New traffic light for road extending to 212 freeway

June 19, 2006

There are 3 cities meeting within 2 miles on one road. County Road 17. They are Excelsior, Shorewood and Chanhassen.

This road will be extending for several miles to become a connecting road to a new Highway 212. The Speed limits on this road are simply illogical. Toward the south side of the road where the road has a median and turning lanes it is 45 miles per hour. To the North side it rapidly changes from 50 mph down to 45 mph down to 30 mph entering another highway called Highway 7.

Where Excelsior is there are many homes that are close together and has driveways to what was for many years a low traffic road. Now that this highway is coming in the travelers are driving on it like it is a highway even though it is at Lake Lucy Road and Carver Beach Road only two lanes with poor visual sightways for people seeing it from the cross streets.

They are easily in a blind spot unless they drive over a crosswalk area for walkers and bicyclists to also use so they end up partially into the intersection in order to see easily cars on the main road. I avoided a 5 car collision by about about one foot of out car. Experience with this intersection I am afraid to even cross it when the coast is clear as some car might come bounding down it at 70 miles per hour.

There are several residential streets and driveways in that area like in Excelsior though fewer. The County upgraded a Police Officer to a more expensive car to give tickets. But I see the need is greater for putting a traffic light at either Lake Lucy Road or Carver Beach Road to allow for safe entrance and exit out of the road for drivers including many who have children they need to take back and forth to school.