Thanks for the interesting response. I remember having discussions with my neighbor across the street (who was involved in the planning process, apparently he and his wife were partially responsible for the tunnel being built in) and he made it sound like the whole process was a fight with the state.

I'd love to see some sort of speed control to help allow drivers across the highway safely. It seems that 10th Ave is the most used (and my most used) by drivers coming up 24th from lower Lincoln Park and then crossing over to the little 'nook' neighborhood. I'd love to see a light or perhaps a flashing "CAUTION: LOOK FOR CROSS TRAFFIC" sign (much like the hidden entrances signs).

Do you think there would be any chance of drafting a neighborhood survey about these sorts of questions (and usage of the roads) in an effort to convince the city/state that changes should be made?

Thank you for the reply wildknits! I'm a relative newcomer to the neighborhood (purchased in July of 2013) and would love to see some change come. That's very interesting about the superloads, and I can understand the logic behind no light. Perhaps a properly timed (very quick) light with an active "Prepare to stop" flashing light far enough down the highway would allow a superload to adjust their gearing and speed enough so they wouldn't have to stop?

For the sake of conversation, I'm posting the email  I sent to Jennifer Julsrud. I apologize for the length in advance, I tend to get wordy when trying to make a point.

Greetings Jennifer!

My name is **** and I preside at ***** in (what I believe) is precinct 4. I purchased my home last year in July and as such am a relatively new home owner in this neighborhood. So far, I'm absolutely loving living in this little nook of Lincoln Park; quiet, good neighbors and excellent access to nature (I'm right next to Coffee Creek!). Of course, nothing is perfect and the elephant in the room for this neighborhood is Hwy 53/Piedmont. I understand that there is no perfect way to slice a neighborhood in half and run a four lane highway through, but I do feel that perhaps some minor, inexpensive changes could be made to improve everyone's lives.

First and foremost, my biggest issue with the highway is crossing safety. While I appreciate the inclusion of the pedestrian underpass to lower Lincoln Park, this does nothing to help with car crossing. My average work day generally involves me driving west 10th St to Hwy 53 and waiting for an indeterminate amount of time for a clearing in traffic. Sometimes, I get very lucky and happen to slip across both directions in one go, other times I have to stop half way across the road and fit my car in a space that clearly was not designed for this purpose. Even more frequently, I think I have a clearing in traffic, but since it's a blind corner, find myself encountering a surprise car and flooring it across. I then abruptly stop due to traffic in the opposite direction. Rinse and repeat for my drive home. I've had MANY close calls, but find it incredibly inconvenient to drive up to the Piedmont light.

This seems, to me at least, to be a poor design. I'm no traffic engineer, but feel that there must be something that could be done to improve this situation (probably a relatively cheap solution). In the "absolutely best case scenario" corner, I would love to see an intelligently timed/sensored stoplight at one of the crossings (10th or 11th). This light could be red for the vast majority of the time but will change to green when a car is present. This would have the added benefit of slowing traffic if forced to stop. 

In my "acceptable solution" corner, I would love to see some sort of signage that encourages caution on this stretch of road. I envision "RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY" or "RESIDENTIAL ZONE: PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL" signs at the top and bottom of this section (4th St to 13th St). Perhaps lowering the speed limit to 30 or 35 could result in cars going 40 or 45 instead of 50 or 55. I think many drivers forget that they are driving through what once used to be a single cohesive neighborhood.

In addition to these safety concerns, I also have cleanliness concerns. I have heard that there is a bit of a tussle between the city and state in regards to what each entity is actually responsible for. The (very visible) sidewalks along this stretch of the highway are filthy and the grass along the side looks as if it has never been mowed. Also, the pedestrian underpass, stairs and walkway from Voss Ave down to the tunnel seem to be completely forgotten. Landscaping that was originally beautiful is now downtrodden. The concrete stairs coming down from 22nd Ave East are filthy and the flower beds along them are clearly no longer cared for.

I understand that there seems to be a lot of politics in these issues, but I feel that the city or state (and I don't care which) should stop the back and forth and take ownership. The lack of cooperation with this is only hurting the image of the neighborhood; a neighborhood I am very passionate about.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this and any suggestions you may have in regards to the next actions I should take. I'd like to do a door to door survey to gather data about road usage and safety opinions, I just want to make sure it's not in vain.