Traffic, Transportation, Roads

II. Traffic, Transportation, Roads

Speed

• Traffic speed is a big problem
• Speed is a problem to other users of the roads.
• Inconsiderate driving
• My street is dangerous. My house is at the end of a large hill and people speed down it.
• Stop signs at King Road and Laramie
• Bike riding is great, but making a safe bike path beside local roads requires precisely the widening and straightening which makes them higher speed and less "rural"
• If speed limits/stops were enforced, commuters would probably take alternate routes.
• People need to realize you can't get from Trumbull Hall to Hanover in less than 10 minutes and should stop trying. The speed limits are fine. If you need to get there earlier, leave earlier.
• Don't even think about widening or straightening rural roads.
• Give out a lot more speeding tickets.
• We need to control our own speed.
• Speeds need to be reduced, but not by signs (visual pollution) or elaborate road constructions (traffic circles).
• Straighten and widen roads where safety is a concern, i.e., too narrow for 2-way traffic where visibility is an issue.
• Widening? Absolutely not!
• When we walk, some drivers don't even slow down to the speed limit, give us very little leeway, and are hazardous.
• Keep speeding traffic on Route 10 where it belongs.
• Set speed traps during commuter hours.
• Increased police patrol during rush hour, and maybe a stop sign, should discourage these commuters who use our village as a shortcut to I-89 and I-91.
• Introduce curves, don't straighten them.
• We ride horses and find the speed of traffic and the narrowness of paved roads to be a problem.
• Put school bus sign at corner of Stevens Road and Etna Road. Traffic from Etna too fast.

Volume

• Truck traffic
• Trucks are a particular problem - too many, too big, too fast. Any further expansion of commerce must be aware of adverse effects of increase in traffic.
• Hanover Center-Rennie Road is a bypass to hospital and Park Street area
• I don't think Hanover government realizes the problem of motor traffic. Many cars do not need to traverse Etna.
• Anything leading to increased truck traffic should be restricted.
• Very unsafe for children getting on the bus, and off after school.
• Reduction of automotive traffic has high priority!
• Traffic has become the major source of deterioration in Hanover's rural character.

Etna/Hanover Center Road

• Make intersection of Etna and King Roads a three-way stop.
• Reduce speed from 30 to 25 from Trescott to Ruddsboro.
• Reduce speed on Etna Road to 25 mph.
• Maybe a blinking light to slow drivers.
• Adequate shoulders would solve many problems.
• Most shoulders are too narrow, cracked, etc. Shoulders should receive upkeep when road is repaired. Repairs are for cars only.
• At least put in a white line on the side for bikers and walkers.
• Median with trees and bushes to slow traffic.
• Landscaping
• Traffic bumps
• Better parking at the library
• Keep low-key and basic, not fancy
• It's fine the way it is now.
• If we continue to pave Hanover Center Road, Vermont commuters and local speeders will continue to drive like NASCAR racers.
• Stronger speed controls in the Etna thoroughfare.
• Speed limit on Etna Road is poorly enforced, especially by non-residents.
• Narrowing Etna Road will only increase the dangerous conditions of this road.
• Traffic safety needs to be addressed at Trescott/Etna Road intersection. No lights, but road design. Split road as it was originally, or a grassy median.
• The intersection of Trescott and Etna Road is extremely dangerous. The town has a responsibility to correct it.
• Diagonal parking with center median with trees and bushes will reduce traffic speed in business area.
• No traffic lights.
• Limit street lights and traffic lights
• In Etna, we need better roads with sidewalk for all walkers, bikers, roller skiers. Very unsafe, and difficult to drive around them.
• Much of the traffic through Etna is employees going to the industrial development on Etna Road in Lebanon, and some to Hanover. Could this be limited?
• There is already more traffic on Hanover Center Road than we would like.
• A major issue is the use of Hanover Center Road/Etna Road as a commuter route. It is used because Route 10 ends in a snag of traffic through central Hanover. Streamlining traffic through Hanover could help.
• I am disturbed by the number of trucks and commercial vehicles on 2 Mile/Etna Road. Could there be a weight limit?
• Have sign on Etna Road next to corner for school bus: Slow down! School bus!
• No traffic light.

Road Work

• Current paved roads are allowed to deteriorate too much before they are repaired.
• It made no sense to pave Hanover Center Road this summer. People are only driving faster.
• Restrict roadside cutting of wildflowers, ferns, etc. The loss of bloodroot on Dogford Road by Croal's and Richardsons' was a tragedy. Ask "oldtimers" to identify other areas where wildflowers have been destroyed.
• Town and state do a disservice to wildlife/nature and to the public by clearcutting and mowing wide swaths along rural roads. Arching trees, roadside shrubs, wildflowers, etc. are preferable.
• Too many trees and shrubs cut down on road sides.
• Is Department of Public Works (DPW) too big? Summer projects seem like make-work.
• Dogford Road snow removal inadequate.
• Ditto Hanover Center Road from Rennie to Lyme, for school bus safety
• Advising abutters to road projects is nice, but not required.
• Stop painting lines on rural roads
• Maintain roads with better material.
• Dirt roads pose hazards, particularly during mud season, winter or spring ice storms.
• Metal guard rails on bridges are not in keeping with rural character.

Types of Roads (Paved, Unpaved)

• Roads should be paved
• Please don't pave.
• Paved smooth roads are not necessarily safe roads.

Alternate Modes of Transportation

[Note: there were 95 individual written comments in this category. A summary follows.]

• In favor of more bike paths or bike lanes on roads
• Along Trescott Road
• Along Greensboro Road
• Hanover Center to downtown
• Opposed to more bike paths
• In favor of ride-sharing
• Ride-share for student activities is already in use by many parents.
• My husband and I already carpool.
• Opposed to ride-sharing (or wouldn't use it)
• Everyone in this area has a different schedule for travel.
• No one in this house commutes to work.
• In favor of public bus system in rural Hanover
• If and when I cannot drive my own car.
• Would aggravate the traffic problem, but it might be helpful to many families.
• As far as Etna Village
• If there were central parking spots such as at church in Etna
• From Goose Pond and Lyme Road
• For kids
• For kids after school sports
• Along Greensboro Road
• To Dartmouth Minicoach, car dealers and downtown Hanover
• Have bus available in Etna Village 6 days per week, 3 times per day: 7 am, noon, 3 pm.
• Opposed to public bus system in rural Hanover
• There is too much transportation going on as it is.
• Support public bus system but wouldn't use it
• Bus into downtown Hanover would be ideal since the parking situation is absurd!
• If I needed public or assisted transportation I wouldn't live in rural Hanover.
• There are currently a number of vans that provide services to certain populations. Rather than create something in addition to what exists, how can we use what exists more creatively and inclusively rather than exclusively?
• We are so far along it seems impossible to have much organized public transport. I am sorry.
• Seasonal variations need to be considered, plus frequency [for bus use].
• Free transportation should be available to food shop.
• Bus should be limited to small van-sized vehicle, not city buses.
• If school bus transportation was better, it would save our household 3 round-trips each school day.
• The only alternate form of transportation that is very important to me is the school bus.
• More public transportation is needed.

Other

• Autos are the lifeline for most of us in the rural area.
• We need better road shoulders for walkers.
• Biking and jogging are not safe here.
• Huge truck problem has begun!
• Keep heavy logging trucks off rural roads in the spring. Post the roads and enforce it.
• We need better, safer roads with sidewalks. Bikers and walkers want to enjoy our landscape (why shouldn't they?), but it is so unsafe to drive around them.
• Downtown Hanover is the problem. The library location is an abomination. Town Hall is difficult to get to, etc. Move to more convenient locations (out towards Kendal) along Rte. 10, but do not combine with the schools.
• Traffic congestion downtown, Ledyard Bridge, and road to West Lebanon are problems. Widening these, while daunting in impact, seems the best way to reduce difficulties with traffic flow.
• Keep it downtown!
• The Ledyard Bridge is an example of failed public planning.
• The town should fix problems in downtown and elsewhere to keep through traffic on major arteries and off rural roads.
• Main problems now are speed, garbage, and rude driving associated with the senseless overdevelopment.
• Eliminate people who "ski" on wheels. It is far too dangerous to share the road with a "pack" of pedestrian skiers.
• Forget the bike path foolishness permanently. Restrict jogging, roller skating and skiing, biking, heavy machinery and large trucks on roads meant for automobiles. They are all traffic and safety hazards. During the hours of 7 to 9 am and 4 to 6 pm. Monday through Friday (commuting hours) the above should be prohibited.
• No carpool lots for Vermonters coming to use our town as parking lot
• Make Rennie road not a through road.