Seriously, how did this intersection design get approved? Utah DOT has some major explaining to do

June 22, 2011 at 11:30 pm

(Source: Reddit)

After watching this, I shudder to think how an elderly driver would understand the flow of traffic and negotiate this intersection? Especially, if he she had lived in the area for a while and now had to face this new re-designed nightmare that will make for one heck of an interview.

All joking aside, I’m definitely interested in learning more about efficiency (volume, throughput, etc) and accident metrics (before vs. after) for this particular intersection.  If anyone can find interesting reads/studies/publications on this issue, please share it in the comments section below.

Though it may look efficient (saving an full signal cycle) and creative on the video, I sense there is something inherently wrong with this design.  Accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists seem very minimal.  And the most important question above all – how did they manage to get the community’s buy-in before going forward with spending $$ on this complex mess?  IF anything, I find it quite interesting to see how the average citizen react to this unique design by observing the comments posted on Reddit.