Survey shows majority approves of 280 changes
Last month, residents of the U.S. 280 corridor participated in a survey about changes to their lifeline.
After being asked their opinions about nine high-profile intersections between The Summit and Hugh Daniel Drive, voters labeled they were dissatisfied with ALDOT’s changes to only one — Valleydale Road.
1: Cahaba Ridge Road / Dolly Ridge Road. 78% satisfied
2: Grandview Parkway and Perimeter Park South. 77% satisfied
3: Cahaba Park Circle and Key Drive. 59% satisfied
4: Resource Center Drive. 65% satisfied
5: Inverness Parkway and Inverness Center Drive. 66% satisfied
6: Valleydale Road. 46% satisfied
7: Brook Highland Parkway / Meadow Brook Drive. 72% satisfied
8: Corporate Parkway. 71% satisfied
9: Hugh Daniel Drive. 74% satisfied
The new Michigan Left U-turn system earned comments like these from readers:
- “The U-turn light takes forever, and everyone has to try and turn in Kohl’s parking lot to get onto Valleydale. This is by far the worst move that was made.”
- “Whose lame-brained idea was it? They created additional lights and additional confusion by not allowing the turn onto such a busy road as Valleydale. Traffic piles up in the turn around. Yesterday someone stopped in the middle of the road trying to get into the U-turn lane and I nearly hit him/her. Stopped in the middle of the road! Certainly the driver was wacky, but the concept was what created the situation.”
- “This is ridiculous and more dangerous. I can’t stand it. I agree with everything your readers said. ALDOT only wants to move traffic, and to heck with the people that live down here.”
- “I believe the U-turn helps traffic in the long run; people just need time (and willingness) to get used to it.”
- “This is by far the worst change I’ve ever seen. I don’t see the improvement. Headed into town from Chelsea, traffic still slows to a crawl around Brook Highland and through the new Valleydale change. In addition, more people are trying to dart across traffic in front of Pier One in order to avoid the U-turn, which is very dangerous. The U-turn itself is a joke with two lanes all needing to merge into one in order to turn right onto Valleydale in a short amount of space.”
- “Home Depot and Longhorn have seen severe decreases in business. This affects a lot of families’ ability to provide.”