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News

Your Commutable Lexicon: Elephant Tracks

By  Zach Behrens
Published Sep 19, 2006 11:00 PM
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You see these everyday. The little dashed lines that tell you the lane is going somewhere else. Well, those are called Elephant Tracks. Not officially, but that's the CalTrans lingo. The official term is somewhat pedantic: dashed white channelizing lines.

According to CalTrans spokesperson, Jeanne Bonfilio, Elephant Tracks are there to communicate to you that your lane will be "channeling" off your current path onto an exit or an interchange. On city streets, these might force you into a turn only lane.

We just think it's fun to imagine life if we started commuting by elephant.

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