NJ Senator Seeks Ban on New Traffic Jughandles

For motorists unaccustomed to the ways of New Jersey, the experience can be confounding. Need to make a left turn? Go right.

By diverting left-turning vehicles off travel lanes, the infamous half-loops known as jughandles have been found to help through-traffic move along more quickly on congested roadways.

But a New Jersey state senator is trying to put a halt to any new “Jersey lefts,” arguing that they delay and torment motorists who must regularly use them and confuse those unfamiliar with such traffic configurations.

“If you went to any jughandle, I think, and spoke to anyone that routinely goes through them, they would have to probably agree there’s got to be a better way,” said Republican state Sen. James Holzapfel.

His legislation to ban the construction of any new jughandles in New Jersey, where they are commonplace, cleared a Senate committee Monday.

But the committee’s chairman said he was not convinced they should be prohibited in all instances and asked the sponsor to discuss possible exemptions with the state Transportation Department before the bill goes to the full Senate.

The senator’s legislation would have no effect on the hundreds of jughandles that already bedevil New Jersey motorists.

Holzapfel has been trying for a decade to get a ban considered by the Legislature.

He said jughandles can cause rush-hour nightmares, contribute to pollution because of idling cars and take up too much land.

He added his own frustration dealing with jughandles, sitting in traffic watching stoplights change several times before he was able to continue on.

Instead of jughandles, traffic engineers planning any future projects should just add an extra lane that allows for both left turns and U-turns, he said.

This article appeared in print on page 5 of the February 5th, 2013 edition of Hamodia.