Quote:
Originally Posted by MegaErtz
I've always wondered this too. Why do people wait until the last second before they cut over from the 14 st S lane to get back over into the EB Glenmore lane? What can be done to stop this, a lane divider earlier maybe?
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As with most traffic problems, it's a combination of things.
It's a very busy road and a large percentage of the people have either never driven there or drive there so infrequently that they might as well be driving it for the first time.
Add to that, the signage is bad.
This is the only sign before the interchange: https://maps.app.goo.gl/oi85DfRVoaBuK3Ay8 -- This is in a bad location because it's right where the lanes from Crowchild join Glenmore, so there are already distractions in place, making it easy to miss the sign. Also, it could be improved by adding information about which lanes continue as Glenmore eastbound.
Compare it to the signage after 14th St: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fcjaKujQX7Sgp5a18 -- Still not perfect, but it tells you that if you want to stay on Glenmore, you should be in the left 2 lanes.
Here's the only other sign before the 14th St split: https://maps.app.goo.gl/eL3BATnhp7Wjnm1bA -- It's right there. You don't have time to process it and get over safely because it's so close to the actual split point.
There's also human nature, where the regular drivers see others "getting away with" something, so they decide to do it too. That just compounds the problem, leading to more people copying that behaviour. I don't think this is as big a problem at Glenmore and 14th as it is at other places (eastbound Memorial to northbound Deerfoot being one of the worst).
Another factor specific to Glenmore and 14th is it is so close to the Crowchild interchange that a large percentage of the traffic needs to make lane changes there and it isn't a lot of room. There's about 800m between the Crowchild onramp and the 14th St offramp.