Chris Gordon

  •
    800-802 South Mission Street Mount Pleasant, MI - Mount Pleasant
    MDOT just installed a new traffic signal here, but like the old signal, only traffic turning left off of Mission has the benefit of a left turn signal; traffic on High Street does not have this luxury and in times of heavy traffic, must wait for the yellow to turn. The other day I had to wait through three light cycles to turn left onto Mission. When MDOT was putting in a new light, did they even consider a left turn signal for all directions?
  • W Campus Dr Mt Pleasant, MI - Mount Pleasant

    This light cycle here still has not been changed since the intersection was modified in 2006. When the light turns red for Broomfield, it turns red for eastbound Broomfield first while westbound Broomfield continues to have the green light before it changes and West Campus gets the green light.

    Before the road work and installation of Michigan lefts on Broomfield road, drivers wishing to turn left here from any direction simply turned left at the intersection, yielding to cross-traffic. Drivers wishing to turn left from Broomfield onto West Campus turned left onto West Campus on the green, and then had a flashing red to cross the other side of Broomfield. When the light changed, eastbound Broomfield would get the red first to accommodate a higher volume of traffic turning from westbound Broomfield to southbound West Campus.

    However, with Michigan lefts installed, drivers wishing to turn left from Broomfield to West Campus initially go straight at the intersection and take the next turn-around. Giving westbound Broomfield a longer green while eastbound Broomfield and West Campus all have red needlessly delays other traffic and this light should be reprogrammed so both directions of Broomfield turn red at the same time.

  •
    S Isabella Rd Mt Pleasant, MI - Isabella County

    Driving northbound in Isabella approaching Pickard, Isabella is two lanes, separated by a dashed white line with a double yellow in the middle separating traffic traveling in the other direction, like normal. However, as one gets to the intersection, the double yellow "splits" out to separate the two northbound lanes, identifying the lane to turn left onto Pickard as a left-turn only lane as if it were only a two-lane road. That means that if I were in the left lane on northbound Isabella and wanted to turn left (westbound) onto Pickard, I would have to merge into the right lane and then immediately back into the left, as remaining in the left lane would mean I would cross a double yellow, which is illegal. Am I seriously expected to do that?

    I believe part of the reason for this is that Isabella is only two lanes north of Pickard, and they want to make sure that nobody attempts to go straight from the left lane. However, I feel this can be accomplished just as well with appropriate signage and more logical lane markings. I'm just not sure if MDOT would have to approve of any such changes, being that Pickard (M-20) is a state trunkline at this intersection.

  •
    Crapo St Mt Pleasant, MI - Mount Pleasant
    People drive very aggressively on this stretch of road. The speed limit is 25, because it's a residential area and there's also a high school in the area, yet whenever I drive 25 through here someone always has to be tailgating me, and I have to think that if they weren't tailgating me doing 25 they'd be driving much faster. The police should really set up to watch for this and patrol this area much more, because some of these drivers seem to think they're on the freeway when they turn onto Crapo.
  • E High St Mt Pleasant, MI - Mount Pleasant
    Is there a reason for this quarter-mile stretch of High Street between Mission and Brown to have a 25mph speed limit when the limit is 35 west of Mission and east of Brown? Seems like the only reason they'd drop it to 25 is so the police can sit in their parking lot and write tickets without even having to leave the station. How about we keep High Street all one speed.
  • Chandler Rd Mt Pleasant, MI - Isabella County
    For drivers turning off of Chander onto Isabella, the weeds are very high and very close to the road, blocking visibility of oncoming traffic on Isabella. It can be tricky to judge how far away cars are or which lane they are in when the weeds block a lot of the view. Whether this is township-owned land or private property, someone needs to do some clearing.
  • 3000 S Isabella Rd. Mt Pleasant, MI - Isabella County
    Currently, Isabella is a four-lane road between Bluegrass and Pickard. Designated turning lanes exist at the Broomfield and Pickard intersections, but not at any other intersections. With many places for drivers to turn left on/into (Chase Run, Preston, Bellows, Remus, Broadway, etc.), it can be dangerous to slow and often stop in the traffic lane to complete the turn. Ideally, Isabella should be widened into a 5-lane road, as 4-lane roads are obsolete, but at a minimum, turning lanes should be added at the lighted intersections of Remus and Broadway, although having a turn lane for the whole stretch would make the road much safer.
  • 3700 E Baseline Rd Mt Pleasant, MI 48858, USA - Mount Pleasant
    Currently, the railroad crossing on Baseline Road is only equipped with crossbucks and stop signs. With the road being recently paved, active warning signals (flashers, gates maybe) should be installed at this crossing. A few years ago 2-3 people were all killed when a car slammed into the side of a train.