Editor, Times-Union: This letter is going to express my thoughts on why CR 350W between Old 30 and U.S. 30 wasn’t repaved earlier this summer, but let me recap a few things.
I wrote earlier this summer about the inevitable increase in traffic that will “surprise” everyone in town. That email was regarding the abuse of the traffic signal at U.S. 30W and Silveus Crossing right in front of Medtronic and the new Ivy Tech campus. Yes, I have seen a few police cars making a presence in the hope of catching one of the red light abusers. So I am pleased to see an effort, but believe me the amount of vehicles that completely blow that light is incredible.
Now as road construction is progressing once again, which was delayed due to a multi-week strike by the heavy equipment union workers, we now today experienced the first day that Fox Farm Road was blocked off as a thoroughfare from Old 30 to CR 150W and eventually to U.S. 30. Fox Farm is blocked due to the continuing construction of the traffic circle at Fox Farm and Old 30. OK, I get the traffic circle concept for that goofy intersection that confuses many people. But those same people that lack some common sense (or courtesy) evidently are already confused in the construction traffic flow on day one. Once the traffic circle goes into effect, I expect these same people to be going around in circles like Chevy Chase in “National Lampoon’s European Vacation.” There should be lap numbers flashing for them and a fender-bender police report area.
But seriously, the latest dangerous traffic “surprise” is CR 350W. Due to Fox Farm being blocked, you have a choice to either go down to Detroit Street and use that construction zone for your North-South thoroughfare or go out to CR 350W. If you have traveled this section of CR 350W between Old 30 and U.S. 30 you will obviously know how narrow the road is and with its layers upon layers of patched asphalt, no shoulders, extensive use of semi trucks due to it being a truck route, you can’t imagine it with more traffic than the normal amount. But today the increased number of passenger vehicles were sharing the road with the addition of mo-peds, bicycles, the usual school bus and, of course, an increase of semi trucks, too. Once again I believe there needs to be a police presence to slow the traffic down while there is an increase in the possibility of accidents happening.
Since everyone knew CR 350W would be the obvious choice of the majority of travelers to go between Old 30 and U.S. 30, why wasn’t CR 350W improved from its current state before Fox Farm was shut down? CR 650W was just repaved a few weeks ago. I thought for sure the same repaving was going to take place on CR 350W at that time, but it wasn’t.
So I keep applying common sense to these obvious traffic situations. Do the planners try thinking ahead during these times of growth with these issues? Now with Detroit Street under construction and the traffic circle under construction, it wouldn’t surprise me to see CR 350W being repaved now. I mean you might as well bring the town to a complete grinding halt. We can all use the newly nicely completed Center Street (which was also delayed by the strike) or repaved CR 650W to get out of town.
