On this Roadscapes Wednesday post, I talk about more problems in Oxford. The problems are around the Wal-Mart and AL-21. Since they repaved the road and re-did the median crossovers, traffic have found some new and more dangerous ways to avoid the traffic light and get into Wal-Mart. The problem, the crossover to turn left from AL-21 into Wal-Mart and Chick-fil-A is short. It makes traffic turn into the Kangaroo Gas Station instead of the road into Wal-Mart. Drivers have to cut through the gas station and take a side road to connect to the Wal-Mart service road.
There is not a lot of room between the stop sign and the side road, so it forces drivers to squeeze in between cars to access the service road. Plus people leaving from Chick-fil-A have a harder time getting in and out because of the weird and dangerous design.
Here is a short video of me profiling drivers who turn into the gas station to access the service road. Yep, I almost caught a wreck on camera because drivers have a hard time getting out onto the service road.
And the changes they made at the Wal-Mart traffic light are even worse. You see, some drivers will make a u-turn at the light to access Chick-fil-A. While drivers are making a u-turn, drivers are turning right onto AL-21 from Wal-Mart. Accidents have already happened because of the changes, and you can’t just put up a no right turn on red sign, as traffic will block the entrance into the Murphy’s Gas station, which will result in traffic blocking AL-21.
Who was in charge of the new designs? The City of Oxford, or ALDOT? These are some wacky and weird changes that needs to be fixed now! Extend the left turn lane so traffic turning left can turn into the Wal-Mart service road, without going into the Kangaroo Gas Station first. If you think these changes are wacky, check out what Oxford did on Elm St. near Wal-Mart. Instead of filling the holes on the side of the road with dirt, they put up delineators instead, what a waste of money and resources.
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