Thursday, August 13, 2009

And Use Your Turn Signal!

From the new City of Monona web page:

Tips on Navigating the Two-Way Center Lane on Monona Drive

Link: Click here to read the details

I would also like to suggest that drivers use their turn signals. Really.

10 comments:

  1. Absolutely agreed and SLOW DOWN. Speeds appear to be up again on Winnequah, have not seen our police force out there for a few weeks.

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  2. "The most frequent problems occur when one or more through lanes stop to let a vehicle out of a driveway to make their left turn and during the process possibly gets hit by a vehicle in the middle lane racing to get to the left turn storage lane at the intersection."

    I haven't seen this, but on several occasions, I've seen people making their left turns from the normal driving lane. Come on people, there are huge yellow arrows telling you what to do!!

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  3. I've seen some people use the middle lane as a merge lane. They turn left onto Monona Dr. and drive in the left lane until they either find room or realize they're in the wrong lane.
    I should add that overall, traffic through the are seems to go pretty well, it seems to just be a few people who don't understand the rules of the road.

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  4. I also agree it's remarkably not that bad. But I think there's gonna be a collision at Pflaum and Monona Drive. As described in the post above, people who are turning left onto Monona Drive from Pflaum do not yield the right of way to people turning right onto Pflaum from Nichols Rd. The left turn people then end up in the center lane, and one of these days, that wont' end well. Maybe something needs to happen with the light at that intersection using turn arrows? I'm sure the traffic engineers could figure something out.

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  5. The police have been on Winnequah. I've seen them. I don't see them stopping vehicles so maybe there isn't a speeding problem. People see an increase in vehicle volume and then assume that they are speeding when they are not. There is just more volume of vehiles on the road.

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  6. "As described in the post above, people who are turning left onto Monona Drive from Pflaum do not yield the right of way to people turning right onto Pflaum from Nichols Rd."

    ???Turning right onto to Pflaum from Nichols??? Do you mean turning right onto Monona Drive from Nichols?

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  7. Re the speed limit on 'winnebago squaw rd'!
    The legal speed limit and a reasonable speed are not the same under all conditions. If there is little or no traffic I find that 30 miles is reasonable, perhaps 32. Regularly I find the traffic to mave at that speed. If someone is driving between 20-25 and there are several cars lined up behind them I find that unreasonable.
    On several occasions I have passed a car going 22-25 miles per hour when it seemed reasonable. I have been insulted(honking) for doing so.
    Why do folks think a legal speed limit is absolute. The politics of lower 'winnebago squaw rd.' seems different from the rest of the road.

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  8. Wow! There is no excuse for going 32 miles per hour down Winnequah Road when the posted speed is 25 miles per hour. This is a dense residential neighborhood, with houses close together and lots of trees and vegetation. A child chasing a ball, a bike coming out of a driveway, a pedestrian taking a fall -- anything out of the ordinary could happen as you speed down the street. The faster you're going, the more time it takes to stop.

    I always go 25 mph down Winnequah. If you passed me, I would wonder what fire you were going to, as the average person who speeds only shaves 43 seconds off of their trip. I would wonder why you think your 43 seconds is so much more valuable than everyone elses, and how you would compare the value of your 43 seconds to the cost of the harm you might cause to a person or property if and when your speeding results in a bad outcome? Hmm: 43 seconds of your time versus, let's say, the life of a Monona five year old. It's terribly selfish of you, or anyone else, to keep speeding, in my opinion.

    I wonder how you came to believe that you are entitled to your lack of respect for this particular law?

    Oh, yeah. I forgot. Monona's leaders pick and choose which laws to enforce. We have precedent. Never mind.

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  9. Those things that 'might' happen are true of streets with different speed limits?
    A reasonable speed must take into account the conditions mentioned, but that is true whatever the posted limit.
    The politics of speed limits often reflect the power of the residents, not the sfety and care of the community. On Tonyawatha we have a stop sign where there is no traffic. I slow down but do not stop.

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