The majority of those responding to the Argus-Courier’s online poll this week said that they were avoiding East Washington Street because of ongoing traffic delays on the road. About 86 percent said they were taking other roads, 5 percent said they are going out less as a result, and about 9 percent said the road work was not affecting their travel plans.
Here are some of the comments.
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“My husband works one mile from home. The other day it took me 13 minutes to drive to his work (through downtown) to drop off his lunch. And that was a day when there was no road work going on in that area.”
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“My preferred cross-town connector is the Lynch Creek Trail.”
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“The exit from the new shopping mall is a traffic planner’s huge mistake. You have to go around the swim center to get onto East Washington Street. The other exit forces you on to the freeway — partly due to snarky drivers from who knows where who won’t let you merge. I see the Rainier overcrossing in the very near future and this section of town will be segregated off. Great vision City Council and Planning Department. Just see the tax dollars and not the quality of life. I think its time for a total transformation of the City Council. Get them all out. Vote in people who actually care about the quality of life and their fellow Petalumans.”
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“They keep screwing with the traffic signals also. I leave my house around 5:40 a.m. from the east side to get on Highway 101 South. This week, I waited through three red lights in the long line of cars waiting to turn left onto the 101 on-ramp. This is before 6 a.m.! The light only allows approximately six to seven cars at a time before turning red again.”
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“Crosstown traffic in this town is a mess and Washington Street is the worst of the worst. Too bad our city leaders didn’t build the Rainier overcrossing years ago when they had the chance!”
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“It doesn’t affect my travel plans because I only make it to the East side once every couple of months or so. East Washington Street is what it is. If you use it thoughtfully and during times when you know it will be smooth sailing then it really is no problem. If you find yourself stuck in traffic on Washington St too frequently maybe you use your car too much. Plan your travels around town.”
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“It isn’t going to get better. The work presently being done to accommodate the traffic from the new shopping center, should have been performed back in the 1980’s when they started the mass building of residential communities on the Eastside of Petaluma. This traffic isn’t going to get better with the completion of this freeway widening and overpass completion.”
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“We now avoid East Washington Street and the downtown area as much as possible.”
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“Westside politicians couldn’t care less.”
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