I have lived on Laurel Road for 45 years. Two observations:
- Laurel Road drains traffic from the northeast corner of town. The traffic circle facilitates movement of this traffic rather than backing it up intolerably. That has proven to be very workable for all of us.
- Moving the traffic circle back into Laurel Road will turn Canoe Hill road into a speedway. Not wise at all. Slow down in our town! If the circle needs to be centered better—or the lines better painted—so be it. But do not remove it as a traffic circle for traffic on Canoe Hill Road and Laurel Road.
Yes, there are scofflaws. You can see it on their guilty faces. My last experience was at the intersection of Seminary Street and Oenoke Lane. Traveling eastbound, I stopped at the stop sign prior to making a left hand turn. Just as I was about to turn left, a scofflaw drove at full speed west through the stop sign. Glad I looked twice.
Richard H. Troy
I agreed whole-heartedly with Mr. Troy. What would be useful is some road lines around the island to better direct traffic. The island does have an effect on slowing down traffic using Canoe Hill as a cut-through. The other benefit of the island’s current position is that it allows motorists who are approaching the intersection from Laurel, to clearly see on-coming traffic. Moving the island back into Laurel will obscur this view. Lastly, why would we use precious dollars needed to fix our roads without first trying out lower cost options – such as line markings on the road. Do members of the committee who made this decision drive this road multiple times a day? Maybe they should have asked the people who do before making decisions on changing it!!!