Dear Mahatma: What is the worst-designed intersection in Arkansas? Could it be Markham Street and University Avenue in Little Rock? -- J.D.
Dear J.D.: It would be difficult to determine the worst-designed intersection in Arkansas. There are tens of thousands of intersections.
Surely, the worst isn't Markham and University, but thanks for the aerial view. The thing is a bit catty-wampus, but The Mahatma's experience going through here is that traffic flows smoothly. In a little bit, we'll reveal how bad this intersection was in the distant past. So hold that thought.
Another intersection in west Little Rock, Chenal Parkway and Bowman Road, strikes us as well-designed, but suffers from an overabundance of traffic. How's that for an understatement?
A problematic intersection is in downtown, where Scott Street meets up with President Clinton Avenue. Drivers who come south, headed off the Main Street Bridge, get to run over those teeth-rattling trolley tracks. That's not a function of intersection design, but instead a function of, well, teeth-rattling trolley tracks.
Several years ago we asked the bus company, which operates the trolley, about this problem. The answer, essentially, was there was no answer.
And then, J.D, there's the conglomeration at Cumberland Street and East Second Street in downtown where traffic pours onto Interstate 30, pours off of Interstate 30, and heaven help the pedestrian who's not keenly aware of his surroundings.
Maybe we should look for the scariest intersections, the ones that give drivers the heebie-jeebies.
Our personal choice would be in North Little Rock, the intersection of JFK Boulevard and Randolph Road. What's scary is to drive west on Randolph, then turn either north or south onto JFK. The light turns green, it's your turn to go, but the wise driver waits two heartbeats.
Because invariably some clown will disdain his red light, display his arrogance, and blow through like he owned the city itself. How often does this happen? All. The. Time.
Reminder: A yellow light does not mean "speed up!"
Back to Markham and University. We went into the newspaper morgue, where hundreds of thousands of clippings are kept. A file of clippings about Markham Street had several from 1981 and 1982. From Dec. 9, 1981, there is a photo of a tractor-trailer whose driver turned right at the southwest corner of the intersection. The rear wheels slipped over a retaining wall and the truck was hung for hours.
Several rigs had previously tipped over that wall. In November 1981, Nancy Mae Gadberry was killed when she was trapped between the wall and the wheels of a big rig.
A concrete island was removed in 1982, and other intersection improvements have been made over the years.
Now that was a bad intersection.
Know an intersection that's downright dangerous? Describe and send to the email address below.
Vanity plate seen on a Hummer: ITSUXGS.
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 12/26/2015