City Draws Line on Passing
City of Norman road crews painted lines on 180th Street south of Highway 9 last week. At first glance, it looks pretty good. Bright yellow stripes will make it easy for drivers to see that there is no passing for the entire three mile stretch, except for a short 1/4 mile span for folks traveling north by the river.
Now I’m all for progress and safety, but I question if preventing any passing whatsoever for multiple miles on a rural two lane road is really progressive. With mail carriers, school buses and farm vehicles a familiar sight, and no shoulder, we can expect more lines of traffic in that area. Or more moving citations. At least when traffic engineers reduced passing opportunities on Hwy 9, the option for slow moving vehicles to safely pull to the side is available.
I’m not aware of any unusual traffic problems for this stretch of roadway the last 30 years that would require such an extended no-passing zone. And I would bet that the majority of accidents occurring on 180th in the past were the result of speeding and/or poor road surfaces more than anything else. While I appreciate the concern, I can’t help believing that there are effective and important priorities for City road crews.
