Wednesday, October 17, 2001
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Wednesday, October 17, 2001 |
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Commission puts a stop to traffic discussion By DAVE
HAMRICK
The best way to improve traffic and safety at the Jenkins/Ellison Road intersection near Tyrone is to align the intersection, says Lee Hearn, director of public works for Fayette County. "It's in my wish list of projects," Hearn said. But residents of the area are insisting that a four-way stop would solve the problem now and not require any wait. How best to improve the intersection has been a sore bone of contention for Tyrone Town Councilman Ronnie Cannon, and county commissioners last week told Cannon they didn't appreciate his comments in earlier news articles on the subject. "I was introduced to this problem by reading in the newspaper that I was arrogant and I didn't care about the safety of children," commission Chairman Greg Dunn said during an hour-long discussion with Cannon and Trina Berry at last week's commission meeting. Berry was present to represent the Sandy Creek High School PTSO in asking for the four-way stop. Dunn was referring to remarks Cannon had made during a Tyrone Town Council meeting. Commissioner A.G. VanLandingham also was incensed. He said he spent a great deal of time, in response to Cannon's request, trying to find a way to place more stop signs at the intersection, and had expected the matter to come before the commissioners in due course, but then he read Cannon's comments in the paper. "I did everything I possibly could, and yet the newspaper was told that I was arrogant," he said. "We have to have a guide ... if this burns someone's posterior, I can't help that," VanLandingham added in response to Cannon's comment that "It's that kind of arrogance that burns my tail" concerning the county's lack of action on the request. County officials had indicated in previous discussions with Cannon that a four-way stop would be the wrong solution for the intersection, referring to a 1998 traffic study in which none of the state guidelines for erection of a four-way stop were satisfied. The problem, PTSO representative Berry told the board, is that there are stop signs on Jenkins Road but not Ellison. When school lets out at the Sandy Creek complex of three schools, students anxious to get to their after-school activities are forced to stop, then make left turns onto Ellison with limited sight distance. Speeds on Ellison average over 45 miles per hour, she said, and a dip followed by a rise on Ellison obscures the vision of northbound traffic. The 1998 study also mentions sight problems for the left-turning Jenkins traffic due to vegetation, but the county's Hearn said that problem has since been dealt with by cutting back the vegetation. "We think that making this a four-way stop would greatly improve the safety," Berry said. A petition signed by numerous parents backed her up. Commissioner Linda Wells argued otherwise. Cars traveling north on Ellison, encountering the sight problem, would be suddenly confronted with traffic stopped at the stop sign, she said. "I'm afraid we'd have some very, very serious injuries," she said. After the meeting, Cannon argued that encountering someone who has just entered the highway turning left from Jenkins would be just as dangerous. Dunn said there's no evidence the intersection is dangerous at all. Only two accidents have been recorded in recent years, he said, and those were both "fender-benders." But there have been numerous near-misses, said Berry. "The code is real clear," Hearn told the commission. He added he thinks the intersection is safe. "I wouldn't have a problem with my wife or my children traveling through this intersection," he said. But he said squaring off the intersection into a "t" shape would remove any remaining sight distance problem. That solution would be acceptable, said Cannon, but having recently committed more than $400,000 to solve a traffic problem at McDonough and County Line roads, it may be some time before the county can afford that option, he said. "If they've got the money to do it, fine," he told The Citizen.
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