Subject: Re: Who to talk to at CalTrans about lane markings

From: Chuck Fry <[email-masked]>
Date: 28 Jul 1995 15:58:35 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
Panos Tsirigotis <[email-masked]> wrote:
>I have noticed that the lane markings on 85N at the location of
>the on-ramp from 237N to 85N in Mountain View have recently
>changed. The right lane of 85N now becomes an exit lane
>for the Evelyn exit (before the change, the right lane would merge
>with the center lane, after the El Camino exit).

>Unfortunately, people stay on that lane even when they don't plan to
>exit, making it very dangerous for the cars using the 237N->85N on-ramp
>to merge with traffic on 85N (the on-ramp has practically zero merging
>distance with the exit lane).

I guess you use this ramp a lot, perhaps at rush hour?  I come through
here occasionally, but I'm usually headed north from 280.

IMHO the new striping here is much preferable to the old striping, which
forced traffic getting on from El Camino Real to merge left across the
traffic getting off for 237 EAST (which you labelled north?) into much
faster through traffic.

I can see why you'd complain, but on the whole I like the current layout
better.  I think it is safer for the majority.

The real problem is that 85 needs to be 3 lanes wide the entire distance
from 101 in Mountain View to 101 in Coyote Valley, and maybe wider
around 280.  But this isn't going to happen until the turn of the
century at least.
 -- Chuck

-- 
Chuck Fry  [email-masked]  [email-masked]  [email-masked]
The Communications Decency Act, promoting Internet censorship, passed the
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         See http://www.cdt.org/cda.html for more information.

---

From: [email-masked] (Panos Tsirigotis)
Date: 29 Jul 1995 21:37:52 GMT

>here occasionally, but I'm usually headed north from 280.

I do use the ramp frequently, but never at rush hour (I don't need to).
As a matter of fact, I don't use the freeways at rush hour.

>better.  I think it is safer for the majority.

First, 237 being an odd number should be considered a north-south freeway;
the true direction is NE-SW.

My observation, on two occasions so far, has been that cars who have no
intention of using the Evenyn exit stay on the right lane, after it
becomes an exit lane. Because of a strategically located tree, they
cannot see cars on the on-ramp. It is hard for the car on the on-ramp
to judge if an approaching car on 85N is in the exit lane or not. The
on-ramp has insufficient merge distance, and no sign warning of the fact.

Perhaps the solution is to put a YIELD sign and a MERGE sign on the
on-ramp to warn drivers of the new situation.

Panos

-- 
Panos Tsirigotis
Email: [email-masked]

Standard disclaimer: I am speaking only for myself, and not for Sun.