What roads, intersections, road signs, and traffic signals around town do
you think could stand some improvement?  Have you or others you've given
directions to gotten lost due to hidden intersections or poor signs?  Here
are some of the improvements I propose to area roads.  Anyhow know how to
get in touch with state or county or whatever highway authorities?

The downtown AA exit from WB M-14 is not labeled "Main Street."

The WB M-14 exit from SB US-23 is not labeled "US-23 business loop"
until you've passed the exit.

Too many separate streets in the area that have Huron in the name.

The intersection of Clark, Huron River Drive, and Golfside is confusing.
Is it Huron River Drive or Clark east of the intersection?

The intersection of Geddes and Superior roads it a really serious accident
waiting to happen.  The sign explaining the intersection to WB Geddes
traffic has too much small print on it to be read as you drive by it.

There should be a traffic light at the top of the Michigan Ave exit ramp from
EB I-94.  It takes too long to make the left turn into Ypsi.

22 responses total.

 It's Clark, east of the intersection.

OK, and when does it become Huron River Drive again?  At Hewitt or someplace
in between?

 I belive at Leforge it become HRD again.

That can't be right.  My address is Huron River Drive and I live between 
Hewitt and Cornell.

Doing a left turn from State on to Eisenhower is a pain.  Confuses people
too.  Seems all of Eisenhower is pretty idiotic, being divided.
I guess it is suppose to be a pretty looking busy street.

  Let's do this right


  Clark starts at Hogback and proceeds east to Hewitt, where HRD takes
over (supposedly carrying Clark as well) Clark picks up again about
1/2 a mile north of the intersection of LeForge and HRD. HRD becomes
Whittaker Rd, and turs south.
   Some inept planned failed to connect the two sections of Clark, perhaps
it was the river, or some other factor that prevented this from happening.
 If you look at a map of the area you can see what happened and what should
take place in a few tears if the funding and need are present.
Hope that helped.

Yeah, I was wondering if the two pieces of Clark used to be connected across
the river before modern bridges replaced some Clark Road bridge.

Now, HRD goes from Huron Parkway, turns left, goes past Dixboro road and
WCC, ends at Golfside and picks up again at Hewitt?  It was planned this way?

 Probably not. It probably just ended up that way.

HRD seems to have been laid down like an M-route, just fit in over
existing roads.  I've found all the pieces between Flat Rock and
Strawberry Lake Road.  Any others out there?

 It was an M route many yrs ago, and right at the moment I cannot tell you
which number it had. There were a LOT of M routes in this area, including
Dexter Ann Arbor Rd.

What route did that M route take through town?  West HRD seems to be one
road, and not a patching together of other roads, although that road did
used to be Main St. in the now defunct Scio Village (at the corner of HRD
and Zeeb).

 I believe that Stadium was US 12 and HRD was M-56.

Dexter Ann Arbor was 210 or something like that.

US-12, when it came through Ann Arbor was Jackson Road on the west side and
Plymouth Road on the east side (according to something in the history
conference.  If it had been Stadium, what route would it have taken to get
over to Plymouth Road.  I have read (either here or in the history
conference) that Stadium used to be M-17 (as Washtenaw is outside Ann Arbor).

 I'll dig up my 1953 Michigan map and post it here.

Before freeways:  US-12 Plymouth Road in Detroit, Ann Arbor Road in
Plymouth, Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor, Broadway, Beaks, Main, Huron,
Jackson, and parallel to where I-94 is now west of AA.

M-17 Ecorse, Michigan, Huron, Cross, Washtenaw, Stadium, ends at 
Jackson Road.

US-23 Carpenter, Washtenaw, Huron, Main, Whitmore Lake Road.

US-112 Michigan Ave where US-12 is now.

Did I miss anything?  

But I started this item to talk about confusing and dangerous area
roads.  Are there roads or intersections that you avoid because they
seem like accidents waiting to happen?  Are there routes that you use
but would not try to explain to out of town friends over the phone for 
fear they'd get lost?  Roads you avoid because the surface is bad?

 Packard and Carpenter. No 1 for traffic accidents. 
Washtenaw and Carpenter, slowest light in the entire free world.

Yes, I agree that Washtenaw and Carpenter takes a long time to get through.
When avoiding it east-west I take either Packrd or Huron River Drive-Clark.
I don't remember feeling unsafe at Packard-Carpenter.  What's goes wrong 
there?

re 15:
        Was Beakes two way then?

 Too many idiots trying to turn or beat the light. Ever see it at 30?
\.

Regarding Huron River Drive, I've been told that years ago it was 
a continuous drive all the way from Dexter to Ypsi (and perhaps
beyond?) but they couldn't leave well enough alone.  I'm not sure
where it would have passed thru the east side of Ann Arbor, however.

Dangerous intersection: Huron and Seventh.  When I used to drive that way,
turning left onto northbound Seventh, I saw quite a few accidents.  The
problem is that there's a *lot* of left-turn traffic, both ways, on Huron,
causing the left lanes to back up a long way at rush hour.  The most common
accident pattern was that someone stuck in the left lane would attempt to
pull out into the right lane and get creamed by someone in a hurry to
beat the light.  (The fact that Seventh jogs at this point, and the hills,
only add to the fun.)

Yes. the combination of the hill and the jog at 7th and Huron is a
real hazard.  Be very careful there.

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