Road striping more common than it used to be?

[jakeroot]

Sounds like someone needs to learn how modern roundabouts work.

His insistence on travelling round and round may have exacerbated the situation -- the roundabout may not be striped for U-turns.

U-Turns are probably OK - that's where he would've left the roundabout prior to crossing over the solid lines.  Continuing on doing the complete 360 is where the problem was.

That's actually what I was trying to say, but I didn't word it properly. Whoops.

Anyways, I think that all rotaries ought to be striped like the Wakefield Roundabout (not really a rotary anymore). They may be confusing at first, but I think in time, they'll prove safer. The nice thing is, seeing as the rest of the country is used to roundabouts, they'll prove easier to navigate by those not from the area.

[jeffandnicole]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH1X1hG3F5Y Guy really annoyed at the new lines in the Wakefield Rotary

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/06/09/new-wakefield-rotary-configuration-causes-confusion-uproar/

"This is stupid!" Translation: "I don't understand this application of a subject that I know nothing about and haven't made the slightest effort to research."

And of course, yet another local news blurb that doesn't even attempt to explain why the markings are confusing, how they're supposed to work, how drivers expect them to work, or what process the DOT went through to design and install them.


iPhone

How Local news works:

Lead story Sunday morning:  Winner in $500 million Powerball drawing last night hasn't come forward yet. 
Story #2: Powerball winner can't come forward on the weekend because lottery headquarters is closed for the weekend, and it's only 6am Sunday.
Story #3: Advice to Powerball Winner: Take your time coming forward, and talk to a financial specialist & lawyer first.
Story #4: Reporter at convenience store wondering where the winner is.

And this is all in the first 2 minutes of the newscast.

Story #5: Exclusive weather alert for partly cloudy skies.  Take shelter immediately.  Ignore yesterday's forecast for snow.
Commercial #1: Commercial advertising they are the most accurate weather team in the city.

[akotchi]

 ^^ Clearly you get Philly-area television stations . . . 

[hm insulators]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH1X1hG3F5Y Guy really annoyed at the new lines in the Wakefield Rotary

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/06/09/new-wakefield-rotary-configuration-causes-confusion-uproar/

"This is stupid!" Translation: "I don't understand this application of a subject that I know nothing about and haven't made the slightest effort to research."

And of course, yet another local news blurb that doesn't even attempt to explain why the markings are confusing, how they're supposed to work, how drivers expect them to work, or what process the DOT went through to design and install them.


iPhone

How Local news works:


 



Story #5: Exclusive weather alert for partly cloudy skies.  Take shelter immediately.  Ignore yesterday's forecast for snow.
Commercial #1: Commercial advertising they are the most accurate weather team in the city.

You never know when you're going to have to shovel six inches of "partly cloudy" out of your driveway!

[SidS1045]

"This is stupid!" Translation: "I don't understand this application of a subject that I know nothing about and haven't made the slightest effort to research."

No driver should have to "research" what lane to be in for which exit from a rotary.  The only signage on this rotary is at its exits, as it was before this hare-brained idea was implemented.  It's no longer enough.

There's absolutely no advance warning of which lane to be in for which exit, and only limited amounts of space in which you can lawfully change lanes once you figure it out.  The striping also leads to excessive weaving for drivers entering the rotary who aren't leaving at the first exit.

Bottom line:  It IS stupid and the new striping will be routinely ignored.

[SidS1045]

The nice thing is, seeing as the rest of the country is used to roundabouts, they'll prove easier to navigate by those not from the area.

Those who aren't from the area don't use them every day, and the vast majority of traffic will be locals.

If they expect people to obey the new lane markings, they will need extra signage so drivers will know which lane to be in, when and where.  Dumping this on drivers with no warning or explanation was not MassDOT's finest hour.

[empirestate]

"This is stupid!" Translation: "I don't understand this application of a subject that I know nothing about and haven't made the slightest effort to research."

No driver should have to "research" what lane to be in for which exit from a rotary.

Granted. However, someone posting a video critiquing the work done by a government agency should have to research what work was done, why it was done that way, and/or why it should have been done a different way, if he is to be taken seriously.

Bottom line: it may very well be stupid, but the merits of that case completely fail to be presented here.

[hbelkins]

No driver should have to be in a rotary.

FIFY.

[Sykotyk]

The roundabout should be self-explanatory upon arrival. Even four-way traffic stop signs are self=explanatory. Everyone stops. Usually a route marker telling you what the cross road is (either a street green blade or a trailblazer, etc), and you can deduce what you want to do from there. A roundabout that has multiple lanes and have to ensure you're in the right lane to exit when you want to is a bit complicated.

Dumb it down. There'll be less problems if even the idiots among us can figure it out. For instance, a well-signed DDI doesn't need an explanation. The signs and lane markings do it all for you.

[TXtoNJ]

This phenomenon isn't just with pavement markings. It includes signage in general, as well as guardrails. The only thing that is less common now is delineators. Nowadays, you don't even see them half of the time on freeway entrance and exit ramps, even though they are required. Even Florida, which was the delineator capital of the US, has really gone downhill on this.

My guess is that improvements in headlight technology have made these largely obsolete. As such, they're just an obstacle on the road, rather than a necessary tool for marking lanes off at night.

[kalvado]

The roundabout should be self-explanatory upon arrival. Even four-way traffic stop signs are self=explanatory. Everyone stops. Usually a route marker telling you what the cross road is (either a street green blade or a trailblazer, etc), and you can deduce what you want to do from there. A roundabout that has multiple lanes and have to ensure you're in the right lane to exit when you want to is a bit complicated.

Dumb it down. There'll be less problems if even the idiots among us can figure it out. For instance, a well-signed DDI doesn't need an explanation. The signs and lane markings do it all for you.

They are significantly self-explanatory in a sense one sign directing to correct lane tells it all. That requires a bit of understanding of how RA works (not very common thing) and good spatial orientation. At least 4-leg roundabouts.  I used to give directions through roundabout chain as "270 degrees on first one, 180 on second and 90 on third" - and that was generally understood.
Now if there are any additional factors (like traffic), telling which leg is the 270 one quickly becomes confusing since you cannot see your exit direction while entering RA, and there are no visual anchors...

[GCrites]

This phenomenon isn't just with pavement markings. It includes signage in general, as well as guardrails. The only thing that is less common now is delineators. Nowadays, you don't even see them half of the time on freeway entrance and exit ramps, even though they are required. Even Florida, which was the delineator capital of the US, has really gone downhill on this.

My guess is that improvements in headlight technology have made these largely obsolete. As such, they're just an obstacle on the road, rather than a necessary tool for marking lanes off at night.

Delineators have actually been added to two exits on US 33 in Columbus in the past few years, at the OH 104 West and I-70 West entrance ramps.

[hm insulators]

I recently used Google Street View to drive some of the streets in La Canada Flintridge, California, and some streets that weren't striped now have it.