Spray Paint

Frank Leyland:

Dear  Tom McMato,

After our last rousing discussion topic, I've decided to swing our conversation into a slightly more awesome direction: Spray paint. One of the streets I drive to work every day has a total lack of lines on it. The road is wide enough for two cars, but no one is ever really sure if it should be two lanes or not. Even worse, at one point in the road there is a stop light at  a "T" intersection. My road continues straight and there is a side street (though well traveled) intersecting at the right (see attached image). The problem is that most normal people stay to the left side, even though there isn't any indication that you have to, so that anyone who wants to turn right while our light is red can pull up to the intersection. This is common sense. However, there is always someone who sees the line of cars to the left, goes into the right lane even though they are going straight as well, and them blows by everyone when the light turns green. This angers me to no end. There is an easy solution to this, and that is to sit in the middle of the road so that no one can pass you, however, then you end up feeling like an asshole because you are preventing anyone from turning right no red. It's a catch 22.

So my solution is to go out at night and spray paint lines and arrows on the road, making it clear to everyone what you should be doing. Does this make me a super hero? I'd like to think so. Anything you would like to paint?

James McClure:

I will reply in more detail, but the solution to this is to get in the right hand lane and pass everyone sitting in the left. Use the rules to your advantage. That is what they are there for.

Yes, landscapes and still life in a realistic/impressionistic style.  Come on.  Paint.  This is what you come up with... spray paint.  We have covered one topic and you jump straight to spray paint.  Of all of the worthwhile topics, I can't believe that you jump to this.  List of worst topics that we've covered: 1. Spray paint, 2. Tomatoes and their botanical classification schemes.  Unfortunately, list of best topics that we've covered: 1. Tomatoes and their botanical classification schemes, 2. Spray paint.

  

You have a misunderstanding about the road system.  The point is to get traffic through points in the most efficient way possible; one car can wait where it could otherwise make a right on red to prevent congestion above an intersection.  If the city planners wanted a right turn only lane they could have easily created one.  I imagine that the light cycles are set to avoid excessive waiting on the two way side of the intersection.  Because the two way street is two lanes above and below the light, it is beneficial for traffic to utilize both lanes to proceed straight.  The people making right hand turns can wait with everyone else.  When the majority of traffic moves left in order to facilitate the few cars proceeding right, they back traffic up, possibly to lights further up stream than the one you are at.  Further, not as many cars can pass this point on any one cycle using the left only, leading to more congestion.  If both lanes are used this intersection would be less likely to serve as a funneling point.  You and your over-considerate companions have turned this light into an hour glass with two lanes above and below, but only one passing this point at any time.

Solution: stop trying to save the world, use the right lane, stop causing traffic, let civil engineers plan traffic patterns, and leave the spray paint in your garage

\

Frank Leyland:

This isn't really a topic about spray paint, more a conversation about traffic patterns, which, while falling ahead of Tomatoes on the "best of" List, is still fairly awful. Still, I find it favorable for our future prospects that we can generate lots of words about boring shit.

The basic flaw in your argument is that you assume Pittsburgh has a city planner. This is a city that 'created' a beltway system by putting up signs with colored dots on random roads around this city.

Notice that three of the ‘belts’ don't even connect, making them squiggly lines, not belts.

Further, this city has a single road (and a rather major one at that) that follows this path.

That is correct; you must turn 3 times to stay on this road.

Plus, you missed the part where the road isn't marked as a two lane road. I would be fine with it being two lanes and both can go straight, but then mark it that way and cut out all the confusion. I'm not trying to save the world, I'm just trying to get to 'work' without thinking too much.

p.s.  I don't live with my parents so I don't have a garage

James McClure:

First: we will be editing your P.S. message out of this string.

Second: this isn't a discussion about the poor road planning in Pittsburgh (let’s not regionalize ourselves like that).  This is a conversation about you not appropriately using the right hand lane to your own benefit when you travel to work.

Frank Leyland:

[What’s wrong with my ps?]

[Let's use these guys "[ ]" for non-article side bars]

There ISN’T an actual right hand lane. There is just a one lane road wide enough for two cars. The road needs a line, and I want to put it there because I've been dealing with this bullshit for 5 years. I'm doing the public a service.

Plus, I didn't regionalize this conversation by discussing some of Pittsburgh's finer roads because I provided maps. If I just said "You know how F-ed up Bigelow street is...”, that would be regionalized. The maps makes it very clear to anyone on this or any other planet that I am talking about a city that has a street that is in the shape of a fishing hook.

James McClure:

I'm just suggesting that I wouldn't be that interested in the "crazy" roads of St. Louis.  I'd never get to the maps.

Frank Leyland:

You don't have to go to the maps dude. The map would be a "tit-bit" on the side of the conversation. It would be right there. You would literally HAVE to look at it. Isn't that your idea...

Plus, are you telling you don't find it interesting that there is a road that is 3.6 miles long, but only travels 2.1 miles in linear distance.

James McClure:

all in all, not bad.

Frank Leyland:

[I think you meant to bracket that last comment]

[this still feels like it is missing a concluding statement(s). perhaps we should always either end in total agreement; complete with heaps of glorious praise for each other, or in total disagreement; with several slanderous remarks.]