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Opinion: Canton bridge project has no sensible traffic flow, says Hermon man

Posted 5/2/18

To the Editor: Much to my dismay I have had the pleasure of setting in line for literally an hour getting from one side of Canton to the other. Once going South on 11, once going North off 68 and …

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Opinion: Canton bridge project has no sensible traffic flow, says Hermon man

Posted

To the Editor:

Much to my dismay I have had the pleasure of setting in line for literally an hour getting from one side of Canton to the other. Once going South on 11, once going North off 68 and onto 11.

Whoever set up the traffic flow and the traffic light timing needs to have some more training, or give them a broom and let them sweep up where they will not cause any further harm.

From the North on 4/24 I watched the light at Park St intersection I see the light change 12 times while no one moved an inch. After some movement and finally getting past the light and into the main block of Canton, there were cars streaming nearly non stop off miner street turning left, more cars streaming off Riverside Drive turning left, cars setting on the bridge waiting to go thru downtown with a few left hand turns just setting there because they were stuck in the single lane behind the vehicles going straight thru. Cars further up streaming off Gouverneur St onto 11 North non stop and a few turning South on 68.

Meanwhile, nothing was moving in the center of Main St between the bridge and the Park St. Intersection. In fact, there were 2 cars setting at the light at Park St, with nothing between them and the light at Riverside. 30 cars could have been in that area and made it through the light at the next change, not just the 2 setting there. Traffic backed up all the way out Main past Coakleys. No one went anywhere, the lights just did not change. And when they did, it was the light on Riverside for turns onto Main.

From the South on 4/25, I went through the same thing. 17 minutes to get from the top of the hill on West Main above the light at the Gouverneur St intersection to the light at Riverside. Another 10 minutes to clear the light as Park. While I was setting there I witnessed 36 cars come off Gouverneur St onto main without stopping at all, even when the light was green for the vehicles on the hill to proceed. We couldn't because there was no place to go.

The light at Riverside stayed red with absolutely not a single vehicle between the Riverside light and the Park St light going north. I sat there for 3 minutes while the southbound lane got a green light, then riverside got a green light, then apparently no one had a green light because no one was moving from any direction. If the light had turned green at the same time as the southbound lane all the northbound traffic stuck on the bridge could have passed right through freeing up the road for traffic from Gouverneur, Riverside, Miner, etc.

I am not an engineer but even I could come up with a better solution than having the lights as screwed up as they are now. The people responsible need to change what is going on because people are going to stop going into Canton, and there certainly will be less foot traffic to the downtown business. I know will absolutely not go through it again. It is just insane.

They had bypasses set up and detours set up the last time they were playing with the downtown area. You remember, when they took more of the street away to have more brick area between the sidewalks and the street. Boy that must have looked good on paper.

Bob Russ

Hermon