All exit ramps prior to the mid 90s have median islands.

[tolbs17]

I find them unnecessary unless they are on a curve but even for those, I don't think they are necessary at all.

https://goo.gl/maps/nEMoLmJUaAhwP4sM8

https://goo.gl/maps/Ejsj7ZDSn3y9BXUC8

https://goo.gl/maps/Km8kCNd4FRNARFYx5

[Bitmapped]

You really need to get out of North Carolina more. Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia rarely or never use them.

[Max Rockatansky]

Totally wasn't a universal feature but okay.

[jmacswimmer]

^Ditto what Bitmapped said.  As with most of your recent spam threads, you seem to have found a couple examples nearby and then made a huge overarching assumption that every other DOT on the planet must do things this way because the great NCDOT did it in a couple locations.

(And FWIW, I'd be willing to bet there's probably just as many mid-90's ramps that NCDOT designed without median islands that you just haven't come across on streetview yet.)

[SkyPesos]

You really need to get out of North Carolina more. Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia rarely or never use them.

He was looking at single and multiple stop signs on exit ramps in various states a few days ago, so I have no clue how he missed that a lot of states don't use median islands when doing the stop signs search, considering stop signs are normally placed on the islands in states that do have them.

[tolbs17]

You really need to get out of North Carolina more. Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia rarely or never use them.

Are you sure about Maryland?

https://goo.gl/maps/BHHWs5RbtPhRuT9s6

https://goo.gl/maps/KDyQZfhABjWEzUmb8

[HighwayStar]

I like these, they add some greenery to things.

[GaryV]

I like these, they add some greenery to things.

They also can give pedestrians a safe haven, so maybe we'd need to put barbed wire around them.

[Rothman]

I like these, they add some greenery to things.

They also can give pedestrians a safe haven, so maybe we'd need to put barbed wire around them.

Well-played, but the forum is going to the dogs.

[HighwayStar]

I like these, they add some greenery to things.

They also can give pedestrians a safe haven, so maybe we'd need to put barbed wire around them.

Well-played, but the forum is going to the dogs.

Perhaps people can air their dogs on the medians?

[Occidental Tourist]

I find them unnecessary unless they are on a curve but even for those, I don't think they are necessary at all.

https://goo.gl/maps/nEMoLmJUaAhwP4sM8

https://goo.gl/maps/Ejsj7ZDSn3y9BXUC8

https://goo.gl/maps/Km8kCNd4FRNARFYx5

This stuff should really be posted in the Southeast forum.  Your experiences in North Carolina are not remotely close to being universal or indicative of a national trend, and are akin to me posting topics in the General threads like "why did they build so many highways with palm trees next to the interchange ramps?"

[US 89]

I find them unnecessary unless they are on a curve but even for those, I don't think they are necessary at all.

https://goo.gl/maps/nEMoLmJUaAhwP4sM8

https://goo.gl/maps/Ejsj7ZDSn3y9BXUC8

https://goo.gl/maps/Km8kCNd4FRNARFYx5

This stuff should really be posted in the Southeast forum.  Your experiences in North Carolina are not remotely close to being universal or indicative of a national trend, and are akin to me posting topics in the General threads like "why did they build so many highways with palm trees next to the interchange ramps?"

Not only is the title of this thread patently false when considering the US as a whole, it isn't even true within North Carolina. I'm finding a ton of diamonds on I-40 around Asheville that have no evidence of any sort of turning island either now or on old satellite views.

[jmacswimmer]

You really need to get out of North Carolina more. Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia rarely or never use them.

Are you sure about Maryland?

https://goo.gl/maps/BHHWs5RbtPhRuT9s6

https://goo.gl/maps/KDyQZfhABjWEzUmb8

Ok, and here are the offramps at the respective next interchanges beyond the 2 you picked: I-68 exit 64 & I-83 exit 27.  No median islands at either.

[skluth]

I find them unnecessary unless they are on a curve but even for those, I don't think they are necessary at all.

https://goo.gl/maps/nEMoLmJUaAhwP4sM8

https://goo.gl/maps/Ejsj7ZDSn3y9BXUC8

https://goo.gl/maps/Km8kCNd4FRNARFYx5

This stuff should really be posted in the Southeast forum.  Your experiences in North Carolina are not remotely close to being universal or indicative of a national trend, and are akin to me posting topics in the General threads like "why did they build so many highways with palm trees next to the interchange ramps?"

I'm waiting for the post asking why California doesn't plant greenery along I-40 through the Mojave like North Carolina

[Max Rockatansky]

I find them unnecessary unless they are on a curve but even for those, I don't think they are necessary at all.

https://goo.gl/maps/nEMoLmJUaAhwP4sM8

https://goo.gl/maps/Ejsj7ZDSn3y9BXUC8

https://goo.gl/maps/Km8kCNd4FRNARFYx5

This stuff should really be posted in the Southeast forum.  Your experiences in North Carolina are not remotely close to being universal or indicative of a national trend, and are akin to me posting topics in the General threads like "why did they build so many highways with palm trees next to the interchange ramps?"

I'm waiting for the post asking why California doesn't plant greenery along I-40 through the Mojave like North Carolina

The Division of Highways and Caltrans were too busy putting universal dual stop signs at exits. 

[HighwayStar]

I find them unnecessary unless they are on a curve but even for those, I don't think they are necessary at all.

https://goo.gl/maps/nEMoLmJUaAhwP4sM8

https://goo.gl/maps/Ejsj7ZDSn3y9BXUC8

https://goo.gl/maps/Km8kCNd4FRNARFYx5

This stuff should really be posted in the Southeast forum.  Your experiences in North Carolina are not remotely close to being universal or indicative of a national trend, and are akin to me posting topics in the General threads like "why did they build so many highways with palm trees next to the interchange ramps?"

I'm waiting for the post asking why California doesn't plant greenery along I-40 through the Mojave like North Carolina

The last thing that state needs is more "greenery"

[jakeroot]

Is this whole thread about slip lanes? These things are everywhere, and they are built just as often today as they were 50 years ago. Maybe a hair less in urban areas.

From what I've seen, certain states like California and Arizona seem relatively opposed to their usage, unless it's a decently-sharp right turn or there are multiple right turn lanes. But other states/provinces, such as Missouri or British Columbia, use them extensively, at least as much today as they always have (brand new, not even on satellite view (see street view instead) example in British Columbia where every freeway ramp has a slip lane). In British Columbia, the slip lane design is commonly preferred over signalized right turns as it separates right turns from pedestrian movements, and improves the flow of permissive left turns as well.

For the record, there are some states where they are more common than they used to be. WSDOT (previously the WA department of highways) didn't build slip lanes very often, but they are more common in reconstruction these days. The new 395 freeway around Spokane has a ton of slip lanes.

[Scott5114]

And of course Oklahoma is wildly inconsistent with them, as with anything else. They appear at most every interchange on I-35 in southern Oklahoma, yet I-40 east of the metro barely has any.

[rickmastfan67]

You really need to get out of North Carolina more. Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia rarely or never use them.

Are you sure about Maryland?

https://goo.gl/maps/BHHWs5RbtPhRuT9s6

https://goo.gl/maps/KDyQZfhABjWEzUmb8

Did you even fully read Bitmapped's post?  He said 'Rarely' in it.  Meaning, he's covered the rare exceptions in Maryland. 

[tolbs17]

You really need to get out of North Carolina more. Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia rarely or never use them.

Are you sure about Maryland?

https://goo.gl/maps/BHHWs5RbtPhRuT9s6

https://goo.gl/maps/KDyQZfhABjWEzUmb8

Did you even fully read Bitmapped's post?  He said 'Rarely' in it.  Meaning, he's covered the rare exceptions in Maryland. 

Yes... I happen to see quite a few of them though

[jakeroot]

I may have to side with tolbs17 on this one, there are a lot of slip lanes in Maryland, at least at freeway ramps. I'm not quite sure I understand Bitmapped's assessment of "rarely".

[Bitmapped]

I may have to side with tolbs17 on this one, there are a lot of slip lanes in Maryland, at least at freeway ramps. I'm not quite sure I understand Bitmapped's assessment of "rarely".

I was referring to the smaller channelizing porkchop-style islands that tollbs17 seemed to be talking about in his original post. Maryland does have a number of higher-speed slip ramps, but I don't really see those as the same thing.

[JoePCool14]

If this thread is about why these medians (slip lanes) are bad, then I have to completely disagree with that. Slip lanes are brilliant except in pedestrian/bike heavy areas.