Click map to enlarge.In a manner of speaking, it's the end of the road for Stuart Road.
This has not been a good year for Stuart. Last fall, residents were all up in arms over the road's widening, the removal of trees, the addition of bicycle and parking lanes. What some said was a quiet country road became ... well, traffic moved more rapidly.
But that $3.6 million project was last year. What's got people upset today? Look closely at the map above, and note the red lines I've added at the intersection of Stuart Road and Spring Street/Highway C. Yup ... there is no longer an intersection there. Stuart now dead-ends at a newly constructed cul-de-sac. You cannot get onto Stuart from Spring, or vice versa, any more.
That seemed to surprise a number of drivers this afternoon, like the woman driving this Honda (whose license plate I've kindly blurred 'cuz I'm feeling mellow). They drove blithely north on Stuart, past the DEAD END sign at the intersection of Stuart and Daniel Court, and then 20 seconds later came back down after circling slowly. To be honest, the driver might have missed seeing the DEAD END sign since she was also talking on her cellphone...
A group of water department employees testing hydrants in the area can testify to the number of cars still heading north to Spring Street, despite the sign, and the fact that the road has been closed now for about two weeks. One of them suggested that the back of the DEAD END sign should have "DUMBASS!" printed on it...
Truth-be-told, nobody should be surprised by the change to Stuart Road; it's been a long time coming, demanded by the feds in return for federal funding for the signalization of Airline Road and the railroad crossing between Stuart and Airline. The feds determined that channeling traffic through Airline was better than having it come through multiple intersections. Don't look now, but Summerset Drive, to the east, no longer connects to Spring Street, either.
The project cost about $2.8 million, with $600,000 coming from the village.
As for the water department workers' suggestion...neither DEAD END nor DUMBASS is politically correct in this day and age. Instead, expect to see NO OUTLET signs in the future. Probably with nothing on the reverse side.
This has not been a good year for Stuart. Last fall, residents were all up in arms over the road's widening, the removal of trees, the addition of bicycle and parking lanes. What some said was a quiet country road became ... well, traffic moved more rapidly.
But that $3.6 million project was last year. What's got people upset today? Look closely at the map above, and note the red lines I've added at the intersection of Stuart Road and Spring Street/Highway C. Yup ... there is no longer an intersection there. Stuart now dead-ends at a newly constructed cul-de-sac. You cannot get onto Stuart from Spring, or vice versa, any more.
That seemed to surprise a number of drivers this afternoon, like the woman driving this Honda (whose license plate I've kindly blurred 'cuz I'm feeling mellow). They drove blithely north on Stuart, past the DEAD END sign at the intersection of Stuart and Daniel Court, and then 20 seconds later came back down after circling slowly. To be honest, the driver might have missed seeing the DEAD END sign since she was also talking on her cellphone...A group of water department employees testing hydrants in the area can testify to the number of cars still heading north to Spring Street, despite the sign, and the fact that the road has been closed now for about two weeks. One of them suggested that the back of the DEAD END sign should have "DUMBASS!" printed on it...
Truth-be-told, nobody should be surprised by the change to Stuart Road; it's been a long time coming, demanded by the feds in return for federal funding for the signalization of Airline Road and the railroad crossing between Stuart and Airline. The feds determined that channeling traffic through Airline was better than having it come through multiple intersections. Don't look now, but Summerset Drive, to the east, no longer connects to Spring Street, either.
The project cost about $2.8 million, with $600,000 coming from the village.
As for the water department workers' suggestion...neither DEAD END nor DUMBASS is politically correct in this day and age. Instead, expect to see NO OUTLET signs in the future. Probably with nothing on the reverse side.
The water dept should write THIEVE'S on the back of their trucks.
ReplyDeleteGlad you blurred that plate, I mean 8 thousand people on the streets don't see that plate a day........
Old Spring Street no longer connects to Spring Street either. A cul-de-sac was built there too.
ReplyDeleteWhy were the fed's involved in this ? Is'nt the railroad responsible for signals. Who's dumb idea was it to put signals on Airline ? All this for ONLY $2.8 MILLION. Mt. Pleasant paid how much ??
ReplyDeleteThere are no reflective markers up at the end of Stuart road, someone unfamiliar with the change could go off the road in the dark. Wake up Mt Pleasant!
ReplyDeleteWhat was the point of widening Stuart to lead up to the dead end?
Why dont you extend Oakes Road through to Spring Street?
I wonder if they got any of the local citizen's input about any of these changes?
ReplyDeleteHere's another example of our representatives NOT representing the constituents and wasting more of our tax dollars. When is everyone going to wise up and vote ALL of them out of office and start over with all new reps, and only elect the ones that agree to install term limits and do away with all the lifetime perks that they receive?
ReplyDeleteAnother question would be if you widened Spring Street to 2 lanes in each direction at the new intersection, why wouldn't you keep it 2 lanes all the easy east to where it currently is 2 lanes?
ReplyDeleteThere is about a 1/2 mile stretch where it briefly goes back to 1 lane for no logical reason. If you took all the time and money to redo the road - make it 2 lanes all the way to match up with the other existing 2 lanes!
Wow..I used to live on Summerset Dr. ..So what, they have to go to Stuart Rd. (or further) to get in or out from Summerset Dr..?????
ReplyDeleteWhy did they widen the road to nowhere?
ReplyDeleteThis from the same people who bring you a brand new industrial park with NO TENNENTS! Call Milkie and ask her how much per day it costs Mt Pleasant to have that money pit vacant.
ReplyDeleteThere actually was public input on this project. I went to a couple of the meetings. The residents didn't like it much. They thought the Stuart Rd cul-de-sac was stupid. They thought closing off Summerset was stupid. They thought going 2 lanes to 4 lanes to 2 lanes to 4 lanes was stupid. But like all other projects, public input is ignored - they have to ignore it, because by the time the public gets involved, all the major decisions are made. So, just pipe down and pay your taxes - if you can.
ReplyDeleteArrogant "leaders" strike again.
ReplyDeleteAnd the stupid, stupid people keep re-electing them, while those that CAN make a difference at the polls just sit home and wring thier hands. Man, I don't want to hear any more complaints from those who won't go vote!
ReplyDelete"Who's dumb idea was it to put signals on Airline?"
ReplyDeleteThat would be all the dumb people talking on their stupid cell phones too busy to pay attention to their stupid driving that forced this. Constant accidents at that intersection brought the idiot lights to that corner.
This is on the route I usually use between home and work, and I can't say I'm pleased. The bottleneck at Roma Lodge is insane. If you're turning from westbound Spring St. onto northbound Airline and miss the left arrow, it is a long wait until the next one (and you had better be in the proper lane, because traffic will pile up and you may not be able to change lanes by the time you get to Old Spring Street).
ReplyDeleteAnd what wisdom is there in having only one way for people living in the area to get in and out? Are they that confident that the pavement will last forever and the water main will never burst?
Very good point, Paul, about the one way out. A true mistake. How will emergency vehicles get where they need to quickly, especially with the railroad line and new Mt Unpleasant Safety Complex nearby. This is a case of not seeing the big picture.
ReplyDeleteWake-up Mt. Pleasant voters. It is great to blog your opinions but go out and vote in April 2010. Do your homework on who represents the residents and who does not. Anonymous 8:28 is correct. Stop voting these people back in.
ReplyDeleteNOW they've got your attention? I was screaming about this since before the Stuart Rd wars failed!! Everyone of you are making the same valid points I was screaming about 2 yrs ago! I now have to drive 1 full mile out of my way 95% of the time!
ReplyDeleteBTW - It's Racine County's doing, not Mt. Pleasant's; believe it or not.
FYI - The only good all that screaming did was they have now decided to widen Hwy C between Airline & Sunnyslope in the summer of 2011.
P.S. I thought they were going to fix Old Spring prior to our closure. FUN FUN FUN!
Mt Pleasant government is totally incompetent. But of course they will tell you different. They will tell you "they know better." I don't know how many times they need to prove this incompetency but if you people don't start to wake up they will break this community up until we won't recognize it. Vote them out. PLEASE before its too late. Put it on your April 2010 calendar what you need to do.
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't there a roundabout in this mix? It would make this project the "perfect storm"!
ReplyDeleteStart by voting Juliet Edmonds out of office!
ReplyDeleteNot only is there a cul de sac at Spring and Summerset but there is no way to walk or bicycle over the culvert of running water at said intersection to get to the bike path. Watch out for more bicycles on Spring to Airline.
ReplyDeleteStupid is as stupid does.
ReplyDeleteJuliet Edmonds had nothing to do with this. In my experience with Mt. Pleasant, is is one of the most responsive officials we have. I will vote for her again!
ReplyDelete