This is a long post. I hope everyone reads it through to the end as these are the issues/problems RHGNA sees with the proposed Modern Rockville plan. We strongly oppose this plan as it now stands. Please review all of the points made below and contact any of the RHGNA officers with additional concerns. J.D. Ford, our State Senator, will be taking these concerns to the Governor after the Labor Day weekend so please forward any additional comments by making them on the RHGNA Facebook page or using the contact form on our new website: rhgnaindy.org Thank you for your input.
Safety Issues within a residential area
- Removal of curb lane will increase rear-end crashes by distracted drivers
- Trash pickup, Mail Delivery, Package Deliveries (UPS, FedEx, Amazon) all use the existing curb lane to safely stop and make their pick-ups and/or deliveries. Turning this curb lane into a travel lane will cause more rear end crashes by distracted drivers. When driving 45 MPH on 6 lane road drivers are not expecting a mail truck or a delivery vehicle in their travel lane. This is dangerous.
- School Buses and School Zone
- This is residential area with school age children. Adding 45 MPH travel lane in this residential area puts these children at risk. Westlake Elementary School is in this residential area as well. By taking away the center turn lane and forcing traffic onto neighborhood streets you are putting children walking to school at high risk.
- High Speed Traffic
- The approx. 1 mile stretch of Rockville Road between High School Road and Girls School Road is posted as 45 MPH. This is NOT the speed most drivers currently obey. The typical speed is 55-65 MPH. This is the ‘perfect’ drag strip as there is nothing to stop or slow down drivers between these 2 intersections. Adding the 3rd travel lane will only be more inviting to those drivers that love high speeds and the adrenalin rush they get when trying to make the next light. This creates an inherently dangerous situation.
- Emergency Vehicles
- Replacing the center turn lane with a concrete median will create a multitude of safety issues. First – emergency vehicles will be forced to make U-Turns and ‘backtrack’ to get into the neighborhood. This will cause delays and put lives at risk. Second – having 6 travel lanes with no curb lane or center turn lane leaves no place for emergency vehicles to go. Cars cannot ‘pull over’ as there is no place to do that. Currently the center turn lane and/or the curb lane allows cars to get out of the way so emergency vehicles have room to navigate through the traffic.
- Increased traffic on neighborhood streets
- Taking away the center turn lane and replacing it with a concrete median with limited turning access will dramatically increase the amount of traffic on the surrounding neighborhood streets. These streets were designed between the 1930’s – 1950’s. Most of the streets are less than 20 feet wide and not constructed in manner to handle higher volumes of traffic. These streets will deteriorate much faster with the excess traffic being forced on them.
- Forcing U-Turns
- Taking away the center turn lane, replacing it with a concrete median, and forcing drivers to make U-Turns into 3 lanes of oncoming traffic in extremely dangerous. Even though this is allowed by law doesn’t mean it makes sense. (We have hundreds of laws on the books in Indiana that don’t make sense!)
- Noise levels
- As per INDOT’s own research the noise created by the current number of vehicles through this residential area is higher than federal limits. Adding another travel lane to accommodate more vehicles will only further increase the noise level. Even though this would be a dramatic violation of federal law INDOT is choosing to ignore this issue. This is an important issue for the residents. The health and safety of the neighborhood residents must take precedence over the convenience of a few drivers.
- Pollution
- Additional traffic will also increase the amount of pollution within this corridor. Gas and diesel fumes are bad enough now. Adding the additional travel lanes to accommodate more vehicles will again put residents’ health and safety at high risk.
Residents’ Concerns
- Sidewalks and Bike Paths
- When taking away the curb lane and adding sidewalks and bike paths INDOT will be taking a considerable amount of property from the homeowners along Rockville Road. Several feet of property will be needed to accommodate not only the sidewalk and/or bike path, but also several feet to create the necessary buffer between the travel lane and the sidewalk/bike path. In some cases, the sidewalk/bike path will be literally at the front doorsteps of some homes. Walking and/or biking on 6 lane, high speed (yes it will be a high speed roadway regardless of posted speed limit signage) roadway is extremely dangerous. These expensive features will be useless.
- Property values
- RHGNA has surveyed several local realtors. The overwhelming response was that making Rockville Road 6 travel lanes would reduce the property values of the entire neighborhood substantially. A common refrain was, “No one wants to live on an interstate.” By continuing with this project as it is currently designed INDOT will be turning a vibrant, thriving neighborhood into a blighted area that will be a haven for crime and dramatic drop in property tax revenue for the state and the city of Indianapolis.
- Increased neighborhood traffic
- Residents would no longer be able to exit their home and choose whether to go eastbound or westbound on Rockville Road. They will be forced to meander around numerous, narrow, neighborhood streets to finally get to either High School Road or Girls School Road. Only then will they be able to go either eastbound or westbound. Not only will this add unnecessary traffic to the neighborhood streets, it also will add significant traffic to High School and Girls School roads that are already past capacity.
- Businesses within this section
- There are businesses on and near the intersections of High School and Girls School roads. There is also a large church in the center of this residential area. INDOT’S current plan will cripple these businesses. This has already happened in the section just west of Raceway. A small strip center with 3-4 businesses has closed. The center median made it so difficult to get these to these businesses that they lost so much revenue they could no longer stay in business. Does the state really want to shut down thriving, tax paying businesses? There is also a large church in middle of this section. Limiting their ingress and egress isa danger to their worshippers.
Recommendations
Congestion
- The congestion on Rockville Road does not begin until approximately Raceway Road. From Raceway Road west through Avon there has been a boom of new businesses built. As Ronald Reagan Parkway is expanded north and south there is an explosion of both cars and trucks going to those businesses and restaurants. This traffic is NOT coming to the residential portion of Rockville Road. Dan Jones road is being expanded. Again, his traffic is NOT coming to the residential portion of Rockville Road.
- The residents of RHGNA support adding travel lanes to the west of Raceway Road to accommodate the additional traffic to the restaurants and businesses being built in Hendricks County.
- Using the CSX rail bridge as a natural barrier, leave the portion of Rockville Road east of Raceway as is, meaning 4 travel lanes, a center turn lane, and curb lanes.
- Curb lanes could be incorporated into sidewalk/bike paths without destroying property values.
- AFTER the addition of travel lanes west from Raceway Road through Avon, complete a comprehensive study of travel patterns east of Raceway. Residents are confident additional travel lanes will not be needed east of Raceway.