Please add your comments as a reply to this post if you are not in favor of the traffic calming lane shifts as currently striped out on Kenner.

kenner is less safe now

I don't want to be too critical as I know that several people have gone to alot of trouble to improve our traffic problems. However, I do not think the lane shift changes have positively affected our traffic issues and perhaps made them worse in many ways. It should be noted that I feel one of the charming aspects of our neighborhood is the frequent pedestrian traffic with many people walking their dogs and and strollers ect. As I see it, the automobile traffic significantly affects this. The problems I have with the Lane Shift changes are as follows:

First, I do not think the traffic has slowed at all and perhaps even has allows for cars to travel even faster- having all the parked cars on one side or the other allows for cars to essentially slither through were before cars had to stop periodically to allow for other cars to pass. I know I even have a tendency to travel faster now.

Second, at verious points, there is absolutely no area for pedistrian traffic to walk SAFELY as cars have only so much room and are driving fast. This issue is the most concerning to me and from a saftey issue, I think correction should be considered urgently. When just before the lane shifts were made, there was a painted shoulder that allowed for an ''official'' area for walking. Most times, people wait for an accident to happen before changes are made- I hope this is not the case.

Third, I think from an asthetic stanpoint, having a painted crooked street is less appealing than previously. I am concerned this not only looks bad; it just screems ''we have a traffic problem!'' to potential home buyers therefore decreasing the property value of the houses on the street.

I know that several people have spent a significant amount of time working on this issue and thier efforts should be applauded. However, I think we should focus on why we are wanted to calm traffic in the first place- if the calming measures we implement make it even less safe and make the environment less attractive- then I think it defeats the purpose.

Not Easy to walk

The new lanes were a great idea, but it is hard and dangerous to walk down the street.

The street is no longer pedestrian friendly-perhaps speed bumps are a better solution, as I don't think the lanes have slowed traffic down.

Real Estate Taxes Will Increase:

The latest plan is another example of wasteful spending by Metro which will contribute to further tax hikes. Metro government will continue to cater to the whining of its citizens, but each effort to appease the whining costs money--which results in higher taxes, or cuts in other programs. As ridiculous as this latest plan is, let's accept it and move on. Metro has spent enough on this two block stretch of roadway already. If you need a cause to rally around, pay attention to the about-to-be-announced increases in property taxes.