1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Diverging diamond road interchange in Calgary is Canada’s first

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Tideland Prius, Aug 27, 2017.

  1. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2016
    3,709
    5,183
    0
    Location:
    Cornwall
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Over here there's barely enough room for airports, never mind highway intersections.
     
    bisco likes this.
  2. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2005
    15,232
    1,562
    0
    Location:
    off into the sunset
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Elevated roundabouts work quite well for cyclists and pedestrians. They're far lighter and cheaper to build than those for motor vehicles, and make the...uh...intersection safer for all.

    This diverging diamond idea is pretty neat. Keeping the traffic flowing while reducing conflicts is a good design.
     
    RCO likes this.
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,839
    16,074
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Yes that definitely works. It pays to separate foot/bike traffic from motorised ones but of course it costs more and you need either enough foot/bike traffic to justify it or a road design that favours an elevated walkway rather than a crosswalk. (Either due to space constraints, safety or traffic volume or all of the above)
     
  4. DavidA

    DavidA Prius owner since July 2009

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2009
    2,325
    1,811
    18
    Location:
    Chicago western burbs
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    bisco and RCO like this.
  5. Mark57

    Mark57 2021 Tesla Model 3 LR AWD

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2009
    2,945
    2,735
    0
    Location:
    OK
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A
    Do you suppose a secondary reason they work so well is because people HAVE to pay more attention going through them?
     
    Tideland Prius and RCO like this.
  6. pilotgrrl

    pilotgrrl Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2017
    891
    1,796
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoan in TX
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Then all of you would feel right at home in D/FW.

    There are a lot of odd pieces of traffic engineering around here, including the "flashing yellow arrow". Means turn left if you're in the left turn land and there's no oncoming traffic, even if the rest of your side of the intersection has the red light.

    Why they don't just put timers in the pads to change the signal to the green arrow is beyond me.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    bisco and RCO like this.
  7. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2016
    3,709
    5,183
    0
    Location:
    Cornwall
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Agreed, you have to wonder why some stupid solutions get past the planning stage
     
    pilotgrrl and bisco like this.
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,801
    48,999
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    civil servants. oxymoron.
     
    jerrymildred and RCO like this.
  9. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2016
    3,709
    5,183
    0
    Location:
    Cornwall
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Definitely! Same over here. They planned a road bypass scheme near here and engineers in the next county drew the plans. The idea was to alleviate huge traffic congestion which was particularly severe over the weekends. Their survey was conducted from midday on a Mondays (when they eventually arrived on site) until midday on Fridays when they left to be back in their office by 5pm. You can imagine how their ideas were the pits. :mad:
     
    jerrymildred and bisco like this.
  10. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,491
    14,100
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Looks like we'll be getting one on our road, but about 20 miles from us. Will The Diverging Diamond Fix The I-75/S.R. 56 Interchange? — Neighborhood News

    They want to start on it next fall. Road construction is so incredibly slow here that it's going to be a huge mess for a couple years. I like the idea, but we have such bad drivers here that I would not be surprised to see cars piled 60 feet deep. These drivers still haven't figured out that you don't need to stop before entering a roundabout if no on else is in the roundabout. :eek:
     
    RCO and bisco like this.
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,801
    48,999
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    and then there's the drivers who don't stop even when there are.:cool:
     
    Trollbait, jerrymildred and pilotgrrl like this.
  12. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2016
    11,696
    11,317
    0
    Location:
    Central Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Green arrow means go and you have the right of way.
    Yellow Arrow means you may go if there is no oncoming traffic.
    See the difference now?
     
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,839
    16,074
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Yes but a solid green light has also served the same purpose if you were in the left lane - yield to oncoming traffic. It saves money on having an extra set of lights. The only extra light you need is a solid green arrow to indicate that the left turn folks have the right-of-way.

    Another set of lights that bother me is left or right turn lane signals that you solid lights and a sign that says "Right Turn Signal" or "Left Turn Signal". You could've saved money on that signboard if you actually used red and green arrows. It causes less confusion (I've had people come to a stop on the green because they saw the red right turn traffic light and because the road curves around the right turn lane, the traffic light looks like it is for your lane when you approach it).
     
    pilotgrrl, RCO and Prodigyplace like this.
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,801
    48,999
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i need to go back to driving school.(n)
     
  15. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2004
    8,995
    3,507
    0
    Location:
    Kunming Yunnan China
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Some traffic lights in China have countdown timers so you know how many seconds of red or green remain. Is this found elsewhere?
     
    RCO likes this.
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,801
    48,999
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    great idea. only thing i've ever seen is for ped x-ing
     
  17. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2016
    11,696
    11,317
    0
    Location:
    Central Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I have seen that on some pedestrian crossing lights.
     
  18. pilotgrrl

    pilotgrrl Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2017
    891
    1,796
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoan in TX
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Pedestrian crossing lights in Chicago. Countdown until you get nailed.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    bisco likes this.
  19. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2016
    11,696
    11,317
    0
    Location:
    Central Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Do the drivers use them like a drag strip countdown? :eek:
     
    pilotgrrl and Mark57 like this.
  20. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2016
    3,709
    5,183
    0
    Location:
    Cornwall
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    We have signs over here that say the upcoming sign has been removed!!!!
    I think most driver's don't need that much information, but worry for the clown who thought it was necessary to reveal that information in the first place.:mad: