June 14. By Dave Vieser. Cornelius officials are asking the NC Dept. of Transportation to install “Do Not Block Intersection” signs on the Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) at Exit 28.
“I witness motorists blocking traffic there on a daily basis,” said Commissioner Todd Sansbury. “Either people don’t understand how the DDI works or they purposely just want to get through the light.”
Sansbury
More signs
Assistant Town Manager Tyler Beardsley said he has been in contact with the NCDOT urging them to install the “Do Not Block Intersection” signs.
More traffic
Another contributing factor is an increase in traffic. “We’ve definitely seen an uptick in the volume on the DDI and 77, correlated to some extent with the reopening of offices in Charlotte,” according to Police Chief Kevin Black.
It’s especially an issue for northbound traffic exiting I-77 for westbound Catawba Avenue.
The issue also came up at the June meeting of the town’s Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) meeting. Town officials pledged to redouble efforts to get the signs installed by NCDOT as soon as possible.
Have yellow stripes painted on the “do-not-block” intersection areas and if someone gets caught/stuck on the lines they get fined.
Automatic ticketing by camera would also work well in this case, as well as for illegal left turns on Jetton Road.
In New York City they have critical intersections marked with diagonal lines and signs that say ‘Don’t Block the Box’. Violators are ticketed via camera. Seems like it would work here because it IS a problem. My wife witnessed a school bus blocking lanes just the other day.
It will never work.It doesn’t work in Mooresville. People are like Me Me First . People can’t drive and read at the same time . Just like the painting on the ground indicating North and South to 77 and straight into Cornelius downtown.
For the greater good traffic flow and safety, the timing priority should be to keep the exit ramps from getting backed up onto 77.