The 56th Street Bottleneck

By: Mr. Wilson on January 25, 2011
Folks who travel in the area have known for many years that South 56th Street between Old Cheney and Pine Lake Road needs to be widened. Now it appears the City Council may be ready to do something about it ... in 2013 or later. Unlike some other infamous streets that travelers would like to see widened -- South 27th Street being the most prominent by far -- 56th Street's troubles aren't just about driver convenience. 56th Street is narrow and, particularly on poor weather days, feels very unsafe. Roads simply aren't designed like that any more, and for good reason. The widening project would have been much easier ten years ago, when it should have begun. Now there are more homes, more businesses, and many more vehicles that will be inconvenienced by the road's closure. Consider, for example, that a significant percentage of the displaced traffic will move over to 40th Street, which itself is only two lanes north of Highway 2; it doesn't have much extra capacity. But better late than never. Here's hoping the project actually does begin in 2013.

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See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.

Andrew
January 25, 2011 at 5:04PM

Here’s to hoping it finishes by 2018.

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