Opinion

Wanting It Both Ways

I spent lunch yesterday presenting the latest news from SVAC to the Rotary Club in Manchester, VT. We had a nice lunch meeting at the Ye Old Tavern and I inundated them with all kinds of brochures and papers.

During lunch many of us were wrapped up in a discussion of the traffic problem in Manchester. If you’ve ever been through Manchester, you’re probably familiar with the intersection of 11/30 and 7A, known by locals as “Malfunction Juction.” A mere flashing yellow light warns travelers on 7A that travelers on 11/30 are sitting at a flashing red light, trying to turn or cross the road into a parking lot.

It’s a messy spot, and nobody likes it much. The debate lately has concerned what exactly to do about it.

Some favor putting in a circle. With Federal funding available, the huge project that will occur only in the off-season during the evening will take 2 years to complete. It will also eat up a lot of land occupied by local businesses, and will be quite an engineering feat with part of it suspended over a stream. The idea is that the traffic on both roads will always be moving and hassles will be minimized. Of course this fails to take account of the hundreds of pedestrians who will try to cross this intersection. . .
Others favor putting in a traffic light that will cause backed up traffic on 7A, but will be a lot less invasive and expensive.

What I find here is that you have two mindsets. One is trying to keep the traffic flowing, keep things like they’ve always been. The other recognizes that times have changed and we need to put up with some inconveniences, a traffic light of all things, and move with the times.

You can probably tell where I’m going. Let’s face it, Manchester is not a small, cozy New England town. It has gone the way of outlets and commerce. It cast its lot with the city folk who want fancy restaurants and tons of selection. If you go that way, you’ll have to make some concessions to accommodate them.  You can’t keep things as they were and try to support major commercial ventures simultaneously.

The funny thing is that a simple traffic light would not be very hard to install for a trial period. It doesn’t have to stay there if it doesn’t work. Perhaps if some side roads were developed a bit more, the congestion could be relieved a little.

The fact is that no one really knows what kind of effect a traffic light or circle will have on the town. What I can say is that most businesses want foot traffic. As a former resident of New Jersey, I can tell you that a cirlce or rotary is not conducive for foot traffic.

Circles work best in the boon docks where two major roads intersect. The busier an area gets, the lest helpful a circle will be. And if you think you have accidents at the intersection now, just wait until you get a bunch of hurried folk on vacation from Connecticut or New York zipping around the circle in their SUVs. Have I convinced you yet???

Here’s a thought. Try out the light. See what happens. If the town begins to suffer economically, then give the cirlce a go. If you try the circle first, it will be much harder to reverse your decision.

© 2006 Ed Cyzewski: Freelance Writer.