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Dr. Delay

Cut-through near First Ave. S, 55th St. is cut off

By LORRIE LYKINS
Published September 11, 2005

At long last, humps!

Residents of Westminster Heights finally have some relief from motorists who had turned the neighborhood into a speedway while bypassing the traffic signal at 49th Street S.

"They used to have a straight shot down 55th Street between First and Fifth avenues S, and they were driving at high speeds, then jumping back on to First Avenue," said Mike Frederick of the city's traffic planning department.

Residents began lobbying the city for some assistance more than a year ago. Once the traffic calming plan was devised and approved, the three speed humps - and 15 mph signs - went in on First through Fifth avenues off 55th Street, a stretch that runs along the Royal Palm cemetery.

What do Westminster's residents think of the long-awaited speed humps?

Lou Daugherty wrote: "It is night and day. Less traffic. Slower traffic. I would guess that if they survey again, they will find traffic is down by at least one-half. Now, if we could only do something about boom boxes!"

Daugherty can attest that getting a handle on dangerous traffic takes time. It includes surveys by the city, neighborhood meetings, signature-gathering for petitions and city approval as well as funding.

The key to implementing change: patience, patience and more patience.

Stop sign running is rampant at Bayou Grande Boulevard NE and Denver/Venetian Boulevard, which is near the easternmost point of 62nd Avenue N.

One reader wrote to complain that as many as 24 cars a day fly through the intersection at 70 mph. The speed limit is 25 mph.

In January the city studied the number of full stops, rolling stops or outright stop sign running. The stats are pretty startling: of 1,738 northbound vehicles, 1,634, or 94 percent, didn't come to a complete stop. Southbound vehicles didn't do much better. Of 2,915 vehicles moving through the intersection, 2,553, or 88 percent, did not make a complete stop.

So what's the deal with all the stop sign running?

"When vehicles are approaching this intersection, they have at least 300 feet of visibility down the side street, so if they see that no vehicle is there, they just whiz through," Mike Frederick said.

Speed humps will likely be installed to control speeding in the area, but the stop sign running is more problematic, he said. Not much can be done, other than stationing a police officer at the intersection around the clock, he said.

Neighborhood residents will hold a public traffic planning meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Shore Acres Recreation Center, 4230 Shore Acres Blvd. NE. Frederick will be there to talk with residents.

The closing of both eastbound lanes of Gulfport Boulevard just east of Pasadena Avenue last week had some readers wondering what gives. The roadway, that's what.

The crew working to repair a damaged 10-inch clay sewer pipe about 100 feet east of S Pasadena Avenue had an unexpected mess on its hands last week when the road suddenly collapsed, creating a 12-foot-deep hole, according to Pete Yauch, the county's transportation director.

South Pasadena is responsible for the repair of the sewer line break and road resurfacing once the repairs are done. County representatives are monitoring the situation, which is complicated by tidal water flowing into the area because of the high water level in that part of the county, Yauch said. The completion date for repairs is up in the air.

Thanks to all the readers who gleefully bombarded me with complaints this week about the rest of you. I will share another "best of" list of things that drive us crazy on the road in the future.

Until next week, happy and safe motoring.

Please share your traffic concerns, comments and questions with Dr. Delay via e-mail at docdelay@yahoo.com

[Last modified September 11, 2005, 01:12:04]