DRIVEWAYS NEAR TAFFIC SIGNALS CREATE HAZARD

Managing driveway entrances and exits on major roads not only lessens the number of accidents, it can help traffic move more efficiently and help the environment, said a traffic planner with the Missouri Department of Transportation.

About 15 people, most of them members of the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission or city staff, met with MoDOT Tuesday evening at City Hall for a presentation about managing access points on major roads.

The hourlong presentation, which included a question-answer session, looked at examples of poor access from around the state and studies researching improvements.

Questions were asked about local access at Independence and Kingshighway where a new Albertson's grocery store is being proposed. The company plans to have access points off Independence and Kingshighway, as well as Themis Street. All the entry points are being proposed as right turn entry and exit.

Limiting the number of conflict points for motorists is key to creating safer intersections, said Mac Finley, a senior traffic specialist at MoDOT.

Driveways near traffic signals "really choke up the intersection and you aren't able to time the signal," he said.

Finley cited several examples from Cape Girardeau where access management has been problematic but that doesn't mean the city is exempt, noting that Route K, with its commercial driveways near traffic signals, as an example.

Studies have shown when access is limited 10,000 more vehicles can move through a roadway a day, Finley said. When the delays are reduced, traffic moves efficiently and fuel emissions are limited, which benefits the environment.

Roads like Kingshighway with a center turn lane are just "open invitations for disaster" if access isn't limited, Finley said.

The basic MoDOT rule is that signal spacing should be a half-mile from a driveway entrance in rural areas. Spacing in urban areas is acceptable at one-eighth a mile.

"Having many access points is not indicative of a successful business," Finley said. Often it creates more points for potential accidents in the parking lot of a business.

Even with limited access highways and roads, it seems "there's just an abandonment of the rules," said John Dudley with the county planning and zoning commission.

"It seems the designs are done by politics and not engineers," he said.

Many times the designs are created in conjunction with local officials. Options include consolidating driveways, building raised medians and limiting access near traffic signals.

Drivers can only handle one conflict at a time and need time to react to the unexpected, Finley said.