EDINBURGH – A group of more than 30 business owners, retail managers, emergency responders, government officials and traffic engineers expressed concern about what they called dangerous traffic congestion about Indiana Premium Outlets.
Many suggestions were made during a 90-minute public safety roundtable at the Hilton Garden Inn on how to alleviate current and future traffic congestion around the popular outlet mall. But logistical or financial barriers for those suggestions were also brought up.
That was no surprise to Edinburgh Town Manager Dan Cartwright, whose community is responsible for public safety within the outlet area.
“We won’t walk away today with any solutions, but maybe we will walk away with some hope,” Cartwright said before the discussion began.
The most pressing problem is that about 90% of the westbound semis and their trailers in the mall area want to turn left on to U.S. 31 and proceed to Interstate 65, the town manager said.
However, there is no traffic signal at the intersection of County Road 800N and the highway, which means drivers that cross the northbound lanes along 800N must stop in the median area and wait for the southbound lanes to clear. As a result, trailers often stick out into the northbound lanes and block traffic, he said.
To avoid that predicament, many truckers drive south from 800N along North Executive Drive through areas designed for mall shoppers, diners and hotel guests. They turn right on Market Place Drive and exit through the mall’s main entrance, which has a traffic signal that allows left-hand turns.
But that creates new problems, police said. The trucks become intermingled with already-heavy mall traffic, resulting in sight-line problems for smaller vehicles, Edinburgh Police Chief Doyne Little said.
“We’re seeing more and more crashes all the time at the intersection of Market Place and Executive drives – especially in front of the McDonald’s,” Little said.
For the complete story, see Saturday’s Republic.
