Sunday, November 18, 2007

2 Worst Left Turns in Woodstock

Where is the one place in Woodstock that has the two worst left turns? McDonald’s!

There is no doubt that traffic has increased horrendously since the McDonald’s opened in Woodstock. How long ago was that? Anyone?

Why does it have the two worst left turns? What are they?

The first is the left turn that northbound drivers on Route 47 make to turn into McDonald’s just north of the traffic light at Country Club Road. Regardless of how heavy traffic flow is in both directions, some drivers just “have to” turn left into McDonald’s for the Big Mac fix.

Some drivers will stop (legally, even if dangerously) in the inside northbound lane and wait until they can make their way across three southbound lanes, including the southbound left turn lane. And some of those drivers don’t even make their turn safely. They seem to figure that, if they can get across one of the lanes, then they can just make a run for the driveway and hope they won’t get hit by cars in the two southbound through lanes.

Other drivers, not wanting to block the inside northbound lane, will pull across the yellow lines and stop in the southbound left-turn lane, facing oncoming traffic. Then they only have to get across two lanes when they make their run for it. This is dangerous and illegal, but I don’t think the Woodstock Police have ever issued any tickets for it.

The other left-turn problem is when drivers exiting McDonald’s from the drive-through lane try to turn left to go north on Route 47. The exit is right at the intersection, and drivers sometimes will try to weave through three lanes of stopped southbound cars. Often they cannot see northbound traffic because of the size of stopped vehicles, and they will just stick the front of the car out into the northbound through lane (and hope for the best).

Other drivers, when traffic is lighter, will begin their turns from the exit and head north on quite an angle. In doing this, they are driving on the wrong side of Route 47, against traffic, while making their way across the three southbound lanes.

I contacted Woodstock Public Works, McDonald’s and IDOT to recommend that left turns be prohibited from northbound Route 47 into McDonald’s and also out of McDonald’s to northbound Route 47. No luck. No one has been killed there, so there is no interest - yet.

Another big problem is with drivers exiting the drive-through lane and striking out across two lanes for the left-turn lane, so that they can go east on Country Club Road toward the Post Office. Common sense would dictate that a driver not do that, but common sense goes out the window when you “must” make that turn and get home with your bag of Big Macs and fries.

Two-four years ago there was a plan to close the current exit from McDonald’s onto Route 47. McDonald’s would have had to create a new turn-around, so that drivers pulling away from the drive-through window would make left turns around the front of the restaurant and exit onto Fair Street. That stalled when the project for the new road behind Jewel down to McConnell Road faltered.

Currently, the City of Woodstock is trying to condemn land for roadway improvements, and McDonald’s is fighting those efforts. For sure, McDonald’s has outgrown that location. But where could it move that it would have room for a larger restaurant, adequate parking, and easy in-out for drivers? Maybe south of the Exxon station?

For now, when you are leaving McDonald’s, it’s necessary to pay very close attention to traffic flow. Remember, if you get in an accident leaving McDonald’s, your food will be very cold when you finally do get home.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why anyone would turn left into McDonalds ,northbound, anywhere besides the light or Calhoun St is beyond me. Proof that junk food rots your brain? Doesn't McDonalds have plans to rebuild this site? C'mon Gus you should already know that.

Anonymous said...

Gus, Fascinating!

I hated for this article to end. I wish, in the future, that you would double or triple the word count of these hair-raising traffic related articles.

Much, much, much more interesting than the D200 $110,000,000 referendum SCAM, the record-breaking insanely-high real estate taxes in Woodstock, the abyssmal quality of the Woodstock schools, the rise of serious crime on the east side of Woodstock, the corrupt city contracts and virtual ghost payroll stooges, the albatross money-bleeding make-work-for-friends-and-familiy Opera House & Stage Left, or that cute-hair thespian "I AM MAYOR, You are my citizen" Napolean-esque character occupying the microphone seat in City Hall.

Article Ideas: How about that dip in the road on Jackson? That interesting curve on Washington? That slightly-leaning stop sign on South?

OK, all in good fun here....but c'mon....time for some real journalism here that I KNOW you are capable of!! Woodstock and D200 has one of the most corrupt governments and school systems in all of Illinois. It's yours for the picking. The NorthWaste Harold is huggy-huggy kissy-kissy pleas-be-my-friend with these thugs, so it's up to guys like you. Take a stand and help clean up this city!