Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Left-turn ban makes for longer drive for condo residents

By ALAINA FAHY
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
afahy@nncogannett.com


PICKERINGTON - George Cruse's drive home from Kroger is a little bit longer today.
Residents such as Cruse who live in Spring Creek Condominiums are upset about a new no left turn sign on Sand Piper Lane at the intersection of Refugee Road.
The new sign forces drivers to turn onto Spring Creek Drive to turn left onto Refugee Road, which is out of the way for some residents in Spring Creek Condominiums. But Fairfield County Engineer Frank Anderson said the sign will decrease the number of traffic accidents.
The sign was a stipulation of the approval of the condominiums' development in 1997, Anderson said. So he doesn't think residents should continue to call the engineer's office upset that they were not told about the sign by Spring Creek developers.
''They should be calling the developers,'' Anderson said.
Cruse, 77, said that when he bought his home in Spring Creek Drive, he knew someday he would not be able to make left turns when leaving his condominium, but he didn't know he would also be stopped from making left turns when coming home.
Now when Cruse and his wife, Rita, come home from Kroger, they have to drive past the road that quickly leads to their home because they cannot make a left turn.
Anderson said the change was made to protect drivers such as Cruse and his wife.
''When you make a left turn, you have a conflict with somebody (oncoming traffic) much more than you do with a right turn,'' Anderson said. ''You're not crossing in front of anyone's path when you go right. Whenever you restrict left-hand turns, there are less accidents.''
Cruse said that when he bought his home, he thought a traffic light would be installed by the time the no left turn sign was up.
But the sign was put up last week, and he said he's heard nothing about the traffic light.
Anderson said a stop light will replace the no left turn sign in about a year or two, after the condominiums develop more, and traffic increases in the area.
If the stop sign does not successfully stop drivers from making left turns, Anderson said a concrete island will be installed to stop illegal left turns.
The additional drive only takes about a tenth of a mile more than when people could make left turns, Anderson said. And the sign is only temporary until the traffic light is declared necessary. But he understands that it may upset some people because of the delay.
''It makes an inconvenience for someone who wants to get somewhere because they can't turn left,'' he said. ''But it creates a traffic difficulty to turn left. It won't even take them two minutes to go around to Spring Creek.''


Originally published August 10, 2005




By Trust in Terry

Baby Boomers lose

ISN?’T THE PREVIOUS POSTING JUST DANDY???

Here we have serious traffic issue that affects the citizens of the Township and our Trustees have NO SAY WHAT SO EVER in a solution. They simply refer that matter on to the COUNTY ENGINEER FRANK ANDERSON who then blames the developer who had his plans approved by WHOM?

This goes beyond passing the buck. It goes to the heart of what is wrong with a township trustee government that approves a development with covenants and then once everyone in that development has invested their money they let them know that they will be taking the long road trip to Kroger in the future. Now why would the county and the Township approve a project for future residents knowing full well that once the project is near completion they would restrict their turning into and out of the project? Obviously Terry Dunlap will be very quick to blame the county and deny any involvement in the process.

Clearly the residents of this condo community have just had their homes devalued because the lack of vision and the lack of understanding on the part of the Township Trustees. Once more nothing can be done locally about the situation because our current lot of trustees are to damn timid in pushing forward with their home rule powers.








By Trapped in my Retirement Home

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING !!!

Don't you see folks??? It is time to take control of your destiny. It is time to merge.

How can you sit idly by while Harry and Terry pass the buck every time while running unopposed for reelection? You know that the sole reason for their being on the board of trustees don't you? They have to get the family farms rezoned and sold to developers so they can retire and leave this godforsaken area. Nothing else matters. They sat idly by for years while their peers like Lyle Diley and the Rickets got their farms rezoned and sold them for millions, yes millions. Now they want to cash in.

They don't care about Home Rule and spoke against it. They won't exercise their home rule authority, nay responsibility to assess impact fees. They will face trial by fire in court probably, but they will win.

Those city boys in the Shaver administration have done exactly what they said they would do. They cleaned house and slowed growth. They are assuring that even the slowed growth will pay for itself.

Merge merge merge. Face the issues as a community. There is strength in numbers. Is 1%, or most likely .5% in income tax really all that much to pay for freedom? With the additional property revenues generated by a merge, heck, an income tax may not even be necessary.

Knickers in a Twist

Hey you smart guys. Fairfield County Regional Planing makes decisions on roads in developments, and the Fairfield County Engineer controlled county roads in 1997, and Refugee is a county road. Also, Harry Myers was not a trustee in 1997.