Intersection 15th and 2nd Ave.

Intersection at 15 Ave. and 2nd Ave. , Gulf Shores

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!
Thank you former Mayor Duke and Chief Bourne!

Day after day parents and students coming from carpools at the three Gulf Shores schools are forced to inch out into the intersection of 15th and 2nd streets not knowing if it is clear to proceed. Several children also use the crosswalk at this same intersection to cross this busy street daily.

In January, I wrote letters to the Gulf Shores Mayor and City Council about the situation. Mrs. Doughty responded immediately and forwarded the letter to the Gulf Shores Chief of Police, Arthur Bourne. My initial request was for a traffic light or at least an officer at the intersection in the afternoons. In response, Chief Bourne said he would monitor the situation. When I spoke to Mrs. Doughty and Mr. Garris, two of our council members the following week, Mrs. Doughty informed me that the issue would come before the council at the COW (committee of the whole) meeting on February 4th. I then attended the Feb 4th meeting in order to speak on behalf of the parents, teachers, and children who encounter the intersection every day.

In response to a traffic signal, Chief Bourne felt that a light at the intersection would not be effective until the roads and turning lanes there were re-done. When asked about having an officer at the intersection, he felt that it would not be beneficial to have an officer at both the 15th St. and the 16th St. intersections and was unwilling to have 3 of his officers at the schools during a single shift. At that time, I was given the opportunity to speak. I strongly disagreed with Chief Bourne that even though it would require extra manpower during a single shift, the timeframe we were concerned with was merely 15 minutes (3:05 to 3:20) which is the timeframe of the heaviest flow of traffic at the intersection. After much discussion, we agreed that a change in traffic flow may help the situation. I suggested that the Elementary school traffic be routed out through 16th St. and that the middle school and high school traffic be routed out through Dolphin Ave.

On Monday, February 11, the traffic flow was changed for afternoon carpool. The Dolphin St. traffic was quite heavy, but seemed to move well. The heavier flow on Dolphin St. added an additional 6 minutes to my normal carpool time.

On Wednesday, February 14, the announcements were made that the traffic flow would return to the original plan and that the 15th St. intersection would be re-opened to afternoon traffic.

On July 19th, I contacted Mayor Duke and asked that he meet with me in order to resolve this issue before the start of school.

8/8/08--UPDATE:
GOOD NEWS!

Chief Bourne has re-routed the Elementary school traffic in the afternoons to flow one way into 16th St., through the carpool line, and out 15th St. There will now be an officer at E. 15th directing traffic! (YEAH!) The new route, paired with our 15th St. officer should make more sense, make the traffic move more smoothly, and best of all, should be SAFER for our parents, teachers, and our CHILDREN!

Please send me your comments on this change at SwigerRep@yahoo.com.

8/24/08
Well, we made it through the first month of school!!! Please take a moment to e-mail me and let me know how this is working.

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