The new Walgreens at Dryden and Northwest Highway is a great store and a great addition to Arlington Heights. However, somebody goofed on the pavement markings on the northeast corner of the building. The photo below shows that pavement markings are incorrectly placed on the left side of the road instead of the right side of the road.
Northeast corner pavement markings facing the Dryden entrance/exit.
Drivers headed to the drive thru at Walgreens are directed to drive on the wrong side of the lane in the parking lot on the northeast side of Walgreens. This will cause confusion to these drivers and expose them to the risk of collisions with cars entering the entrance from Dryden, who would expect to travel south on the right side of the lane pictured (entrance drivers would be traveling from left to right in the picture). The lane in the parking lot does not follow the U.S. standard of driving on the right side of the road. Note also that if a drive-thru-bound car (drives from right to left in the picture) was passing north above the pavement markings, it would be impossible for a driver entering at the entrance to see the reversal of the lane directions. This could cause the driver entering the lot to think that the drive-thru-bound driver was on the wrong side of the lane and become angry with that driver. The confusion could also cause delays that could increase the chance of traffic congestion back-ups from the entrance in to Dryden Place. The back-ups could increase the chance of rear-end or other type of collisions near Dryden Place and the Walgreens entrance.
RECOMMENDATION: Move the northbound left turn DRIVE THRU pavement markings to the right side of the lane. Delete the old pavement markings. Add a centerline pavement marking to the lane in the parking lot parallel to the east wall of the Walgreens building. Place a STOP SIGN or a YIELD sign directing the northbound drive-thru-bound or Walgreens exit traffic to give priority to the entering traffic from the entrance off of busy Dryden Place.
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