Shortest Lanes

[Michael]

I was just thinking about a pair of short turn lanes here in Auburn.  Using Wikimapia's distance measure tool, I got 95 feet for the shorter lane, and 110 feet for the longer one. Here's the shorter of the two lanes in Street View; turn around to see the longer one.  Bing's Bird's Eye view shows the lanes better from above.

So, can anyone else think of other short lanes?

[jeffandnicole]

http://goo.gl/maps/sOhln  Broad at Wolf, South Philly. I'm probably being generous saying that's 12 feet long.

I can think of a whole lot under 95' or thereabouts in the Philly/NJ area.

[1995hoo]

South Van Dorn Street at Oakwood Road in Fairfax County, Virginia: http://binged.it/ZE8489 (Bing Bird's Eye view) Notice the leftmost of the two left-turn lanes at the "top" of the intersection as seen here (the one with the two cars in it). It's barely two car lengths long.

[djsinco]

http://goo.gl/maps/sOhln  Broad at Wolf, South Philly. I'm probably being generous saying that's 12 feet long.

I can think of a whole lot under 95' or thereabouts in the Philly/NJ area.

I think we have a winner. Looks like a motorcycle only turn lane.

[Alps]

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=40.808184,-74.3125&spn=0.001044,0.002374&sll=37.6,-95.665&sspn=35.550594,77.783203&t=k&z=19

Both lanes in both directions, north and south, are through lanes that merge back in after. Those are some pretty short merges. (Bergen County has plenty more)

[1995hoo]

http://goo.gl/maps/sOhln  Broad at Wolf, South Philly. I'm probably being generous saying that's 12 feet long.

I can think of a whole lot under 95' or thereabouts in the Philly/NJ area.

I think we have a winner. Looks like a motorcycle only turn lane.

It looks to me like that used to be a lane and isn't intended to be one anymore–that for whatever reason they decided to eliminate the left turn lane, put that island there, and forgot to paint over the arrow. Notice how the line adjacent to the island (to its left from your viewpoint when you view the satellite image) appears to be a yellow line denoting the left edge of the lane.

[jeffandnicole]

http://goo.gl/maps/sOhln  Broad at Wolf, South Philly. I'm probably being generous saying that's 12 feet long.

I can think of a whole lot under 95' or thereabouts in the Philly/NJ area.

I think we have a winner. Looks like a motorcycle only turn lane.

It looks to me like that used to be a lane and isn't intended to be one anymore–that for whatever reason they decided to eliminate the left turn lane, put that island there, and forgot to paint over the arrow. Notice how the line adjacent to the island (to its left from your viewpoint when you view the satellite image) appears to be a yellow line denoting the left edge of the lane.

Quite the opposite. 

The island that you are referring to is venting for the Broad Street Subway.  That island has been there for decades.  And if you zoomed in further to a street view, you'd see that those images were taken in August, 2009, before a repaving project.  So what you see is what you get - relatively new pavement, along with arrows for a left turn lane.

I will acknowlege the yellow striping though was still there last time I took a trip down Broad (most likely, on a Pat's/Gino's Cheesesteak run...).

[1995hoo]

Fair enough. Interesting. You can certainly understand why all that isn't apparent from the satellite view, especially the part about something being there "for decades."

[jeffandnicole]

Per the never-fallable Wikipedia, the Broad Street line in that area has been open since 1938, and most likely the grates and curbing that you see in the image are from the original building of the line in that area.

It's one of the relatively few areas along Broad Street in South Philly where those subway grates are in the middle of the roadway (they repeat for about a 6+/- block stretch).  Much of the middle of the road is a yellow-striped zone, which has transformed into a parallel parking area.  Yes, in the middle of the road, between the North and Southbound lanes of Broad Street.  And on a street lined with normal, parking metered spots along the shoulder, one doesn't need to feed a meter when parking in the median...this illegal parking area won't get you a ticket from the police or metermaid.  The only time people are asked to clear their vehicles from the area is during a snow emergency or a parade.   

I'm not sure how the practice started, why it's permitted, and why it's generally limited to Board.

[Mr_Northside]

I-70 between Hagerstown & Frederick in Maryland has the shortest 3rd truck climbing lanes I've ever seen.  Both E-bound & W-bound have ridiculously short lanes in this location, with westbound being a tad shorter. 
The sign announcing the lane's end in 1000ft is before the striping for the lane begins:



http://goo.gl/maps/DU3ia

[djsinco]

I-70 between Hagerstown & Frederick in Maryland has the shortest 3rd truck climbing lanes I've ever seen.  Both E-bound & W-bound have ridiculously short lanes in this location, with westbound being a tad shorter. 
The sign announcing the lane's end in 1000ft is before the striping for the lane begins:



http://goo.gl/maps/DU3ia

If there is a speed differential of 30-40 MPH below the speed limit for a heavily loaded truck (as there frequently is,) it is surprising how useful even a short climbing lane can be. Of course, this is also dependent upon the truck driver using it properly, which is the bigger variable.

[jeffandnicole]

http://goo.gl/maps/Ky9zf

Another short turn lane, about 1.5 - 2 cars in length.  The exception here is the only use for the turn lane is to pull into a private homeowner's driveway.

That's probably another good thread...how many turn lanes exist for a signal, private homeowner.  And...how many traffic lights control movement from a single, private homeowner's driveway?

[PurdueBill]

http://goo.gl/maps/Ky9zf

Another short turn lane, about 1.5 - 2 cars in length.  The exception here is the only use for the turn lane is to pull into a private homeowner's driveway.

That's probably another good thread...how many turn lanes exist for a signal, private homeowner.  And...how many traffic lights control movement from a single, private homeowner's driveway?

I thought of two around Lafayette, Indiana right away--one on SR 26 across from Meijer and one across from SR 126/Cherry Lane on US 231/Northwestern Ave.  Both are INDOT installations.

[Scott5114]

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=35.2324818&lon=-97.4058&z=20&l=0&m=s&search=norman%20oklahoma&gz=0;-974059278;352325143;0;877;0;0

This turn lane on 24th Ave NE at Robinson St in Norman is only a full lane 32 feet. (If you measure it from the point it diverges from the thru lane it's 95 feet.)

[empirestate]

http://goo.gl/maps/Ky9zf

Another short turn lane, about 1.5 - 2 cars in length.  The exception here is the only use for the turn lane is to pull into a private homeowner's driveway.

That's probably another good thread...how many turn lanes exist for a signal, private homeowner.  And...how many traffic lights control movement from a single, private homeowner's driveway?

And how many turning lanes exist for a turn that can't legally be made anyway (noting the presumably temporary Do Not Enter sign shown in SV)?

[jeffandnicole]

http://goo.gl/maps/Ky9zf

Another short turn lane, about 1.5 - 2 cars in length.  The exception here is the only use for the turn lane is to pull into a private homeowner's driveway.

That's probably another good thread...how many turn lanes exist for a signal, private homeowner.  And...how many traffic lights control movement from a single, private homeowner's driveway?

And how many turning lanes exist for a turn that can't legally be made anyway (noting the presumably temporary Do Not Enter sign shown in SV)?

http://goo.gl/maps/fTsPj

You mean, like that?  It's a fairly new left turn lane.  There has never been a driveway or even a curb cutout where the left turn lane would lead.  NJ doesn't generally allow u-turns to be made without a solid median in place...and there's nothing here to indicate this is to be used for u-turns.  There's absolutely no reason for that left turn lane channel to be there.

(Spin the 45' angle option around, and you'll see a car making an illegal left from the other direction!)

[Sanctimoniously]

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=willoughby+spit&hl=en&ll=36.961711,-76.26404&spn=0.001858,0.003259&hnear=Willoughby+Spit&gl=us&t=h&z=19

Not even close to being the shortest in the thread, but they do exist for what are essentially glorified driveways anyway (Sixth and Seventh View Streets).