Can anyone explain this bit of poologgery?
http://goo.gl/maps/Nhhtv
It's on Mulberry Street in North College Hill, Ohio - near Cincinnati. This barrier is completely, totally useless. And I'm pretty sure I got blocked by this barrier once while en route to a family gathering.
Why does this barrier exist? It seems to be right at the town line, incidentally.
Based on the pavement, it was put in place after the roads were built, as the pavement on the near side matches the pavement on the far side for about a short 30, 40 foot stretch of road.
Most likely, it was put there to prevent thru traffic in the neighborhood, and probably petitioned and agreed upon by the residents at the time, and the town at the time was willing to do something about it.
Just go up onto the sidewalk. There are some around here with a solid wall blocking any access.
Beats me. It is on a municipal line as you say, so it may have been erected by one municipality to prevent through traffic. Could be just spite, but that's pretty rare. Most of the ones I've seen in NE Illinois tend to be for the prevention of through traffic, but they are usually near where the street would've met another street at an intersection, not mid-block.
Examples:
One side,
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.544031,-88.172407&spn=0.004633,0.010568&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.544034,-88.172334&panoid=y3_MiUaqxfKiN_YWS2ZR1g&cbp=12,201.9,,0,7.77
And the other,
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.544031,-88.172332&spn=0.004665,0.010568&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.543166,-88.172416&panoid=-hZsJHNpf9Mvc37Tv3eTsg&cbp=12,0.97,,0,7.95
In Chicago,
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.795713,-87.67679&spn=0.001643,0.002642&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=41.795713,-87.67679&panoid=H1Zmp6_a6SbtoiVxk-DmgQ&cbp=12,196.07,,0,7.22
Misuse of a roundabout nearby,
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.796507,-87.67681&spn=0.001643,0.002642&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=41.796507,-87.67681&panoid=kEd1X7ssSbQP4LmohNGLjA&cbp=12,16.37,,0,12.61
Another one in Chicago,
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.719117,-87.681466&spn=0.000822,0.001321&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=41.719118,-87.68141&panoid=3dYNhq6RoSz-9xx4-ymSnw&cbp=12,266.28,,0,6.3
Actually, they're pretty common in Chicago.
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.670178,-87.64653&spn=0.001646,0.002642&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=41.670178,-87.64653&panoid=CW9fYGsoZA7V0076mK7DKg&cbp=12,11.52,,0,4.2
It's almost certainly to prevent cut-through traffic in a residential area by forcing people to use arterial streets. I know of a few similar places not far from where I live. The people in this neighborhood were complaining about high-speed cut-through traffic trying to avoid going around by Kings Highway and Harrison Lane (which entails going through a few lights, one of which used to back up until they built turn lanes a year or two ago). The entrances to this neighborhood all have yellow warning signs saying there's no thru access to US-1, this because many maps and sat-navs make it appear there is. Notice there are posts or fences next to the barriers to prevent people from driving on the sidewalks.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.763542,-77.105438,3a,75y,274.13h,83.51t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sag6l20KWSdiQgGxJgM19wA!2e0 <--I note that one claims to have a video camera monitoring it!
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.764647,-77.099735,3a,75y,204.03h,92.36t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sEh3Djrz445CSud1wUyMPzQ!2e0
Here is one of the "No Access to Route 1" signs:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.770445,-77.107131,3a,75y,237.12h,94.26t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sMc3KOQBjfy-zM0sUU5pBaA!2e0
There's something similar in at least one place on the line between Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. This one seems somewhat inexplicable when you look at the map because it connects to some back roads on the eastern end, but I think the idea is the similar goal of preventing people from using those back roads as a bypass of Route 7 and Route 193. The area east of this barrier is an extremely wealthy area, whereas the area to the west is much denser, so perhaps it was just an effort to keep out the riff-raff. But panning around the satellite view a bit with the labels turned on shows that a lot of streets end just at, or just shy of, the county line on either side but without having barriers like this. Weird. No Street View, so here's the Bing "bird's eye" view:
http://binged.it/1cTP7Ei
Edited to add:
After posting the above I remembered this odd spot in Fairfax City. This was set up for the reason stated on the sign–preserving easy emergency vehicle access (there is a fire station down the street to the left of where I've linked). The street across the barrier in the photo (University Drive) was the thru street for as long as I can remember until very recently. It connected to Old Town Fairfax to the left and to George Mason University on the right, and the residents had complained about speeding traffic for years. A few years ago the new George Mason Boulevard was constructed to take the through traffic and University Drive was severed into disconnected pieces. This odd solution was put in place to allow for more expedited emergency vehicle access so as not to force fire trucks or ambulances to wind around the long way. I do not know how many of the residents use these in violation of the signs.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.840489,-77.307451,3a,75y,154.16h,57.84t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sSyaneFPRGm8xzK4LmVvsnw!2e0
A few other spots on the same street have similar access:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.839581,-77.308141,3a,75y,329.19h,62.39t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sKm72foXB3kbxhlEZC_AXkg!2e0
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.838985,-77.308601,3a,75y,114.94h,67.8t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sJqEOTQwhPpZzWCfvXmPr5w!2e0
Pooing is loggy: http://goo.gl/maps/8qJna
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 12, 2014, 03:26:24 PM
After posting the above I remembered this odd spot in Fairfax City. This was set up for the reason stated on the sign–preserving easy emergency vehicle access...
Seems awfully short sighted to put up a rigid barrier because of the emergency access issue. I've also seen bendable/crushable plastic bollards used in similar situations to allow vehicles to pass in an emergency.
This one is my favorite: http://goo.gl/maps/Yd3rF
It's a two-way do not enter sign. Naturally I drove through it.
There is one more in this neighborhood, but it is an actual barrier that you can't drive through: http://goo.gl/maps/oIfaK
ETA: I don't know if this quite fits with the topic, but I'm posting it anyway. This is an example of two subdivisions that should connect to each other, but don't. How ridiculous is this? http://goo.gl/maps/7Nu6t
If I were driving by car to get from Lloyd Place to Phillips Place, it would take 1.5 miles or 5 minutes. That's enough in an emergency for someone to die if a police/fire/EMS GPS had these roads connecting.
Quote from: Laura on March 12, 2014, 08:20:48 PMThis is an example of two subdivisions that should connect to each other, but don't. How ridiculous is this? http://goo.gl/maps/7Nu6t
If I were driving by car to get from Lloyd Place to Phillips Place, it would take 1.5 miles or 5 minutes. That's enough in an emergency for someone to die if a police/fire/EMS GPS had these roads connecting.
yeah, but if you eliminate the barrier, then black people will move in, and who wants that?
Quote from: Laura on March 12, 2014, 08:20:48 PM
Naturally I drove through it.
Funny, it kind of looks like the Google car did the same thing. :spin:
Here's few that I know of:
https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.673371,-75.688275&spn=0.001901,0.004128&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.673371,-75.688275&panoid=9B1t45x_6dLYl7jm-2shjQ&cbp=12,26.44,,0,13.45 (https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.673371,-75.688275&spn=0.001901,0.004128&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.673371,-75.688275&panoid=9B1t45x_6dLYl7jm-2shjQ&cbp=12,26.44,,0,13.45)
https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.653346,-75.641074&spn=0.00191,0.004128&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.653346,-75.641074&panoid=B0d8bI3vD6LFmZTddT8AYQ&cbp=12,79.27,,0,5.96 (https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.653346,-75.641074&spn=0.00191,0.004128&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.653346,-75.641074&panoid=B0d8bI3vD6LFmZTddT8AYQ&cbp=12,79.27,,0,5.96) (this one doesn't seem to be an after thought like other examples, but I'm assuming the reasoning they had is similar)
https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.768172,-75.741147&spn=0.001907,0.004128&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.768172,-75.741147&panoid=AibY9lfn46skgc6Uzyg7UQ&cbp=12,321.84,,0,9.82 (https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.768172,-75.741147&spn=0.001907,0.004128&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.768172,-75.741147&panoid=AibY9lfn46skgc6Uzyg7UQ&cbp=12,321.84,,0,9.82) (this one used to connect to the main road where the street view pic is taken from)
Here are a couple that come to mind quickly in my area. In both cases, the homeowners petitioned because drivers were allegedly cutting through their neighborhoods to avoid some traffic lights.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.62585,-86.236145,3a,75y,90h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sx7lzm-4HV_axo4mODOM0_w!2e0?hl=en (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.62585,-86.236145,3a,75y,90h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sx7lzm-4HV_axo4mODOM0_w!2e0?hl=en) (It looks like cyclists have been running around this one.)
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.679176,-86.196785,3a,75y,90h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sRqffBf_3CobHI0F2WbE6dg!2e0?hl=en (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.679176,-86.196785,3a,75y,90h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sRqffBf_3CobHI0F2WbE6dg!2e0?hl=en)
I seem to recall a couple of decades ago one of the more exclusive suburbs in the Cleveland area was planning on barricading several streets right at the city limit with a less exclusive neighboring town. There was a huge uproar because the plans reeked of racism. I can't recall if the plans succeeded or were abandoned. Perhaps someone else has a better memory.
If you really want dumb shit of this nature, go to Tucson:
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.2317,-110.943863,3a,75y,46.37h,86.64t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s_DX__5lYdEL8hcYvAjDawQ!2e0
Yes, that is a street leading to a signalized intersection which is wide open and two way, but guarded by a pair of do not enter signs! It seems to be legal to exit the street here, just not enter, unless you are a bicycle or "government service vehicle".
Quote from: Duke87 on March 12, 2014, 09:39:30 PM
If you really want dumb shit of this nature, go to Tucson:
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.2317,-110.943863,3a,75y,46.37h,86.64t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s_DX__5lYdEL8hcYvAjDawQ!2e0
Yes, that is a street leading to a signalized intersection which is wide open and two way, but guarded by a pair of do not enter signs! It seems to be legal to exit the street here, just not enter, unless you are a bicycle or "government service vehicle".
https://www.google.com/maps?ll=32.197114,-110.902863&spn=0.535147,1.056747&cbll=32.2317,-110.943863&layer=c&panoid=_DX__5lYdEL8hcYvAjDawQ&cbp=12,282.28,,1,8.77&t=m&z=11 (https://www.google.com/maps?ll=32.197114,-110.902863&spn=0.535147,1.056747&cbll=32.2317,-110.943863&layer=c&panoid=_DX__5lYdEL8hcYvAjDawQ&cbp=12,282.28,,1,8.77&t=m&z=11)
It appears this biker is poised to use this privilege.
Barriers like this have been erected between the City of Pembroke Pines and the Town of Southwest Ranches in Broward County, Florida. They serve as both physical impediments to cut-through traffic and politicized spite fences.
There is another similar block with barriers and landscaping at what was long ago an intersection on NW 21 Avenue and NW 38 (or 39) Street in Oakland Park to stop school buses from making a traffic mess on a residential street where a major school bus terminal is located for Broward County Public Schools.
The Omaha, Nebraska metro area has a few barricades or gaps in pavement that align with the boundaries of sanitary improvement districts. Some subdivisions have different arrangements with TPTB regarding how they were platted out, how the streets were paid for, and how the water and sewer lines were financed.
Now, how all that translates to unthru streets, hellifiknow, but the gaps are on the boundary lines.
:wow:
Quote from: Alex4897 on March 12, 2014, 08:58:43 PM
Quote from: Laura on March 12, 2014, 08:20:48 PM
Naturally I drove through it.
Funny, it kind of looks like the Google car did the same thing. :spin:
Check the imagery again. On one side it's dated 2009, and on the other, it's dated 2012. Google did NOT drive through there. It's just that the streets are close enough that the arrow appears (note that you can actually hop from one street to another by double-clicking in the right place even in the old Google Maps; this is very annoying on elevated freeways).
Quote from: Duke87 on March 12, 2014, 09:39:30 PM
If you really want dumb shit of this nature, go to Tucson:
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.2317,-110.943863,3a,75y,46.37h,86.64t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s_DX__5lYdEL8hcYvAjDawQ!2e0
Yes, that is a street leading to a signalized intersection which is wide open and two way, but guarded by a pair of do not enter signs! It seems to be legal to exit the street here, just not enter, unless you are a bicycle or "government service vehicle".
That's begging to be ignored. In Chicago, it would be.
Quote from: vdeane on March 12, 2014, 11:13:15 PM
It's just that the streets are close enough that the arrow appears (note that you can actually hop from one street to another by double-clicking in the right place even in the old Google Maps; this is very annoying on elevated freeways).
Emphasis added.I've had just that experience plenty of times. I'm trying to move forward along the freeway imagery, and I click in the wrong place. Zap, I'm on some cross street, often with no way to get back on the freeway. :banghead:
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
+1 :)
Quote from: Molandfreak on March 13, 2014, 12:19:45 AM
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
+1 :)
+2!!!
I'm the modern day weirdo who has no desire to live in a cul-de-sac because it shouldn't take a maze for me to get to and from my residence. I live on a main road (former MD state route) and love it.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 12, 2014, 08:55:43 PM
Quote from: Laura on March 12, 2014, 08:20:48 PMThis is an example of two subdivisions that should connect to each other, but don't. How ridiculous is this? http://goo.gl/maps/7Nu6t
If I were driving by car to get from Lloyd Place to Phillips Place, it would take 1.5 miles or 5 minutes. That's enough in an emergency for someone to die if a police/fire/EMS GPS had these roads connecting.
yeah, but if you eliminate the barrier, then black people will move in, and who wants that?
Lol... While there are barriers in Baltimore City that exist due to racism, this one in the burbs has nothing to do with racism since it is in a mostly white area. I can't verify, but put my guess in the fact that the original residents didn't want to lose their quiet dead end street to a through way, even though this neighborhood has more speed bumps than a shopping center so you can't go more than 5-10 mph anyway.
iPhone
Quote from: vdeane on March 12, 2014, 11:13:15 PM
Quote from: Alex4897 on March 12, 2014, 08:58:43 PM
Quote from: Laura on March 12, 2014, 08:20:48 PM
Naturally I drove through it.
Funny, it kind of looks like the Google car did the same thing. :spin:
Check the imagery again. On one side it's dated 2009, and on the other, it's dated 2012. Google did NOT drive through there. It's just that the streets are close enough that the arrow appears (note that you can actually hop from one street to another by double-clicking in the right place even in the old Google Maps; this is very annoying on elevated freeways).
I know that, the lighting is different enough on either side to indicate that. I just thought it was funny how it was laid out.
What happens when counties don't work together on planning sprawl: http://tbo.com/pasco-county/kinnan-street-connector-stalled-645412
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
The problem is, selfish bastards get a lot more laws passed than the average person, who is too lazy or apathetic to get involved. So those with an interest in having a street legally end someplace then restart ten feet later already have the upper hand by having taken an interest, something most folks will never do.
The selfish bastards, as you put it, used the same mechanisms available to you.
I don't agree with anyone who thinks they have a right to a certain kind of traffic pattern (really?) but I'll defend to the death, as they say, your right to demand it from your government. But you're going to have to actually do that demanding first.
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
That depends on where you are. The first two examples I posted may–I don't know for sure–be on streets that belong to, and are maintained by, a private homeowners' association. Whether an HOA can block streets in that manner is almost certainly a matter of state law that will vary from state to state. But it's not always reasonable to assume that a street is "owned by tax-paying citizens."
I've long thought that HOAs having trouble with cut-through traffic should work with the municipality to make the main roads a more suitable option for thru traffic. For example, fight to get the traffic lights synchronized and such instead of throwing up stops signs and speed humps. I especially think this is true for HOAs whose streets belong to the county or state–I don't think it's their place to say "thou shalt not drive on our streets." HOAs that own and maintain their own streets, OK, I have less of an issue with them restricting access (witness all the gated communities in Florida, for example).
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
While they're often overused, I can see how they would be a good thing in some circumstances. Residential streets aren't usually designed for heavy traffic and there are definitely circumstances when you'd want to keep traffic on bigger roads designed to handle it.
Here's an interesting one:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.937963,-75.006192,3a,75y,170.92h,76.2t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sfeqlcbA8rLqSniB--fRZZQ!2e0
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.936229,-75.006331,3a,75y,1.81h,64.15t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sAjc_mUx_ZtpLzE4c4w1NdA!2e0
The southern portion looks like someone's private driveway, but is in fact open to the public (only a "No Outlet" sign, not a "Do not Enter"), but is still entirely cut off from the northern portion, even for pedestrians. I wonder what's so special about whoever lives in that house. There are plenty of other thru streets in the neighborhood that are equally residential.
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
This.
If I need to use a street, I will use it. I pay taxes, and I don't give a hot diggity boom what the whiners think.
Quote from: bzakharin on March 13, 2014, 10:58:57 AM
Here's an interesting one:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.937963,-75.006192,3a,75y,170.92h,76.2t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sfeqlcbA8rLqSniB--fRZZQ!2e0
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.936229,-75.006331,3a,75y,1.81h,64.15t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sAjc_mUx_ZtpLzE4c4w1NdA!2e0
The southern portion looks like someone's private driveway, but is in fact open to the public (only a "No Outlet" sign, not a "Do not Enter"), but is still entirely cut off from the northern portion, even for pedestrians. I wonder what's so special about whoever lives in that house. There are plenty of other thru streets in the neighborhood that are equally residential.
That's weird. The southern portion sure looks like a private entrance. Around here if I encountered that I would expect it to be what some people call a "pipestem" marked with a green sign saying "PRIVATE DRIVE" with the house numbers underneath (my family always called those things "private drives" based on the sign).
It reminds me of this weird one I encountered in Derwood, Maryland. The northern portion of Carnegie Avenue is unpaved and effectively serves only the one house located at the end of that portion of the road. The residents treat it as their private driveway. I've met one of the residents (not in conjunction with driving on that street). I suspect, but do not know, that the homeowner (if she is still alive) was what is sometimes called a "legacy homeowner," i.e., someone who owned property there and refused to sell when the developers bought up the surrounding land. There is a white sign at the north end of the road, but I can't read it on the Street View and I don't remember what it says.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1217497,-77.1528876,421m/data=!3m1!1e3
There is a weird gap in the fence on the other side.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.12168,-77.153513,3a,75y,12.67h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1seOcfWs-pQRG748xjcQ9o4g!2e0
The street layout came up in testimony in a murder case about eight years ago in which the gun alleged to have been used in the shooting was retrieved from this house.
About 20 years, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) closed what was then called Walnut Hill-Chilesburg Road, which was a narrow county route connecting US 60 and KY 1927. I never really understood why. This was a through route and it was closed near the old abandoned railroad line that used to connect Lexington with Ashland. There are other alternative through routes that can be used now, but I thought this decision was odd. I did manage to drive it after they announced the impending closure but before they closed it.
https://goo.gl/maps/v0pv6
Quote from: bandit957 on March 13, 2014, 11:07:19 AM
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
This.
If I need to use a street, I will use it. I pay taxes, and I don't give a hot diggity boom what the whiners think.
And one way signs? Do not enter? Traffic lights? Road closed? Guardrail set in concrete fully blocking the road? You ignore all those too, or are you chicken? That's right -- drive on those whiners' lawns, the cops can't touch you because you pay taxes.
Some of those SID neighborhoods in the Omaha metro would have streets and sewers financed by the developer and then as the subdivision fills up those obligations fall on the homeowners there. So at least in those neighborhoods, a non-resident would have no tax money in the streets. IIRC, those areas, despite sometimes being completely surrounded by Omaha, are policed by the county, not the city. Also, fire services are, I believe, contracted for.
Also, residential streets would not be designed for truck traffic, and barriers may have been primarily installed to prevent them from entering and cracking the pavement and collaterally, those barriers keep cars out too.
The restricted access to these areas would be a factor in their desirability, and homeowners attracted to those areas would have a preference to maintain the travel restrictions.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 13, 2014, 12:33:12 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on March 13, 2014, 11:07:19 AM
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
This.
If I need to use a street, I will use it. I pay taxes, and I don't give a hot diggity boom what the whiners think.
And one way signs? Do not enter? Traffic lights? Road closed? Guardrail set in concrete fully blocking the road? You ignore all those too, or are you chicken? That's right -- drive on those whiners' lawns, the cops can't touch you because you pay taxes.
I hear this from one of my carpool members. He complains, for example, that he can sit in the left lane without passing because his taxes paid for that lane. I suggested he drive on the opposite side of the highway into oncoming traffic as well. He didn't care for that suggestion.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 13, 2014, 01:32:26 PM
I hear this from one of my carpool members. He complains, for example, that he can sit in the left lane without passing because his taxes paid for that lane. I suggested he drive on the opposite side of the highway into oncoming traffic as well. He didn't care for that suggestion.
You could remind this guy that his taxes also paid for lanes other than the left one. Also, he better not get all worked up when someone goes cooking by him on the right, then cuts him off. (I do that to left lane bandits quite often)
Quote from: realjd on March 13, 2014, 08:53:07 AM
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
While they're often overused, I can see how they would be a good thing in some circumstances. Residential streets aren't usually designed for heavy traffic and there are definitely circumstances when you'd want to keep traffic on bigger roads designed to handle it.
Perhaps they should improve the through streets then. People usually don't cut through residential neighborhoods without reason. If they are, there's probably something wrong with the through road that needs to be addressed.
Quote from: vdeane on March 13, 2014, 04:35:23 PM
Quote from: realjd on March 13, 2014, 08:53:07 AM
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
While they're often overused, I can see how they would be a good thing in some circumstances. Residential streets aren't usually designed for heavy traffic and there are definitely circumstances when you'd want to keep traffic on bigger roads designed to handle it.
Perhaps they should improve the through streets then. People usually don't cut through residential neighborhoods without reason. If they are, there's probably something wrong with the through road that needs to be addressed.
Or, if the through routes aren't fast enough, there's always that little idea of budgeting extra time for the trip.
Quote from: vdeane on March 13, 2014, 04:35:23 PM
Quote from: realjd on March 13, 2014, 08:53:07 AM
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
While they're often overused, I can see how they would be a good thing in some circumstances. Residential streets aren't usually designed for heavy traffic and there are definitely circumstances when you'd want to keep traffic on bigger roads designed to handle it.
Perhaps they should improve the through streets then. People usually don't cut through residential neighborhoods without reason. If they are, there's probably something wrong with the through road that needs to be addressed.
This kind of echoes a point I made on the first page of this thread (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=11830.msg285413#msg285413):
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 13, 2014, 07:52:33 AM
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
That depends on where you are. The first two examples I posted may–I don't know for sure–be on streets that belong to, and are maintained by, a private homeowners' association. Whether an HOA can block streets in that manner is almost certainly a matter of state law that will vary from state to state. But it's not always reasonable to assume that a street is "owned by tax-paying citizens."
I've long thought that HOAs having trouble with cut-through traffic should work with the municipality to make the main roads a more suitable option for thru traffic. For example, fight to get the traffic lights synchronized and such instead of throwing up stops signs and speed humps. I especially think this is true for HOAs whose streets belong to the county or state–I don't think it's their place to say "thou shalt not drive on our streets." HOAs that own and maintain their own streets, OK, I have less of an issue with them restricting access (witness all the gated communities in Florida, for example).
I'm kind of thankful that the VDOT-owned street leading into and out of my neighborhood only connects to the grid on one end (this due to some "legacy homeowners" who refused to sell their property when my neighborhood was built some 20 years ago). The speed limit is 25 and we already have too many people who go 40 mph or more. If the street went through at the other end, we'd get people going 50 to 55 trying to use it as a shortcut.
more or less used to eliminate thru traffic, at least the street name changes
eastbound https://maps.google.com/?ll=42.949771,-78.798532&spn=0.003373,0.006968&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=42.949768,-78.798381&panoid=VAi6NlD-c0Iea3LvkVB4uQ&cbp=12,90.42,,0,8.18
westbound https://maps.google.com/?ll=42.949767,-78.798382&spn=0.003373,0.006968&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=42.949769,-78.798107&panoid=X5hq_Ok-J_sqHqe2oMrFbA&cbp=12,275.53,,0,11.71
There are some of these in Encinitas, CA and Santa Clarita, CA. Sometimes they are major roads. Usually, it is a "one way" barrier - where only one direction is supposed to pass. I call them "We don't work and play well with others" barriers.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=montclair+va&ll=38.604744,-77.349597&spn=0.003031,0.006539&hnear=Montclair,+Prince+William+County,+Virginia&gl=us&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=38.604743,-77.350623&panoid=jFEgznanco-vLp3dQF-0Ug&cbp=12,9.11,,0,5.29
Here's one from Prince William County. I'm not sure about the story involving this case but, either this house was either built before the Montclair community was established or this is a homeowner who refused to affiliate with the Montclair community.
Many of the streets between Kenilworth and Cranford in New Jersey have barriers planted in the ground at the municipal border to prohibit vehicle traffic going between the municipalities. Only Orange Avenue is unblocked and the only through street between the two NJ towns other than Kenilworth Boulevard along the other border with Cranford.
Quote from: roadman65 on March 18, 2014, 12:30:57 PM
Many of the streets between Kenilworth and Cranford in New Jersey have barriers planted in the ground at the municipal border to prohibit vehicle traffic going between the municipalities. Only Orange Avenue is unblocked and the only through street between the two NJ towns other than Kenilworth Boulevard along the other border with Cranford.
Likewise Westwood and Emerson, where all streets between Kinderkamack Rd and Old Hook Rd (Bergen County 503 and 502, for those who only speak numbers) to the southeast of their intersection are similarly barricaded, presumably to prevent short-cutters. I have never taken the time to find out if they were always this way or barricaded after the fact.
In this area of Mass., through-traffic prevention has lately mostly taken the form of the hyper-use of peak-hour restrictions of certain streets to abutters only. Somerville, for example, which has embraced growing the reach of municipal government on an historic level, has sprouted these all over the place. They are routinely ignored, but there sure are a lot of them.
11th and 12th Streets west of Hoover Street in Los Angeles come to mind. Oh wait, it was set up by the cops to rein in all the drug dealers in those neighborhoods.
Quote from: Brian556 on March 12, 2014, 11:51:16 PM
Far as I'm concerned, these barriers should be illegal. People have no right to complain about drivers "cutting through" "their" neighborhood. The streets are owned by the tax-paying citizens of the city as a whole, not the few selfish bastards that live on them.
So you should be legally allowed to drive on any government facility, get access to any government building, perhaps even explore the subway system of a city due to paying taxes, or fares to get into the system?
I have lived on streets that get a lot of cut through traffic, sometimes it can be dangerous due to people cutting through a quiet neighborhood doing a good bit over the speed limit, it potentially can cause injuries to children who are playing in what their parents expected would be a quiet side street...but ends up being a main road due to people thinking it cuts travel time due to having less lights or it avoids the center of town, or it is less likely to be a speed trap.
Notice most of these blocked roads are not even striped like a normal road, some are just a single yellow line, others have no lines at all.
How about opening it up but installing speed cameras?
Quote from: NE2 on March 26, 2014, 03:06:44 PM
How about opening it up but installing speed cameras?
+1
Quote from: NE2 on March 26, 2014, 03:06:44 PM
How about opening it up but installing speed cameras?
Hi Rahm Emmanuel, I didn't know you had an account.
Yep, I'm totally a neoliberal. Cockbag.
The neighborhood where I grew up was in Torrance, CA, and the boundary with the city of Palos Verdes Estates was a short distance away. There were several residential streets platted across the municipal boundary, but they were closed off to prevent through traffic. The first map, http://goo.gl/maps/MWDdS , shows the overall vicinity and the extent of a detour if you want to get from one side of the barricade to the other; you have to descend to the bottom of the hill and use Palos Verdes Blvd. The second link, http://goo.gl/maps/rrE6j , is a GSV image showing a typical barricade as it exists today. When I was a kid, the pavement was still continuous and there were iron posts blocking the road. No nice planters.
This one doesn't even have a curb or barrier (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.427564,-76.801301,3a,48.4y,342.81h,68.69t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sDlBFCv6d0JxuoLJ-TGjOFA!2e0), just a chain and some cones. "Ramming speed!" :-D
Two more of these found in Baltimore County.
Akron Road (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.335057,-76.499645,3a,48.2y,42.01h,78.7t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sqTajL-gfJEtsYXFUZqsNgg!2e0). Note that the County just renamed the route on the north side to "A Court" to reduce driver confusion since there are no addresses on the north side. It will be signed as such though. I'll get a picture of that tiny SNS. Also, I hate when people park in the turnaround!
One block away at Bassett Road (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.335274,-76.500889,3a,19.2y,36.35h,89.42t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sg5wXXGosyA8sLX5Kuq2FmQ!2e0). Similarly, the County just renamed the north segment to "B Court".