Locust Street Signalization_Karl Stieglitz letter(05/2912007) Jeanne Schneider -Traffic Light Synchronization on Locust Street After Street Improvements Page 1
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From: "Karl Stieglitz" <kcstieg~mchsi.com>
To: <rdbuol~cityofdubuque.org>, <amichalski~cityofdubuque.org>, <kbraig@city...
Date: 05/26/2007 9:55 AM
Subject: Traffic Light Synchronization on Locust Street After Street Improvements
To Whom it May Concern:
I would really like to know who is responsible for making the decision to
remove the synchronization of the lights on Locust Street after the recent
street improvements. It used to be that going north on Locust you could hit ~ o
every green light if going the appropriate speed from 3rd Street through
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Loras (14th Street). Locust is the main vein going north through the city '
as one comes off the highway near Grandview Ave and the synchronization of ~ C~ '< !T
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the lights was always a big plus for traffic flow and much appreciated by c r,~ ~ ,~'~
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all, as is the synchronization of the lights on Central Ave for southbound ~
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traffic. After the Locust and Loras intersection renovation we lost the . ~ ~
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synchronization at that intersection and that was bad enough. Now with the _
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renovation at the intersection near the Post Office, we have lost more of
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the synchronization. It would appear that this has all been entirely ~ ~
intentional and on purpose. If not, it indicates some extremely poor
planning on the part of those responsible for the street construction
process.
This situation (the light synchronization on Locust) goes along with some
frustrating left turn situations that have been created in several areas in
town. One is at the intersection of John Deere Road and Highway 52. When
coming up to the light going West on John Deere Road turning South onto
Highway 52, why is there not a green arrow and then a solid green for the
left turn lane like there used to be? Invariably it is now necessary to
wait another full cycle of the lights even when there is little or no
traffic coming from the east. This was not the case until the "upgrade" of
the intersection several years ago with the NW Arterial Project. This
causes much frustration to many drivers who liked it the way it was. Should
they now have to wait just because so many have moved to the West End?
Another similar situation now exists at the new University and Dodge Street
intersection. If you are wanting to turn left onto University from Dodge it
is often necessary to wait up to 3 minutes to make the left turn even if
there is no traffic coming from the East in the opposing lanes and there
certainly is no problem with visibility at this intersection. I'm sure the
desire was to have traffic use the new intersection rather that taking the
left at JFK, but the reality is that it is usually quicker to first go left
at JFK and then right on old University rather than to wait for the green
arrow at University and Dodge. In these two situations, it would appear
that local traffic engineers are more concerned about facilitating traffic
flow to the West End than they are about not hindering traffic flow to the
older, existing neighborhoods. This might be my imagination, but it would
certainly appear to be so.
I know I speak for many concerned citizens of Dubuque.
Sincerely,
Karl Stieglitz
533 Lowell Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
kcstieg~mchsi.com