Archive for October, 2007
Mr. Fred Weber, Township Trustee, called me after they had received this letter. He says he will meet with me sometime in the future so as to look at the intersection. However, he indicated that he favors the solution in the last paragraph of the letter.
Roy Lawrence
10/4/2007
September 24, 2007
Athens Township Trustees
c/o Brenda Wilkes, Clerk
P.O. Box 193
The Plains, OH 45780
Dear Trustees,
I recommend that you consider putting a stop sign on TWP 31, facing traffic heading toward Rt. 50W, at the junction of TWP 31 and Stagecoach Road. There are several reasons for this recommendation: (1) Traffic going down Stagecoach, headed toward 50W, intersects TWP 31 at about a 45-degree angle. Therefore, the driver has to crane his neck about 135 degrees to see traffic coming down TWP 31. Generally, this means that the driver is attempting to peer out the rear seat window, over the passenger seat and headrest. This becomes difficult for less flexible, or older, or shorter drivers. (2) Vehicles on TWP 31 come over a rise in the road not far from this intersection, which prevents their being seen at any distance. If a vehicle is coming at a relatively high rate of speed, it can be upon a car emerging from Stagecoach in a blink of an eye, even if the Stagecoach driver thinks the path is clear. (3) I have had the experience of going down Stagecoach during the winter and skidding on the ice and snow onto TWP 31, despite good efforts to stop on that down slope – thank God for the absence of traffic on those occasions. (4) I believe the number of cars traveling down Stagecoach is considerably greater than those approaching the intersection on TWP 31. However, I am not advocating that the stop sign facing Stagecoach traffic be removed. I think there should be one on both roads.
I have been traveling down Stagecoach for almost 40 years. I can’t recall an accident, and I know the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That being said, I have been a nervous driver at that intersection for the same length of time.
Thanks for your consideration.
Roy Lawrence
7265 Beechwood Dr.
Athens
cc. Athens County Engineer