Having lived in the area for a few years now, I have followed with interest the periodic grumblings about the intersection of 56th and Elkcrest Drive, between Highway 2 and Pioneers Boulevard. The intersection is one of Lincoln's most crash-prone. Thing is, I don't really understand why. It isn't a complex intersection by any means. Nor is it prone to poor visibility. Quite the opposite, in fact; the intersection sits at the bottom of a hill, so it is very easy to see what to expect as you approach.
I did always wonder why the City didn't install staggered left turn lights. That is, the light cycle for 56th Street traffic could have been:
- Red
- Southbound green with turn arrow / northbound red
- Green
- Southbound red / northbound green with turn arrow
That would have taken some of the pressure off of turning traffic, assuring them an opportunity to turn and decreasing risk-taking. It also would have been a very cheap solution to try out for a couple months.
Nevertheless, enough drivers have not paid attention to what they're doing that the City finally got fed up and decided to redo the entire intersection. A left turn lane is being added and other parts of the intersection are being reconfigured.
Comments
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I wouldn’t say that you’re taking your life in your hands at that intersection, but improvements are welcome. As there is no left turn lane onto Elkcrest, it backs up traffic. Impatient people then try to merge from a stopped position on the inside lane to the outside lane where people are driving at 40 mph. I’d guess that causes a fair amount of accidents and near-misses.
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