Please tell me people in Chicago now how to merge (Alpha: rental car, rental)

[Jesse69]

MyssaTX - why do you post in the Chicago Section when you're from Houston? You looking to move to Chicago? There are lots of things to love in both of these cities! If it wasn't for hurricanes and expensive electricity and lame nightlife, I'd move permanently to Houston!

[Chicago60614]

Yeesh. Glad I gave up my car 7 years ago. It makes drinking a lot easier. Long live the margarita. MARGARITA

[coldwine]

[mod cut]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Yeesh. Glad I gave up my car 7 years ago. It makes drinking a lot easier. Long live the margarita. MARGARITA

MARGARITA!

[ERS-One]

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

I have seen it! and it almost caused a wreck between me, the idiot that thought they should come to a complete stop while getting on 90/94 westbound at Randolph, and the person behind me. Not fun.

That's awful. Glad I haven't witnessed that - I'd lose it.

[sueprnova]

And, as a transplant who drives....get over it....never in my life have I driven someplace like here! Now that I get it....it's cool

[Drover]

Originally Posted by coldwine

We manage, with about as many people who can't do it as you'd expect.

Ohioans are the people who couldn't merge if their miserable souls depended on it.

It's one of those things you notice time after time.

The worst is Pittsburgh. The terrain in the area is very hilly and isn't not very accommodating the primitive highway engineering standards used at the time the area's highways were built. Consequently, many of their ramps are short and tight and are basically blind bends obscured by hillsides, such that at many of on-ramps you actually have to stop at the bottom of the ramp. In fact at one on-ramp onto the Parkway East you are actually required to stop. That's right, at the bottom of an on-ramp onto an interstate-grade expressway is a freaking stop sign. So this has conditioned the geniuses of Pittsburgh to stop at the bottom of every on-ramp, even the flat straight ones where the coast is clear. At least once a week I'd have use the shoulder to fly by some imbecile just sitting at the bottom of the ramp just so I'd have enough speed to merge. In fact the last doof I passed on a ramp back in 2006 is probably still sitting there.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

I have seen it! and it almost caused a wreck between me, the idiot that thought they should come to a complete stop while getting on 90/94 westbound at Randolph, and the person behind me. Not fun.

You almost have no choice on those short, tiny, useless left-lane on-ramps downtown. If you try to enter the traffic with any kind of speed, you'll never have enough time to look and see if you actually have enough clearance. Those ramps are completely awful.

ETA: OK I just looked at the Randolph ramp via satellite view... yeah, that one looks long enough that you shouldn't have to stop at the bottom.

[scarletneon]

Originally Posted by Drover

You almost have no choice on those short, tiny, useless left-lane on-ramps downtown. If you try to enter the traffic with any kind of speed, you'll never have enough time to look and see if you actually have enough clearance. Those ramps are completely awful.

ETA: OK I just looked at the Randolph ramp via satellite view... yeah, that one looks long enough that you shouldn't have to stop at the bottom.

yeah, absolutely you do have to slow down on some of them, but not that one.

and Pittsburgh, I think i may have said this before, but the one time I did go there and stay for two days, I was afraid to leave my hotel because of the drivers and the chance of getting lost (like I did when I drove in). It's a nice city if you're not having to drive.

[snoylekim]

very true about the downtown ramps , and a little further south the on ramp for one street is the end of the merge lane for the previous ramp.. locals kniow it, but a lot of the traffic is thru traffic from non-residents ..white knuckle fever.. There are traffic lights on some of the on ramps downtown to 'regulate' traffic ..

Re the Pittsburgh comment. My experiences on the PA turnpike show how far highway engineering has come. I particularly appreciate some of the on ramps from the older service plazas that basically shoot one right into the right lane with little time to accelerate. Fortunately, they're rebuilding a few of those ..

[Gelasia]

I feel censored