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May 14 , 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels February 12, 2004 Traffic ideas for Ashland By Tom Frantz Ashland My idea is to expand on a great feature of Ashland - The Plaza, which was designed so that horse-drawn carriages could circle around a large area that over the years has turned into an interesting feature by its turnabout qualities. I propose three additional turnabouts in the city that would 1) make the Siskiyou and Tolman intersection safe; 2) make the Siskiyou improvements from a two-lane into a one-lane transition and eliminate the Southern Oregon University pedestrian problem; 3) eliminate traffic clogging at Hersey and North Mountain. My definition of a turnabout is a big circle that traffic uses at intersections to eliminate stops signs and stop lights. When properly designed turnabouts promote pedestrian safety at nearby or alternative locations, and alleviate traffic clogging. The turnabout has a large middle area for landscaping or otherwise esthetic fountains or items of public interest. They are not always put in the best locations, but when they are placed properly they can alleviate bike/ pedestrian and car accidents. My idea for Ashland is that I don't want to sit at the intersection of Siskiyou and Highway 66 waiting for the light to turn green... waiting forever and ever like I am at the new and "unimproved" giant mall intersection at Medford. I don't want to have students running in between cars like they do now, and even after the improvements are finished! I see a major problem in the two-lane to one-lane transition at Highway 66 and Siskiyou Boulevard at this time. The students have been trying to cross as traffic is funneling down and that will worsen as the town grows and thousands more cars a day are added to the tens of thousands of cars a day that are using the ( Siskiyou two lane, Siskiyou one lane, Wightman, Indiana, and Highway 66 (Ashland Street) intersections. I propose the opposite of funneling down, and opening up a turnabout to be installed at the Indiana arc and using the full width of Siskiyou for a large landscaped circular median and the installation of a pedestrian walk stop lights at Palm and or Avery for the SOU students to safely cross before somebody gets hit again out there. There are thousands of cars there every day that wait at the light that could move more efficiently with a turnabout. Mountain and Hersey will get hundreds or thousands more traffic counts in the next five and ten years from building that is going in with Mountain Meadows and other subdivisions on Mountain Avenue. I propose a turnabout to be installed at the corner of Mountain and Hersey and North Mountain Park. The traffic would move around the turnabout and wouldn't clog up like it does with current traffic counts at hundreds or thousand a day and the thousands more as the development continues. Bellview School, School Siskiyou, and Tolman Creek where the speed limit is 20 mph when school is in has a very difficult speed transition from the traffic in four different locations with varying speed zones. Crossing guards, traffic safety officers, and students have some have some stories to tell about that location over the years. With the improvements being done to Tolman Creek at this time, it would be good to explore the installation of a turnabout at this location. A turnabout would eliminate the need for a future light at that location and I have a great idea for a location for that light... Walker and East Main! DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams