ladd Lane really is, looking at the older GSV images it was four lanes along with bike lanes.  The makeshift roundabouts are bizarre and really don't function as such. 

The amount of complaining that made Hollister do all this to Ladd Lane must have been pretty epic.  I can't of a single reason to do any of the measures taken.

[heynow415]

I checked out Ladd Lane today while I was out and about:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjA5mG4

The offending stripes are located between Hillock Drive and Southside Road, presently the speed limit has dropped from 45 MPH to 25 MPH.  What strikes me as weird is how wide Ladd Lane really is, looking at the older GSV images it was four lanes along with bike lanes.  The makeshift roundabouts are bizarre and really don't function as such. 

The amount of complaining that made Hollister do all this to Ladd Lane must have been pretty epic.  I can't of a single reason to do any of the measures taken.

In looking at it in Google which shows the before condition, I imagine this road has been a speedway/drag strip and someone decreed that something needed to be done.  It looks like they tried to do a road diet really on the cheap and/or the designer had no experience in designing one.  Just putting a round island in the middle of the intersection does not make it a roundabout and trying to create a chicane with striping is a lost cause.  They missed the "outer inscribed circle" that creates the ring road around the inside inscribed circle (the median).  The lack of physical deflection created by this omission means drivers are just going to drift over into the bike lane and straightline the intersection since there is nothing to slow them down. 

The street is just too wide to do a road diet with paint.  Even if the area at the south end of the road gets developed it seems unlikely that that much vehicle capacity would be needed.  It would have been more expensive but it would have been better to put in a real median with landscaping and true roundabouts to get a calmed roadway.  If the additional vehicular capacity was needed at some point in the future, the median could always be removed.

[roadfro]

In looking at it in Google which shows the before condition, I imagine this road has been a speedway/drag strip and someone decreed that something needed to be done.  It looks like they tried to do a road diet really on the cheap and/or the designer had no experience in designing one.  Just putting a round island in the middle of the intersection does not make it a roundabout and trying to create a chicane with striping is a lost cause.  They missed the "outer inscribed circle" that creates the ring road around the inside inscribed circle (the median).  The lack of physical deflection created by this omission means drivers are just going to drift over into the bike lane and straightline the intersection since there is nothing to slow them down. 

The street is just too wide to do a road diet with paint.  Even if the area at the south end of the road gets developed it seems unlikely that that much vehicle capacity would be needed.  It would have been more expensive but it would have been better to put in a real median with landscaping and true roundabouts to get a calmed roadway.  If the additional vehicular capacity was needed at some point in the future, the median could always be removed.

I 100% agree with this. Road diet with paint only is not going to be respected by anyone. Even if they had used some temporary measures (like candlestick delineators, parking blocks, or something) to put in some actual deflection at the roundabouts and along the straightaways, that would've helped.

[Max Rockatansky]

Put this to blog form given this is all still actively a thing that can be visited in Hollister:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2022/09/go-home-hollister-youre-drunk-saga-of.html

[kkt]

Yes, paint only traffic calming won't be very effective.  I would suggest narrowing the street with tree planting strips on the sides and center - more effective than paint plus more shade for the pavement.