Siloam Springs won’t be bypassed

For the past two or three years the community debated whether to create a bypass north, a bypass south or “improve” the existing road through town. The final decision, with input from the city and its residents, was made by the state. The Arkansas Department of Highway and Transportation decided to widen Highway 412.

The north and south proposals cut through or near [rich or well-off] people’s property — including the state highway commissioner’s property. Businesses rallied to widen the existing highway (which was apparently referred to as a “bypass” in recent years) going more or less through the middle of town. Local business people feared losing customers if this well-traveled road bypassed the city.

Highway 412 in its current incarnation is a busy and often dangerous road. There are driveways into parking lots (otherwise known as “asphalt oceans”) every 100 feet or less in some places, and the center lane (turn-lane) bears no medians. People use this turn lane to merge into traffic, not being able to or not possessing the patience to cross the busy road. In Arkansas these center lanes without medians are called “chicken lanes.” While I might not personally like the idea or appearance of access roads along busy highways in a city, they are far better than this chicken lane.

And the whole crux of the matter is that traffic won’t neccessary become better. As I recall from my community planning studies in college, research shows increasing the number of lanes does not alleviate traffic. More lanes, instead, translates into more cars.

Semi traffic on 412 in West Siloam Springs. I wonder if the driver knows about the leak in his cargo; looks like a slushie.

In Arkansas it is more difficult to plan transportation than in a lot of the adjacent midwest. The terrain, the Ozarks, make it harder to create continuous thoroughfares. You therefore end up with a lot of traffic on the few roads that do go through. Highway 412 is one of these roads in Siloam Springs and Springdale.

The new 412 will have medians — thank the Lord. But it will probably have more traffic as well. For pedestrians, which there are some of in town, crossing the highway becomes more of a challenge; I herein strongly encourage the city and state to employ pedestrian bridges near roads such as Holly Street and Progress.

In other Silaom Springs news, we’re finally getting a movie theater!