Okay, this doesn't rank up there with the impending collapse of the Euro or the elusive dream of world peace, but can anybody explain the following things I encounter often while driving in traffic?

First, this scenario, played out at many cross-streets with a traffic light and a left-turn lane:

What is that space? Why is it there? Why not make room for some more left-turners? 

Okay, here's another:

Well? Is this some sort of Zen thing - forcing people to needlessly sit in traffic, held back only by their own inner calm and some white road paint?