I suppose that it was possible for the Doc to have thought of the lines there in California. People didn't communicate as easily as we are accustomed to now, or even 50 years ago. Back in the day, ideas such as that weren't broadcast nationally.
A good case in point was the thread on the old forum regarding the found AAA sign. Highway markers and road standards were varied throughout the nation. Same for roads, regional differences in grading, paving, etc.
Within the link below is a biography of Dr.McCarroll, with a mention of Mr. Hines, as well as the same conjecture found above:
http://www.billyholcomb.com/fall_doins_6008_handout.htmTom Patterson also reported that the centerline idea had been proposed by Wayne County, Michigan, Highway Commissioner Edward Hines and utilized as early as 1911.- Mr. Patterson also mentioned another earlier road divider was a stripe of white stones on a Mexico City highway built by the Spanish conquistadors during the 1500s. Ideas and information moved much more slowly in those pre-internet days, allowing the reasonable conclusion that Doctor June invented the centerline idea independently in Indio without any knowledge of Commissioner Hines, Wayne County, Michigan, Highway Commission practices, or 16th-century Mexican history. From that one mile of 4-inch wide stripe on Indio Boulevard sprang the myriad of colors of stripes and other markings on our streets and highways to enhance our motoring safety.
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