[Mpls] 50th Street Traffic

[Chris Johnson]

Delcalzojan at aol.com wrote:

>I would just like to say that new striping job on 50th street has improved 
>the traffic flow tremendously.  The turn lanes keep traffic moving smoothly.  I 
>don't know if they retimes the lights or not, but all seems good there as 
>well.
>  
>

>Jan Del Calzo
>Lynnhurst
>  
>

Well, not quite. 

Try going westbound on 50th through the France Avenue intersection.  Due 
to the fact that there is now a shared left turn and through traffic 
lane, and a dedicated right turn lane, traffic backs up there.  The left 
turn arrow is never long enough to clear out all the west bound traffic 
which is composed of mixed left turners and through traffic.  Worse, 
sometimes the left turn arrow doesn't even cycle first, so everybody 
continuing west on 50th gets stuck behind the one left turn person for 
two cycles of the lights.  It also means traffic gets stuck behind the 
numbskulls who think the speed limit is 23mph at any point along the road. 

50th street is also Hennepin County Road 21, an "A" arterial.  Of all 
east-west streets west of 35W between the lakes and the city limits, it 
is precisely where the traffic belongs.  I'd like to see the city and 
county get the numerous cars and trucks(!) who use Diamond Lake and 54th 
Street as a short-cut off those neighborhood, city-only streets.  
There's 8 stop lights and only one lane now between Lyndale and Xerxes 
on 50th, but room enough to fake 2 lanes to pass turning cars and only 2 
stop lights on 54th.  Guess where the folks in a hurry drive?  And 
because they're in a hurry, they run the stop signs.  Lord help the kids 
crossing the street trying to go to the neighborhood park.


Chris Johnson, Fulton