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PaperclipPerfector  5hr ago (text post)   147 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for April 17, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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@ToaKraka, you're the resident civil engineering autist enthusiast, I need your help.

There used to be a page on Wikipedia about converting a typical American square street grid into a grid that requires no traffic lights.

Basically, you convert streets running east-west into alternating one-way streets and partially block off streets running north-south so that the grid looks like a brick wall (and you swap the lanes on half of them). The final result is a lot of T-intersections without dangerous left turns.

However, I cannot find a single trace of this on Wikipedia any more, and LLMs have failed to come up with a searchable name for this grid. You are my only hope.

This sounds like the "intersection median island" or "forced-turn island" traffic-calming measure.

It wasn't a traffic-calming measure, the goal was to increase the average speed by eliminating red light stops.

I guess there's also the RCUT (restricted-crossing U-turn or reduced-conflict U-turn) intersection.

  • FHWA: 1 2

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