Tim Monday, August 25, 2008

Transit

DOT Way-finding Woes

Many people find the Inner and Outer Beltline signs too complicated, not grasping that I-440 is simply a loop with the Inner Beltline running clockwise and the Outer Beltline running counter clockwise around downtown. Under the new plan in coming months, Inner and Outer will be replaced with East and West.

The News and Observer reports the details of the change:

How signs will work

The DOT’s new plan will eliminate the overlap between I-40 and I-440, and it will remove the Inner and Outer signs:

* The southern Beltline’s eight miles from Exit 293 (U.S. 1 / 64 in southwest Raleigh) to Exit 301 (the I-40 split in southeast Raleigh) will be known only as I-40. “East” instead of “Outer.“ “West” instead of “Inner.“

* The other 16 miles—running north from Exit 293, curving past Crabtree Valley and North Hills, looping south past WakeMed and closing the circle again at Exit 301—will be known only as I-440. East instead of inner, and west instead of outer.

Will the new signs really help with way-finding or is this just another government boondoggle? The DOT attempted this project in 2002 but failed to execute the plan due to budget constraints. Apparently, despite the struggling economy, the money can now be found. The question now remains, when will the money be found to invest in regional transit such as light rail and improved bus lines? Locally, when will bike lanes be available in town?

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  • Les08/25 04:08 PM

    Why can’t we just call it clockwise and counter clockwise? I mean East and West Inner and Outer these are horrible adjectives for describing which way you are going around a circle.
    According to the N&O;article an official said we can’t do that cuz that’s just “not the way people think”... Fine, how about Tighty Righty, Lefty Loosey, if my shop teacher could remember it I’m pretty sure the average Joe could get it.

  • Betsy08/26 12:01 PM

    “ ... that I-440 is simply a loop ...“

    But it’s not really a loop.  It’s more of a Moebius strip.

    There may never be a good, intuitive way of marking the Beltline, because the ends don’t meet; instead, they overlap and then go shooting off toward Sanford and Chapel Hill.

  • Betsy08/26 12:01 PM

    One answer, of course:  stay ITB & walk smile

  • ddjango08/26 05:10 PM

    Y’know, there are many cities in the country that have these loops. Has DOT consulted any of them?  Maybe DOT could contract someone to figure it out for us - but it would have to be done twice.

    The solution is really to improve the signage so that it tells us which destinations we’re heading toward. You, the ones that say “Chapel Hill, 26 miles”?

    Did you know that there are long-timers at DOT who went to work on their first morning and haven’t been home since? Can’t find their way out of the building.

    “The question now remains, when will the money be found to invest in regional transit such as light rail and improved bus lines?“ Please, please, please put improved bus lines before rail. Did I say please?

    There already are bike lanes - they’re called sidewalks. Bikers use them because they’ll die in the streets. But where does that leave pedestrians? I’ve been hit by bikers three times. My understanding is that it’s illegal to ride a bike on a sidewalk.

    Maybe now that the resale price of a Hummer has gone down, I’ll get me one.

    Because the soul has such deep roots in personal and social life and its values run so contrary to modern concerns, caring for the soul may well turn out to be a radical act, a challenge to accepted norms.—Thomas More

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