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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Plano looks to Michigan to fix Preston/Legacy intersection

by PegNews wire

To combat long lines of cars waiting to turn left at the intersection of Preston Road and Legacy Drive in Plano, city officials are planning to employ a method known as the "Michigan left turn." The intersection will be reconfigured so that no one is allowed to make a left turn at the intersection. Instead, cars will proceed through the intersection, make a U-turn through a specially-created turnaround, and then turn right.

Apparently, this thing makes sense if you're from Michigan. Me? I think it may cause as many problems as it solves. For one, during heavy traffic periods, won't cars just be backed up waiting to make a U-turn? How is that different than being backed up waiting to make a left turn?

Posted by Alex B.

Staff
Verified User
Anonymous

At last!!! As a frequent visitor to Michigan, I couldn't understand why we didn't adopt this system. The first benefit is that is will allow a right on red, so it keeps traffic moving. Second, if traffic is backing up, the queue is shortened by having some of the waiting cars in the special lane. When I moved to Plano from Austin many years ago, I thought the alleys were awful and I pined for my front-entry garage. Now, I can't imagine going back. I think Planoites will feel the same way about these intersections.

bwiel Anonymous

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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bwiel, as far as I know, the vast majority of intersections in Plano and throughout Dallas/Fort Worth allow you to turn right on red. Not sure what the change there would be.

Alex Bentley Staff

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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Brilliant.

I'm sure THAT won't cause a backup crossing lanes of traffic on Legacy.

I think the reduced traffic problem in Michigan is due more to double digit unemployment and statewide manic depression than civic planning genius.

Amazing what penury does for traffic

Jason Rice Verified

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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So 3 left turns make a right, but 2 left turns and a right turn make a left? ya, this makes a lot of sense.

Collin Gouldin Verified

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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Collin, you're surprisingly good at math for a musician.

Jason Rice Verified

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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I mean the problem couldn't possibly be that they force the left lane to turn blindly so through traffic is reduced to two lanes causing the stack up, especially when you have drivers that don't pay attention and are caught in the left lane trying to get over.

Why did they not just think overpass for the through traffic? They obviously set up that intersection for it.

razorphreak Anonymous

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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Alex, sorry you misread my comment. We were talking about -left- turns. A right turn on red, which then results in a left turn down the road, would keep the traffic moving. The improvement is a dedicated u-turn lane.

bwiel Anonymous

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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Thanks, bwiel -- either way, I still fail to see how it will improve matters. We'll just have to wait and see.

Alex Bentley Staff

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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Get a road fix, how about some road kill, cement and asphalt brains...A/T

alexander troup Verified

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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I hope the city won't allow an overpass at Legacy & Preston. It's supposed to be a neighborhood road.

Sander Wolf Verified

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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Fantastic! Now, when the inevitable wreck occurs in the middle lane between the end of the u-turn and the right turn, everyone loses!

Apparently Plano hasn't taken note from 75 traffic that people in their city have no concept of merging without slamming on their brakes and stopping in the roadway.

Scott Doyle Verified

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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Oh good lord- you want to do "Michigan Turns'. I'm a Michigan native - we had those with a passion.

They are a total and complete nightmare! From congestion, to people not realizing what they are, to not knowing which intersections have them - and which don't.

They are giant accident magnets.

If this system is implemented, make sure to avoid that area at all cost.

AnnMarie Wilson Verified

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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Sorry - we "HATE" those with a passion.

AnnMarie Wilson Verified

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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I'm not sure how you could consider Preston in any shape or form a "neighborhood road." As it is, the speed limit on Preston north of Tennyson is 55. That is hardly a typical road.

razorphreak Anonymous

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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terrific - now if they get Jersey Jug Handles, we'll be in total chaos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jug...

RICH GRAHAM Verified

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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I used to love living in Plano. Why would a city with such a huge red light problem actually try to make it worse?

jcarlisle Anonymous

3 months, 3 weeks ago
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As a native Texan who lived briefly (2 winters worth) in Michigan - it's a bad idea. Here's why - when you approach an intersection in Michigan, you never which lane you needed to be in to make a left-hand turn. Sometimes you needed to go through the intersection and make a U-turn like what's proposed here, sometimes there would be a left-turn lane with protected arrow and sometimes, you had to turn right, go down and make a Michigan U-turn to wind up going left.

A total nightmare!

Next they'll implement the Michigan "no turns" rule...which seemed that just when you thought you could turn left or right, there would be a sign "NO TURNS"...and you had do just keep on going, or do what the Michiganders did: ignore the sign and turn anyway...

Glad I'm living in Dallas, TX...and not Plano, MI...