Resident Answers Questions about Hill Street Median

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An article appeared in today's N&R about road work in the Westerwood/Lake Daniel neighborhood.

http://news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060620/NEWSREC0101/606200309

The Inside Scoop Blog asked this question about the new median on Hill Street between Smith and Mendenhall streets.

"Do you live in the neighborhood or drive through? What do you think?"

Posted by Margaret Banks at June 19, 2006 05:20 PM

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My Answer follows.

Hey Margaret,

OOPS ! Now you've gotten me started. I love my neighborhood.

I have lived on Fairmont Street for thirty-five years. I don't particularly object to the median on Hill Street. It will probably cause traffic confusion and back-up, but it will make a nice entrance to the area. I think that many medians encourage u-turns, which I think are unsafe for pedestrians, bike riders and automobiles.

The median, which only extends for only one block, will not slow down traffic. It will probably have a bottle-neck effect which could cause significant slowing of emergency vehicles getting to and from Battleground Ave. and Wendover Ave.

I am told that during a heart attack or stroke every minute of delayed treatment raises the death threat by 7 to 10 percent. If this is true, the median could actually be dangerous to heart patients.

The part of Hill Street that is really silly is the median between Battleground and Smith streets. It is just an ugly narrow curb. Signs in the medium get bent and knocked down on a regular basis. I wonder how much has been spent on replacing them.

East Lake, Hill Street and Mendenhall Street have been cut-through streets for as long as most of us have lived in the neighborhood. We like the convenience of being close to downtown and UNCG and Greensboro College. We like being able to walk to classes, the park or to shopping areas. We like being close to emergency medical treatment facilities. We don't want to live in a "gated community". College students have always lived in the neighborhood. The so-called neighborhood association doesn't like college students. They don't want commuters driving through "their neighborhood."

I personally feel that the Greensboro Department of Transportation and the city as a whole could spend money more wisely. The intersection at Westover Terrace and Benjamin Parkway could use turn signals and a better pedestrian crossing area. The traffic circle at Garland and East Lake is confusing since the city painted lane lines. Filling gaps in the sidewalks on East Lake would have been a better use of city funds.

And BTW: Those silly traffic-blocking islands at East Lake and Friendly Ave. are some of the most stupid "improvements" the GDOT has done in years. And that's saying a lot, since they do many unwise things. That barrier was erected because the so-called neighborhood association asked for it. Notarized petitions against the traffic barriers (with many more names than the association had at their meeting about it) were unheeded by the city. What a waste of time and money.

Thanks for the opportunity to sound off.
Diane Davis
905 Fairmont street
Westerwood Resident
Greensboro, NC 27401

Posted by: diane davis at June 20, 2006 10:00 AM