My memory is that the Golden Gate Bridge used movable traffic cones (pylons) for decades before the current barrier system. Was there a time that lane direction was only based on overhead signage?
Pictures of the bridge show a whole range of things the Golden Gate Bridge authority tried. Solid lines for every lane. Double lines down the middle. Neon signs ("2/3/4 lanes") at each end. Traffic cones at each end to guide cars into the 2/3/4 lane arrangement. Pylons that plugged into the bridge deck. (Probably post-1986, when the bridge deck was replaced, one section at a time. and the roadway was widened by two feet.)
A "zipper" movable barrier was considered several times, but early versions were too wide or not strong enough. Finally they got one that worked.
