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Recent comments from 'thistledu'

Roundabouts make no sense for Ind. 144

thistledu Monday, July 2, 2012: 3:04 pm

I'm not happy about it either. And I'm not sure it makes sense, but something does need to be done. The road may not be broken, but several drivers who use it are. My family lives on 144 just a couple of houses from this intersection. We will loose 1/2 of our front yard and several trees to the new road - others are loosing more. In the last decade we have seen a large increase in the number of vehicles that travel this stretch of road and very few manage to do the speed limit of 45 MPH. We have seen SEVERAL accidents at this intersection and some have been fatal. Mostly, I believe, due to speed and lack of driver attention. In addition to accidents at the intersection, we have seen several at points nearby. My neighbor was rear-ended while waiting to turn left into his driveway a few years ago. He was sitting still with break lights and a turn signal on. Another driver went off the road and into a tree and utility pole two years ago to avoid hitting my husband while he waited to turn left into our driveway. She wasn't paying attention. When 144 was closed a few years ago to repair the washout and flood damage near Pennington Road, the "Road Closed" sign with blinking lights was stretched across the road in front of our house - Kitchen Road being the detour. We lost track of how many cars hit, head on, into that sign. The drivers were flabbergasted that they hadn't seen it - or the many signs between there and Waverly stating that the road was closed in so many miles. The angle of Orchard Rd doesn't help the situation either. This, too, will be changed in all of the construction. Sue Lannan lost the home her family had lived in for years. I agree curves and dips along 144 are dangerous too, but this intersection does need a change. Like I said, I'm not sure a round-about is the answer, but what is? A stop light would cause back-ups on 144. Widening the road, is a possibility, but would have to be done for several miles and would, quite possibly, only intrigue drivers to go faster. I'm really not fond of the road being closer to my front door either - the round-about is already doing that. I don't even want to think about the possible increase in traffic on 144 once 37 becomes an interstate. I imagine 144 will be a main exit. So, other than putting up a 'for sale' sign, what do we do? Change is inevitable. I only hope this project slows traffic down and forces drivers to pay attention.