Road Guy Rob is a civil engineer who delights in explaining traffic engineering to the public. Although he is based in California, some of the information contained in his videos applies equally well here in British Columbia. In this episode he looks at a traffic calming project that went wrong. He asks the question "Have you ever seen a street get a DUI?"
The idea behind the rebuilding of one short city street was to mark lanes in a serpentine manner rather than with straight lines as a traffic calming measure to reduce speeds in the neighbourhood. The line painting contractor produced something decidedly different than the plans called for, prompting the observation that someone might have been under the influence.
Regardless, until the lines are remarked, speeds have been reduced.
This video also looks at highway design and the decisions that go into building them depending on the desired use. Straight, flat and wide is not necessarily the best decision for neighbourhood streets.
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