Nicknames and local terms

[cpzilliacus]

Even though U.S. 29 runs north and south, the part in Prince William, Fairfax and Arlington Counties runs mostly  E-W.  Most of it is known as Lee Highway, and is frequently discussed as running east and west.

[vdeane]

I don't know..... I've seen large trucks, passenger cars, pedestrians, cyclists, and transit buses all share those parking lots quite harmoniously. 

maybe it's just California... here, people seem to devolve to a more simian form when they enter a mall parking lot.

In my universe, chaos and harmony can coexist.

Alanland?

I don't know..... I've seen large trucks, passenger cars, pedestrians, cyclists, and transit buses all share those parking lots quite harmoniously. 

maybe it's just California... here, people seem to devolve to a more simian form when they enter a mall parking lot.

Pretty much.  When you put a stop sign in a residential area, people don't necessarily obey it, but they do take it for guidance.  "Okay, I'll slow down and look both way, but now way am I going to come to a complete stop."  Do the same in a parking lot, complete with pavement markings, and it's completely ignored.

And I'd argue that typically the latter stop sign is more necessary.

And then there are those places that make it really easy to get in but hard to get out, or place stop signs at every single place a pedestrian might cross when a yield sign would be more appropriate.

[1995hoo]

....

And then there are those places that make it really easy to get in but hard to get out, or place stop signs at every single place a pedestrian might cross when a yield sign would be more appropriate.

Then you have shopping centers that paint "STOP" on the pavement as you approach crosswalks or intersections but also post a sign saying "Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk." Fair City Mall in Fairfax, Virginia, used to do that. It inevitably results in inconsistent driving when some drivers interpret the sign as controlling while others obey the pavement markings. Fair City Mall had those signs up when I was in high school and my friends and I all naturally fell on the "obey the signs" side....it was damn annoying when you got stuck behind an old lady who insisted on stopping at every crosswalk even when no pedestrians were around.

[deathtopumpkins]

Also, A road is named for the town it reaches, like Tarrytown Rd, Old Stamford Rd (CT-106), Danbury Rd (US-7).

I thought at first Massachusetts did the same thing - then I realized that that's only true for about half the roads in this state named after a town. The rest are just random. Of the ~100 Salem Streets, maybe 10 of them actually go to Salem.

[spmkam]

There are definitely some aberrations; I will give you that.

[cpzilliacus]

....

And then there are those places that make it really easy to get in but hard to get out, or place stop signs at every single place a pedestrian might cross when a yield sign would be more appropriate.

Then you have shopping centers that paint "STOP" on the pavement as you approach crosswalks or intersections but also post a sign saying "Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk."

Simply painting STOP on the pavement should be expressly forbidden by the MUTCD (and it may be now - I am not sure).

[The High Plains Traveler]

....

And then there are those places that make it really easy to get in but hard to get out, or place stop signs at every single place a pedestrian might cross when a yield sign would be more appropriate.

Then you have shopping centers that paint "STOP" on the pavement as you approach crosswalks or intersections but also post a sign saying "Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk."

* * *

My local WalMart has STOP signs at the crosswalks in front of the doors, but YIELD painted on the pavement.

[vdeane]

....

And then there are those places that make it really easy to get in but hard to get out, or place stop signs at every single place a pedestrian might cross when a yield sign would be more appropriate.

Then you have shopping centers that paint "STOP" on the pavement as you approach crosswalks or intersections but also post a sign saying "Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk."

Simply painting STOP on the pavement should be expressly forbidden by the MUTCD (and it may be now - I am not sure).

I think it's generally not a good idea, especially due to this thing called "winter" (which I think affects every state except Hawaii now).

[1995hoo]

....

And then there are those places that make it really easy to get in but hard to get out, or place stop signs at every single place a pedestrian might cross when a yield sign would be more appropriate.

Then you have shopping centers that paint "STOP" on the pavement as you approach crosswalks or intersections but also post a sign saying "Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk."

Simply painting STOP on the pavement should be expressly forbidden by the MUTCD (and it may be now - I am not sure).

I doubt the mall operator would care.

[vdeane]

Maybe require private entities to follow the MUTCD if they want there traffic control devices to be binding (eg, if they don't comply, drivers can ignore them at will).

[deathtopumpkins]

Maybe require private entities to follow the MUTCD if they want there traffic control devices to be binding (eg, if they don't comply, drivers can ignore them at will).

Drivers already can and do ignore them at will. Mall security don't have the power to write tickets, they can just tell you to leave. And in most states, as I understand it, police are not responsible for traffic enforcement on private property (which is why you sometimes end up with a separate police department for a private road(s), or a special state police unit paid for by the owner of the road(s)).

[vdeane]

I've seen TONS of state police doing enforcement in the local WalMart parking lot before.  Good thing too, because it's frequent for drivers to go the wrong way down the one-way parking rows.

[kurumi]

In the NYC area, (Westchester County, NY and CT), Route 1 is the (boston) post road even in towns/cities in which it has a different name. Also, A road is named for the town it reaches, like Tarrytown Rd, Old Stamford Rd (CT-106), Danbury Rd (US-7).

Indeed. Naming a road after your own town, instead of a neighbor, always seemed a bit gauche.

[1995hoo]

Maybe require private entities to follow the MUTCD if they want there traffic control devices to be binding (eg, if they don't comply, drivers can ignore them at will).

Drivers already can and do ignore them at will. Mall security don't have the power to write tickets, they can just tell you to leave. And in most states, as I understand it, police are not responsible for traffic enforcement on private property (which is why you sometimes end up with a separate police department for a private road(s), or a special state police unit paid for by the owner of the road(s)).

Yup. At the shopping center located about a quarter-mile walk from my house (but three-quarters of a mile driving), the exit closest to the back of a Papa John's is one-way as an exit, marked with MUTCD-compliant "Do Not Enter" signs. The pizza delivery men invariably and constantly ignore those signs at relatively high speeds. I've often wondered if one could recover punitive damages from the local franchise operator in the event of a head-on crash. Someone asked the police about enforcement at a community meeting and the reply was just what you say–"We have no authority to enforce that."

(That implies that you could ignore the fire lanes at the grocery store with impunity too, doesn't it?)

[kkt]

(That implies that you could ignore the fire lanes at the grocery store with impunity too, doesn't it?)

The fire marshal has more authority over private property than the police do.

[roadman65]

I used to like the NYC area traffic reports when the former Elmhurst Gas Tanks on the infamous L.I.E were simply called "The Tanks" as a reference.  Most of the time every morning you would hear the reporters say "The L.I.E looks great except from The Fairgrounds to the Tanks where you have delays."

I have not lived in NYC area in decades, so I wonder if "The Tanks" or Elmhurst Gas Tanks are still used as a reference point.  I would imagine so, as still people are referring to NJ 495 as "Route 3" after 50 years of truncation.  People are funny and do not like to revert to new names, especially in the NYC area.  Alpsroads reports the Jackie Robinson Parkway is still called the Innerborough Parkway by locals after many years of change.

FYI, those who do not know NYC jargon, "The Fairgrounds" refer to the 64 World's Fairgrounds near Citi Field and of course, as stated other places on this forum, the L.I.E is New York's way of saying "Long Island Expressway" or I-495.  The latter I bet many New Yorkers do not even know exists as well as other NY interstates within the 5 boroughs of NYC.

[NE2]

Citi Field

[roadman]

....

And then there are those places that make it really easy to get in but hard to get out, or place stop signs at every single place a pedestrian might cross when a yield sign would be more appropriate.

Then you have shopping centers that paint "STOP" on the pavement as you approach crosswalks or intersections but also post a sign saying "Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk."

Simply painting STOP on the pavement should be expressly forbidden by the MUTCD (and it may be now - I am not sure).

It is in most cases.  From MUTCD Section 3B.20:

Standard:
14 Except at the ends of aisles in parking lots, the word STOP shall not be used on the pavement unless
accompanied by a stop line (see Section 3B.16) and STOP sign (see Section 2B.05). At the ends of aisles in
parking lots, the word STOP shall not be used on the pavement unless accompanied by a stop line.
15 The word STOP shall not be placed on the pavement in advance of a stop line, unless every vehicle is
required to stop at all times.

Note that the typical mall parking lot application appears to be the sole exception to this standard.

[roadman65]

Citi Field

Obviously you are not a Met fan.

[kphoger]

I've seen TONS of state police doing enforcement in the local WalMart parking lot before.  Good thing too, because it's frequent for drivers to go the wrong way down the one-way parking rows.

I believe property owners can enter into a contract with the police department.  The trick is to know what businesses have done so.

[Alps]

Citi Field

Obviously you are not a Met fan.

No, it's more obvious that you're not from the NYC area.

[Brandon]

I've seen TONS of state police doing enforcement in the local WalMart parking lot before.  Good thing too, because it's frequent for drivers to go the wrong way down the one-way parking rows.

I believe property owners can enter into a contract with the police department.  The trick is to know what businesses have done so.

Sometimes they just patrol anyway as it is in the municipality.  Our local cops (Joliet and Crest Hill) tend to patrol the shopping centers, going so far as to patrol within the mall on foot (and have since it opened in 1978).

[agentsteel53]

Citi Field

Obviously you are not a Met fan.

No, it's more obvious that you're not from the NYC area.

what do people call the new stadium? Shea?

[Alps]

Citi Field

Obviously you are not a Met fan.

No, it's more obvious that you're not from the NYC area.

what do people call the new stadium? Shea?

Yeah, pretty much. It's like referring to the RFK Bridge or the Korean War Whatever Something Parkway.

[roadman65]

Interesting, people in NYC do not actually want to get rid of the name Shea?  That is odd.

Do people from New Jersey call the Met Life Stadium by its proper name or is it still known as Giants Stadium?  If many still call the Route 495 as Route 3, or some old timers who remember Route S3 still call Route 3 as  Route S3 like my dad used to.