Calling All Commuters

[ModSquad]

Calling all commuters

If you live in Kent County, especially the Rockford area, and regularly battle traffic backups when commuting, Press reporter Kyla King wants to hear from you.

[Veronica]

Light rail gets my vote!

[torgo]

Calling all commuters

If you live in Kent County, especially the Rockford area, and regularly battle traffic backups when commuting, Press reporter Kyla King wants to hear from you.

[MJLO]

the amount of time 131 has taken?

is still TAKING!

I live in the Rockford area, and deal with that crap daily!

i'm getting in touch

[Rizzo]

Light rail gets my vote, I would be willing to pay higher taxes to see it happen.

[GR8scott]

Light rail gets my vote, I would be willing to pay higher taxes to see it happen.

Although I would love to see light rail here too. I don't think this area needs it right now. Maybe another 10 or 20 years, traffic is not that bad. What we really need to do is widen most of the highways, there are many places in the area that are urban expressways with high traffic counts and stilll have only 2 lanes in each dirrection. GR is a big city to have a 4 lane expressway run through the middle of downtaown(196). If 131 was 8 lanes through GR and suburbs and 196 and i96 were 6 lanes, I think commuting would be very smooth. just my opinion

[torgo]

Although I would love to see light rail here too. I don't think this area needs it right now. Maybe another 10 or 20 years, traffic is not that bad. What we really need to do is widen most of the highways, there are many places in the area that are urban expressways with high traffic counts and stilll have only 2 lanes in each dirrection. GR is a big city to have a 4 lane expressway run through the middle of downtaown(196). If 131 was 8 lanes through GR and suburbs and 196 and i96 were 6 lanes, I think commuting would be very smooth. just my opinion

Naah...numerous studies show that widening roadways actually make traffic worse and not better. I think 196 and 131 are wide enough. Widening either of them any further will only make problems worse in the long run. Although they could both use a resurfacing in areas.

[Prankster]

Naah...numerous studies show that widening roadways actually make traffic worse and not better. I think 196 and 131 are wide enough. Widening either of them any further will only make problems worse in the long run. Although they could both use a resurfacing in areas.

To further back up your statement, just wait a few years and see what a mess the South Beltline will become. It may relieve traffic congestion now, but with the new road comes new developments. And in a few years the South Belt will become a parking lot like US131 does at peak traffic times.

[MJLO]

with all these studies, that we have, light rail will relieve some of the congestion, I ask this question all the time and noone ever answers it,

We have freeways NOW, what do you propose we do with the freeways we have NOW, and the current problems we have NOW. Instead of talking about something that feasably, is atleast decade and a half away. I-196, is structurally a disgrace, it needs to be updated, if not redone, it is an embarassment to not only this city, but the entire metropolitan area, sure don't widen it, but you've got to do something!

[torgo]

with all these studies, that we have, light rail will relieve some of the congestion, I ask this question all the time and noone ever answers it,

We have freeways NOW, what do you propose we do with the freeways we have NOW, and the current problems we have NOW. Instead of talking about something that feasably, is atleast decade and a half away. I-196, is structurally a disgrace, it needs to be updated, if not redone, it is an embarassment to not only this city, but the entire metropolitan area, sure don't widen it, but you've got to do something!

Yes, you're right. Fix it by all means, make the road smooth and fix the overpasses so it doesn't look like its gonna fall on your head with you drive under it . Heck, even make it look nice (and I use that term loosely) like they did with the S-curve reconstruction. I was just sayin' that we shouldn't widen it.

And prankster, the biggest benefit so far of M-6 has been that thundering semis and trucks now drive on M-6 and not the local roads where people live. But I agree that it has definitely ratcheted up the growth pressure in that area, which will only result in more traffic in the long run.