End of the Jersey Left? (Or, why do politicians worry about crap like this)

[jeffandnicole]

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/end_of_the_jersey_left_ban_on.html#incart_m-rpt-1

To sum it up - One politician wants to ban jughandles in NJ.  He states that they shouldn't condemn land for jughandles. 

Engineering needs to be left to the engineers.

[Brandon]

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/end_of_the_jersey_left_ban_on.html#incart_m-rpt-1

To sum it up - One politician wants to ban jughandles in NJ.  He states that they shouldn't condemn land for jughandles. 

Engineering needs to be left to the engineers.

Agreed legislators need to butt out of engineering.  It's not their area of expertise.

[jwolfer]

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/end_of_the_jersey_left_ban_on.html#incart_m-rpt-1

To sum it up - One politician wants to ban jughandles in NJ.  He states that they shouldn't condemn land for jughandles. 

Engineering needs to be left to the engineers.

While I agree politicians should leave the experts to do what they do.  I agree with this assemblyman.  I despise jughandles and from a non-engineer who is a road geek in my observation in other states and high population densisty cities... left turn lanes are just as effective when done right.  In the 1950s the technology was not what it is now for traffic light control

Another article from the Asbury Park Press with a video interview Holzapfel http://www.app.com/article/20130201/NJNEWS1002/301300163/1007/NEWS03&source=rss?odyssey=obinsite

[Brandon]

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/end_of_the_jersey_left_ban_on.html#incart_m-rpt-1

To sum it up - One politician wants to ban jughandles in NJ.  He states that they shouldn't condemn land for jughandles. 

Engineering needs to be left to the engineers.

While I agree politicians should leave the experts to do what they do.  I agree with this assemblyman.  I despise jughandles and from a non-engineer who is a road geek in my observation in other states and high population densisty cities... left turn lanes are just as effective when done right.  In the 1950s the technology was not what it is now for traffic light control

Another article from the Asbury Park Press with a video interview Holzapfel http://www.app.com/article/20130201/NJNEWS1002/301300163/1007/NEWS03&source=rss?odyssey=obinsite

I'll politely disagree.  Jughandles and Michigan Lefts work far better than any left turn lane I've ever seen.

[PHLBOS]

Jughandles and Michigan Lefts work far better than any left turn lane I've ever seen.

Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly are Michigan Lefts (vs. Jersey Lefts)? 

[NE2]

Jughandles and Michigan Lefts work far better than any left turn lane I've ever seen.

Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly are Michigan Lefts (vs. Jersey Lefts)? 

http://www.google.com/search?q=michigan+left

[PHLBOS]

http://www.google.com/search?q=michigan+left

Thanks for the link.  While I've seen such configurations in other states (RI 114 along the Wampanoag Trail in Barrington comes to mind); I never heard it called such.

[roadman65]

You know along US 30 in Absecon, NJ, you have both the Michigan and New Jersey lefts combined.  Try going from US 30 Eastbound to NJ 157 Northbound since the Jersey barrier was added to US 30.  You now have to pass NJ 157 and make a u turn to return, although the u turn is jersey style with a jughandle.

In Parsipany, several miles north on NJ 10 you have a left turn similar to Michigan style with an interchange involved.  To now get from Westbound NJ 10 to Ridgedale Avenue Southbound, you now have to go past Ridgedale and make a very complicated u turn as supposed to a direct u turn as Michigan would have you accomplish.  This one has you go through a par clo interchange with another road and complete two loops just to get back Eastbound on NJ 10 to make the trip back to Ridgedale Avenue.

Both are common NJ practices indirectly using Michigan techniques. 

[jeffandnicole]

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/end_of_the_jersey_left_ban_on.html#incart_m-rpt-1

To sum it up - One politician wants to ban jughandles in NJ.  He states that they shouldn't condemn land for jughandles. 

Engineering needs to be left to the engineers.

While I agree politicians should leave the experts to do what they do.  I agree with this assemblyman.  I despise jughandles and from a non-engineer who is a road geek in my observation in other states and high population densisty cities... left turn lanes are just as effective when done right.  In the 1950s the technology was not what it is now for traffic light control

Another article from the Asbury Park Press with a video interview Holzapfel http://www.app.com/article/20130201/NJNEWS1002/301300163/1007/NEWS03&source=rss?odyssey=obinsite

Reading the article, it appears that the problem is exaggerated.  Can anyone find a jughandle that requires a motorist to go thru an intersection 3 times, as this senator mentioned in the next-to-last paragraph?

I've been in jughandles that take multiple lights to get thru.  I've also been in left turn lanes that take multiple lights to get thru.  And I've been in thru lanes that take multiple lights to get thru. 

This senator acts as if NJ is still using technology in the 1950's.  We have left turn lanes just like every other state.  But rather than exclusively using them, we also have jughandles.  It all depends on the needs of the intersection.

The only problem I have with the jughandles is I wished they were signed better, especially in the median, about 1/4 to 1/2 mile before the intersection.  The fact that he needs to resort to exaggerations seems to further show this battle isn't worth fighting.

The fact that he's been on a 10 year crusade to ban jughandles kinda makes me wonder what's his real problem with them. 

[akotchi]

There is one on U.S. 1 at Ford Road in Woodbridge.  Others are at Parsonage Road and Grandview Avenue, just to the south.  Making a u-turn from northbound to southbound, for example, requires passing through the signal three times because left turns are not permitted on either the mainline or on the side street.  The rationale, right or wrong, is to keep the signals at two phases, rather than build in left turn or split phases on the side streets.

[roadman65]

There is one on U.S. 1 at Ford Road in Woodbridge.  Others are at Parsonage Road and Grandview Avenue, just to the south.  Making a u-turn from northbound to southbound, for example, requires passing through the signal three times because left turns are not permitted on either the mainline or on the side street.  The rationale, right or wrong, is to keep the signals at two phases, rather than build in left turn or split phases on the side streets.

Parsonage Road now has a reverse jughandle. No extra signals or movements.  Grandview Avenue is now more accessable via direct jughandle as the circle is removed and LaFayette Avenue removed totally.  Ford Avenue, uses existing side roads and SB Ford to NB US 1 requires a long trip around the block making you pass twice through the same intersection.

[cpzilliacus]

I personally have developed a preference for roundabouts (where engineering judgement says roundabouts will work and there is land available for them), but I do not have reflexive opposition to jughandles either, and they are part of the "landscape" of highways in New Jersey, and seem to work reasonably well. 

Note that I do not especially like "traffic circles" and rotaries, for they don't work as well as roundabouts, and frequently require drivers already  in the circle to yield to entering traffic, which is the opposite of the way things should be.

Elected officials should not usually substitute their opinions for the engineering expertise that they have on-staff.

[Alps]

There is one on U.S. 1 at Ford Road in Woodbridge.  Others are at Parsonage Road and Grandview Avenue, just to the south.  Making a u-turn from northbound to southbound, for example, requires passing through the signal three times because left turns are not permitted on either the mainline or on the side street.  The rationale, right or wrong, is to keep the signals at two phases, rather than build in left turn or split phases on the side streets.

Good point re: U-turn movements. How about our favorite surface cloverleaf at CR 549/571, for example? I've actually made a U-turn at that location, although because it's relatively low-traffic, you barely wait at the light after clearing the loop.

[SSOWorld]

Jersey and Michigan have the most concentrated areas of Left-turn/U-Turn movements, but they are not the only states - Pennsylvania and (just found out) Missouri (particularly Metro St. Louis - very particularly US 61/67) have these types of movements.  Other states are installing such as well, but not to the degree of the very small loops I have driven in New Jersey that don't give me a chance to u-turn because there was too much traffic.

[NJRoadfan]

Ford Avenue, uses existing side roads and SB Ford to NB US 1 requires a long trip around the block making you pass twice through the same intersection.

With all those crazy movements, you'd think they would put in an overpass and just make it an interchange already (I HATE that light).