5 Points intersection beacon

[williamcolledge]

Saw some rumblings on FB about recommended removal of the beacon in 5 Points and a recommendation to create a roundabout. Anyone know anything about this?

[Adam White]

Christy Frazier posted today that the beacon is staying, but will be moved over about 5 - 7 feet.

[CoastalJax]

A roundabout would be fantastic.

[Adam White]

A roundabout would be fantastic.

I think the most you could fit there would be a mini roundabout - and since American drivers don't know how to use those, it would likely cause confusion and problems. The light makes the most sense!

[Dog Walker]

Roundabout won't fit without chopping off parts of sidewalks that already exist and taking some private property as well.  The area is just too tight.

The beacon might not have to be moved at all, but the blinkers might have to go dark.  (FDOT standards bunk).  It is very possible that the beacon might be able to be restored to its appearance before it was hit by a city bus in 1961.  It had a neon sign on top that said "5 Points Shopping Center."  Really neat looking like a navigation buoy.

The 5 Points Merchants Association and RAP started a plan three years ago to try to make the whole 5 Points area more pedestrian friendly (wider sidewalks, shorter crosswalks, traffic calming, etc.) since pedestrian traffic has increased so much.  Oddly, car traffic has not increased at the intersections in the last ten years according to the traffic consultants.  The plan includes changes to ALL of the intersections around 5 Points.

Lomax will get the makeover that Park St. got in the plan ten years ago.

The roundabout idea was finally nixed at a public meeting today with representatives from the Merchants Assn, property owners, RAP, the traffic consultants, and the City.  It would have required eliminating the expansion of the sidewalks, taking some sidewalks that already exist and taking some private property to make it fit.  It would not be friendly to pedestrians at all and would be very expensive.  The consultants discarded the idea at the very beginning, but it came up again a few months ago to be reconsidered.

5 Points Beacon forever!!

[tufsu1]

Roundabout won't fit without chopping off parts of sidewalks that already exist and taking some private property as well.  The area is just too tight.

The beacon might not have to be moved at all, but the blinkers might have to go dark.  (FDOT standards bunk). 

sorry but that is simply not true.  A small (but not mini) roundabout can fit.  It is all about having a mountable apron for buses, trucks, and emergency vehicles.  That said, I support whatever is best for the area.

As for your FDOT comment, it isn't a state road.  That is purely the position of the City's traffic engineer.

[coredumped]

I think the beacon is kinda cool, in a uniquely 5pts kind of way.

[mtraininjax]

sorry but that is simply not true.  A small (but not mini) roundabout can fit.

It does not really matter if FDOT or Jesus himself came down and wants to "make it fit", the fact of the matter is that if the merchants, residents, property owners and RAP/city do not want a change. So who really cares about fitting a square peg in a round hole?

No one wants it, leave it alone.

[marty904]

The current intersection/beacon is a horrible, horrible failure of traffic control.  I use it as live entertainment every time I have lunch at Hovan.  The beacon is absolutely useless and nobody can seem to read the sign that says "keep right".  Almost nobody uses it properly and the number near rear-endings that occur because people don't know about the two sides that don't have stop signs... It is atrocious and I'm stunned that it has been in place so long, as "traffic control".

The round-about at San Marco Square works perfectly so the comment of "American drivers don't know how to use them" is pretty ridiculous and insulting. The one at Prudential & San Marco (by MOCA) works well too... so not sure why people are saying they don't work and wouldn't fit in that intersection.

[Dog Walker]

The beacon was not originally a traffic control device but a location marker and an intersection warning since Park St curves right there.  After it was damaged in 1962 the City, in its "infinite wisdom" added the "keep right" signs and made it into one.  It is certainly in the wrong place for it.

There was actually a similar beacon in the late 1920's at the intersection of Post and Margaret.  Does anyone know when it was removed?  Lakelander recently found a picture of it.

[BridgeTroll]

What do "5 Points" areas in other cities do?

[Dog Walker]

What do "5 Points" areas in other cities do?

There is a "5 Points" in Atlanta which is much larger.  Doesn't it have traffic signals?  Anybody?

[CoastalJax]

The current intersection/beacon is a horrible, horrible failure of traffic control.  I use it as live entertainment every time I have lunch at Hovan.  The beacon is absolutely useless and nobody can seem to read the sign that says "keep right".  Almost nobody uses it properly and the number near rear-endings that occur because people don't know about the two sides that don't have stop signs... It is atrocious and I'm stunned that it has been in place so long, as "traffic control".

The round-about at San Marco Square works perfectly so the comment of "American drivers don't know how to use them" is pretty ridiculous and insulting. The one at Prudential & San Marco (by MOCA) works well too... so not sure why people are saying they don't work and wouldn't fit in that intersection.

Exactly, it's a complete mess and a constant accident-waiting-to-happen scenario. There is definitely room for a small round-about without intruding on private property nearby.

[Adam White]

The round-about at San Marco Square works perfectly so the comment of "American drivers don't know how to use them" is pretty ridiculous and insulting. The one at Prudential & San Marco (by MOCA) works well too... so not sure why people are saying they don't work and wouldn't fit in that intersection.

I was referring to mini roundabouts - try to pay attention and maybe you won't be so easily insulted 

[TPC]

I've lived in Riverside for years now and frequent 5 Points quite regularly and drive though on an almost daily basis and I've never seen an accident happen at the beacon.