Healdsburg hopes to break people's two-way habit with new large electronic signs to remind them that Foss Creek Circle is now one-way.
The signs, installed several weeks ago, will be left up until the end of this month, said Marjie Pettus, city manager.
"Foss Creek Circle seems to be a bit of a challenge," Pettus said Wednesday. "We put the electronic signs up because too many people failed to recognize and adhere to the directional signage."
She said that city staff members, including police and field employees, noticed that drivers were inattentive.
"Many were distracted by the use of their cell phones," Pettus said. "I asked for the electronic signs to be placed on the street with the hope that people will pay closer attention."
Before the signs went up, Stefano Giovannoni said he drove especially as he entered the curve past Parkpoint health club.
"Every time I drive to the post office, I fear rounding the 'circle,'" Giovannoni said in an Oct. 23 email. "I usually find one person going the wrong direction –- three times so far this week."
He said he was pleased to see the electronic signs go up a few days later.
"I know they are only a temporary 'training tool' and won't stay up forever, but if they help prevent an accident, especially with the rain coming, then it will be a blessing," Giovannoni said.
"I still suggest that they paint directional arrows on the asphalt of both lanes so that people can tell if the are turning or driving towards an arrow then they are going the wrong way," he said.
Pettus said she has had mixed feedback regarding the one-way street, which went into effect the first week of October.
Although nearly everyone in a Patch poll in August said the one-way should go counter-clockwise, city officials said they had to do it in a clockwise direction because a business on the street could not use its loading dock from the counter-clockwise direction.
"At this point, we will continue to monitor the situation," Pettus said.
What do you think? Post your thoughts below in the comments.
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Perhaps the City could rethink this before there is a worse accident. One day last week (Friday, I believe) I encountered not just one car going the wrong way, but two. The first car had absolutely no clue that he (yes, both vehicles were driven by men; no cell phones involved) was going the wrong way. The next time I drove the circle, there was another car going the wrong way. This is a huge problem that could have been solved by an intuitive counter-clockwise one-way street. Yes, I know about the loading dock, but maybe the engineers should have looked at replacing/relocating the dock, instead of creating this fiasco.
Should be changed back to 2 way. Why did the city try to fix what wasn't broken?
Let's just switch this back to the "non problem" of a two way street and spend our rare tax dollars on real issues. I, for one, will forget this ever happened.
COMMENTARY STRING!!
There is one business which had problems getting deliveries into their building, and now everyone suffers? Advice tips... 1) hire a real (IE skilled) truck driver. 2) think about what you are doing before you create a solution. The people who purchased condo's on Foss creek circle, will be spending more on fuel each year, many of the frontage businesses will see a decrease in usage, not to mention the eyesore of the digital signs, cones and other detracting features, such as having to circle all the way around foss creek circle to loop around at the post office to finish the loop on foss creek, just to post a letter, and of course if that errand was in route from the north end of town to the south end, you've now got to go about the last turn you just made to continue on. my last rip around foss creek circle had me encountering just this scenario, and double parking on both sides of the street, pedestrian traffic and the lack of dedicated lanes has become a free for all of swerving right to go left across what was both lanes to enter the post office facing the other direction. I say "last trip around foss creek circle" because i fully intend for it to be. Resigned my gym membership in conjunction with that decision. One i will reconsider just as soon as we have restored a normal traffic pattern on foss creek circle.