A lot of construction has happened in NE Rochester!  I was driving in that part of town the other day and noticed some angry drivers as they started to turn North after they left 48th Street NE.  Honking, interesting hand signals and a lot of speeding up to cut people off were taking place.  I'm pretty sure a change in signage is to blame...and if you've been driving that for a while, it isn't obvious.

If you aren't familiar with this area of town, let me explain how this road works.  You are driving North on Broadway and keep going North after you pass Shopko and the movie theater.  After just a minute or so, you get to the new stoplight at 48th Street NE.  It is just after this intersection where the cranky drivers seem to show up.

Credit: Google
Credit: Google
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If you are traveling on this road, just a heads up!  The road used to have two lanes going North where the left lane eventually merged into the right lane.  The sign that was posted indicated that drivers in the left lane merge into the right lane.  What I noticed on my latest drive is that there are now new signs and it states the exact opposite - drivers in the right lane must now merge to the left lane.

Changing what drivers are supposed to do, after they already have a habit of doing it one way, I'm pretty sure that is to blame for some of the honks that I heard from some area drivers.  (There were nasty looks too and some interesting "Minnesota nice" hand signals.)  

I wonder if we can get a few flags attached to those signs to help drivers see the change?

Spread some cheer on the road and make sure your friends know about this too!  We need more happy drivers on the road and less road rage.

Listen to Jessica Williams weekdays from 10 am until 2 pm on Y105FM and 12 pm until 6 pm on 103.1 KFIL.

 

 

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