The Evans Fitness Challenge

Miller Drive stop signs driving residents mad

‘ You are actually stopping traffic at a 90- degree turn.

There is no intersection’

news@theeveningtimes.com

Residents in Delta Acres in Marion are asking the city to re-evaluate the recent placement of stop signs on Miller Drive.

Last month the city put up stop signs at the corner of Miller and James Mill at the curve before the railroad tracks after a resident complained that people were still speeding down Miller Drive.

The city already installed two speed bumps on Miller Drive and put stop signs at North George and South George in an effort to slow motorists down.

Several residents told the city council that they were dismayed at the signs which seemed to “randomly pop up” in recent months.

“We don’t understand where all of these stop signs were placed,” said resident Crystal Melloh.

“We understand the stop signs being placed at the coves where they intersect.

But these we have issues with. We feel like we were never given an opportunity to weigh in on this. That really wasn’t the best solution from our perspective.”

Melloh said the two most recent signs where Miller joins with James Mill don’t make any sense and are causing more problems than they are solving.

“There is no intersection where these stop signs are,” Melloh said. “You are actually stopping traffic at a 90degree turn. There is no intersection. There is no cross traffic. Watching residents and people cutting through Miller Drive, no one is stopping for those signs. So they are failing to accomplish anything other than to cause four near collisions where people have to suddenly stop.”

Resident Danny Dorsey said the stop signs at North and South George are in the wrong place, and that the speed bumps are also improperly spaced leaving a three-quarters of a mile stretch of Miller as a “superspeedway.”

“It (speed bumps) has slowed down considerably, which is a plus,” Dorsey said. “But I have walked and measured the street.

The speed bumps were put up first. After that, the stop signs on North and South George. You have 400 feet from one end you get a speed bump. Four hundred feet past that is a stop sign.

You go a little over a quarter mile where you get to the next speed bump. Then 200 feet from that is a stop sign.”

Dorsey suggested the city move the stop sign at South George up to Boston Cove and to remove the speed bump just south of George and move it halfway between South George and the curve in the road.

“People would definitely have to slow down in that area,” Dorsey said. “And it removes the stop sign in that curve. We’re back to two stop signs and two speed bumps for the whole length of the street which is what we had prior.”

Street Department Manager Gordon Floyd agreed.

“It probably would be better at Boston Cove,” Floyd said. “We’ve just tried to do everything we could to help.”

Mayor Frank Fogleman admitted that the speed bumps have not been as effective as they had hoped, but said the city is doing all it can to stop speeders.

“We are doing the best we can to make it a safer environment,” Fogleman said.

“There have been complaints of speeding. Short and simple, that’s what brought about the stop signs.”

Fogleman said he is still reluctant to put any more speed bumps in place.

“You can only do so many,” Fogleman said.

“Stop sign cost less and hopefully the vast majority of the public will obey them. And half the people are going to be for it, and half the people are against it. ”

Fogleman said the city is willing to discuss adjusting the stop signs.

“I would certainly welcome any suggestions that anybody has to deter speeders on Miller Drive,” Fogleman said. “It’s been going on for a while and I don’t have a good answer for you. We’ve struggled with this for more than a year.

We’ve tried to deal with it the best we could. We will certainly take that suggestion

to heart.”

By Mark Randall