Voice of the People

Alright, am I the only one that seems to be getting a bit tired of big brother watching out for me?

Mark O’Dell, Chesterton town engineer, listed three reasons to close the intersection of 1100 and North Calumet. The first was because the state MAY someday want to run a dual left turn lane from northbound 49. He explained all the problems traffic would encounter should that happen. Should we assume then that 1100N is going to become a four lane major thoroughfare? Since it dead ends into Sand Creek, maybe they should have made 1050N the designated main route east to west. Oh, that’s right, they partially closed it off from 49, and narrowed it to stupid through Coffee Creek, which I see is a bustling area, good place for the Wal Mart they want to stick where nobody wants it south of the tollway.. Next...

If Calumet was to remain open only for the northbound traffic, “southbound traffic would have to be stopped".... “A likely place for head on collisions’... Kind of runs with the next reason, which goes on to explain the many different ways through “pork chops”, and “barriers", and even a “center wall”, we would need in order for us to be protected from ourselves! (sounds like a politician’s answer). This obviously is the latest trend in protecting us, John Q. Public.

Have you ever sat at an intersection, in the left turn lane, nobody else there, not a car in sight coming towards you, but you have to sit there for the entire cycle because our transportation guru’s have determined that we’re not smart enough to know when, and when not, to safely make a left turn? Feeling protected? I feel like a hostage! This is the same thing, and it’s just getting worse.

Those of us, which I believe is most of us, who understand traffic and know how to drive, are really getting tired of some department deciding that because something looks good on paper it will fly in the real world. Meanwhile, here we sit, day after day, wasting time and fuel while waiting for ghost traffic to clear.

Jim O’Rourke

Chesterton

Posted 2/1/2008