As someone who grew up in Michigan, I should note that most Michigan lefts do not involve a median nearly as wide as Hall Rd. Most are much more reasonably sized. What Hall Rd is doing also isn’t that new or unique around here. This setup is extremely common all over the Detroit area and has been for as long as I can remember.
I spent a few years in the Chicagoland area and found myself really missing the Michigan left, as people in Chicago just do random U-turns. When I tried asked the locals the rules/laws around them, since U-turns in normal roads aren’t really a thing in Michigan, they just kind of laughed. I’m not sure anyone knew.
That said, they aren’t perfect. The biggest issue I have is when they aren’t used consistently. If the N/S road and E/W road both have them, great, there are lots of options. You can turn right, then flip around, or go through the intersection, flip around, then turn right. However, if one road doesn’t have it, then you don’t know what to do until it’s too late. GPS makes this easier, but back in the 90s you just had to know the area.
My other minor grip is many of the median have various obstructions… a hill, trees, bushes… which can make it hard to see oncoming traffic, which is an issue when all you have is a stop sign.
That said, they are still better than your standard stroad… and we still have a lot of those too.
al_borland•9mo ago
I spent a few years in the Chicagoland area and found myself really missing the Michigan left, as people in Chicago just do random U-turns. When I tried asked the locals the rules/laws around them, since U-turns in normal roads aren’t really a thing in Michigan, they just kind of laughed. I’m not sure anyone knew.
That said, they aren’t perfect. The biggest issue I have is when they aren’t used consistently. If the N/S road and E/W road both have them, great, there are lots of options. You can turn right, then flip around, or go through the intersection, flip around, then turn right. However, if one road doesn’t have it, then you don’t know what to do until it’s too late. GPS makes this easier, but back in the 90s you just had to know the area.
My other minor grip is many of the median have various obstructions… a hill, trees, bushes… which can make it hard to see oncoming traffic, which is an issue when all you have is a stop sign.
That said, they are still better than your standard stroad… and we still have a lot of those too.