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| The following letter was presented to the Selectmen of the Town of Stratham, NH at the weekly Selectmen's Meeting (Mondays at 7:30PM at the Town Offices) on July 26, 2004. |
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July 26, 2004 To: Selectmen, Town of Stratham, New Hampshire Re: Traffic problems at the intersection of River Road and Route 33 in Stratham. Dear Selectmen: I live on River Road. I have lived there for eleven years. I have a mail order business and I go to the post office every day just before 5 PM to mail my packages. On Thursday, July 22, 2004, I did this as usual. Making a left turn out of River Road is never easy, but sometimes the experience is worse than others. On this day, traffic in both directions was bumper to bumper as far as could be seen and no one offered an opening onto the road. Cars sped by in an endless stream. Thanks to the traffic light at Market Basket, the traffic eventually has to stop. When it backs up past River Road, if someone is polite enough not to block the intersection, it is possible to exit River Road and get to the center lane. Once there, the waiting starts again for an opening in the traffic to make it possible to proceed to the right into the northbound travel lane. I made it to the center lane. I had just arrived there, and looked up ahead to see a sparkling red sports car pull out of line and travel straight at me in the middle lane at 40 or 50 miles per hour. The driver was not looking in my direction and was oblivious to my presence. Both travel lanes were jammed so I had nowhere to go to get out of the car's way. I did the only thing I could think of to do. I leaned on the horn in hopes of getting the driver to pay attention and to stop. It worked. She stopped. Right in front of my grille. While there she gestured with both hands and screamed "What are you doing? What are you doing?" Traffic allowed her back into the southbound travel lane where she belonged. Now window to window with me, she repeatedly called me a very bad name and continued asking what I was doing in the middle lane. My driver's window was closed so I was spared the close face to face contact, but other windows were open in my car so I heard her quite well enough. I could not get a license plate number. Grille to grille and window to window, I could not even see her license plate, even if my fear, amazement, and shock had allowed me the presence of mind to look for it. Though this was the worst example that I have experienced, it is not at all unusual to see cars pull out of traffic into the center lane, see my car in the middle lane, and pull back into line. Apparently it is not clear that this is not a private express travel lane or a personal raceway. I proceeded to the Post Office and completed my errand. Then I visited the Stratham Police department. There were six police vehicles parked in the lot. The building was locked. Two of the vehicles had open windows and radios talking so I assumed a human was around somewhere. After peering into the window, I gained the attention of the lone police officer on duty, who was kind enough to come out and ask if he could help me. I showed him that I was still shaking and explained that I wanted to talk to someone about the traffic problems at the River Road intersection. I explained what had happened, and he wanted the license plate of the offending car. I did not have it so there was nothing he could do about that individual. As our conversation continued, I pointed out that there were six police vehicles parked in the town office lot, and no one helping with the traffic. Did this mean that the traffic situation was acceptable? He responded to this accusation with several sound points. In addition to the department being understaffed, there is no place for a cruiser to sit near the intersection. If the car parked on the road, it would get hit. If it parked at the Mobil station, even with lights and sirens on, the traffic would not let the cruiser out any more easily than it allows residents to exit River Road. The cruisers are not even able to get out of Bunker Hill Avenue with lights and sirens on. Employees at the town offices turn right onto Bunker Hill and find alternative routes such as Stratham Heights Road and don't even try to use Route 33. I also commonly travel several miles out of my way to find a right turn and/or a traffic light and avoid making any left turns onto Route 33. I have been told that 37,000 cars per day travel this particular stretch of Route 33. I've also been told that someone had to die in order to get the traffic light installed at Squamscott Road. Traffic Problem, Page Two River Road was a three way intersection until the addition of new businesses turned it into a four way intersection. Speeding and incorrect use of the center lane make the River Road intersection treacherous. So much space is needed to exit River Road that the intersections of Frying Pan Lane and River Road directly interfere with each other. Here Is My Request: I would like to see open, continuous and, above all, productive discussion regarding reduction of the danger of the traffic on Route 33 in Stratham from the Route 108/33 Traffic Circle south to River Road, with special attention paid to the River Road intersection. A swift and effective solution is needed. The problem has become many times worse just in recent months. I offer the following thoughts and suggestions to begin this discussion. Suggestions: • Reduce the speed limit to 30mph starting before the Stratham Post Office and going south to the town line. • Enforce the speed limit, especially at busy traffic times. Do this in less congested areas starting at the post office/traffic circle area to slow the southbound traffic BEFORE it reaches the problem intersections. Also enforce slowing of the traffic heading north as it speeds up at River Road, having just left the traffic lights and congestion in the shopping mall area. • Make places where police cars can park to monitor and control the traffic and be able to get out. • Make it clear that the center lane is for turning only. Do this by any of the following methods: Paint the center lane with diagonal yellow stripes. Paint the center lane with a solid color. Groove the center lane to create tire noise, as is done on highway breakdown lanes and near toll booths as an indicator that traffic does not belong there and/or should pay close attention. • Research the impact of the Toll collected on Route 95. If the toll is reduced, people may use Route 95 instead of Route 33. Trucks as well as cars use Route 33 to avoid the toll. Much of the traffic is through traffic and has nothing to do with businesses or residences in Stratham or Exeter. • Install one or more traffic lights. I understand that light(s) have been approved but that funding has not been obtained for their installation. • Since this is a state road, request state police to monitor the traffic if Stratham is understaffed. • Park the unused Stratham police cruisers on the roads unmanned just to slow the traffic. As an option, place mannequins in the cars so that they appear manned. Move the cars to different spots on random days. Randomly use a live police officer to avoid the occurrence of complacency. • Stop approval of individual access to Route 33 for new businesses. Create another mall if more businesses are necessary, and limit all the stores to ONE access to the road, with a traffic light. The recently constructed businesses such as the paint store and muffler shop, plus the Mobil station, add complications to an already bad intersection. Traffic used to flow only right and left when viewed from River Road. Now it can come from across the road as well. Using a blinker merely complicates things. A car load of teenagers once drove out in front of me from the Mobil station when I used a blinker indicating my intention to turn into River Road from the Exeter direction. They assumed I was turning into the gas station instead. Similarly, when headed north, a right blinker may indicate a wish to enter the right lane from the center lane, or a wish to turn onto Frying Pan Lane. A car may exit Frying Pan Lane into the path of a car intending to travel straight once gaining the right lane. Confusion abounds. Cars also frequently meet in the center lane at Frying Pan Lane, trying to go in opposite directions, one straight ahead but unable to gain the travel lane, the other wishing to make a left turn to enter Frying Pan Lane from the north. The situation is chaotic and dangerous. I thank you very much for your attention to my concerns. I hope that constructive changes can be made to help with this annoying and dangerous problem. While I am taking the responsibility to request action on this problem, it is not my responsibility to solve it or to be the enforcer of public safety. I request that the people, officials, and agencies that ARE responsible for this take the appropriate action and see that my safety and that of others is protected. Thank you. Respectfully submitted, Karen M. Horsman, PO Box 690, Stratham, NH 03885 |
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| ~ Reaction ~ The Selectmen received this letter graciously and offered some discussion. They stated that the police department is not understaffed, but offered no other disagreement with the information presented. They said that several options have been tried but have met with failure due to lack of cooperation from the State. They said there really is nothing that the Town of Stratham can do about the situation, since it is a State road. They suggested contacting the State to request improvements in the traffic situation. They provided addresses to contact. They agreed that there are a lot of problems with the intersection. To see what you can do to help, please see the Page called YES, You Can Help! Thank You For Your Time And Attention And For Lending A Hand To Help Solve This Problem! |