Bottleneck at 34th and University Ave.

Or is it 34th and Newberry Road? I can never remember when the one road becomes the other. Among recent improvements(?) to our fair city was a decision to make two turn lanes onto University Avenue (or Newberry Road) from the northbound side of 34th street. This arrangement is great if you happen to be trying to get to Newberry Road. If, however, you are trying to get to 8th, 16th, or 39th like I usually am, this new arrangement has had the very annoying effect of moving the bottleneck to just south of University Avenue. And I shouldn't have to tell you, bottlenecks and major intersections should never, ever, ever be mixed. Unless of course you are the City of Gainesville which seems to think that traffic isn't something that should have to be considered when making decisions that affect roads and parking.

Anyway, this intersection was bad before. But only on the slightly annoying side of bad; not the get-me-exercised-enough-to-write-about-it-on-my-blog side of bad. I never had trouble turning onto University with the old system, and the bottleneck was only a problem during rush hour, because it happened after the intersection with University and well before the next major intersection. Now, even at 1pm, I hit a traffic back-up in that center lane as far back as that hill just before 2nd. And the traffic just sits there. A lot longer than it should. Yesterday, I found out why.

Instead of moving forward like they're supposed to, there are a bunch of mis-guided good Samaritans letting people into that lane from the lane that is now a turn only lane. And this entry is for those people. I get in the center lane like I am supposed to and wait in line like most of the other people. And it really burns me up when I see people zip to the front of the line (a lot of the time it's people who were in the center lane and tried to go around) and then expect to be let back in. The people in the front of the line (between 2nd and University) should, under no circumstances let these people in. They can turn onto University, circle around, and try again. When you stop to let someone in, you think you are doing a good thing, but you aren't. You are inconveniencing everyone in the line behind you. And the effect is compounded when more than one person lets someone in. Think about that the next time some line-skipper tries to muscle their way in at the front of the line. They should not be rewarded for their behavior. And if they genuinely didn't know and got trapped in the wrong lane, they can do what I had to do a couple of times before I got the new routine down -- turn left in University, turn left at the fire station, turn left at 2nd, turn left on 34th, and try again (or go up to 43rd).



Florida Alachua County Gainesville Traffic Congestion University Avenue 34th Street Bottleneck Newberry Road 2nd Avenue Bottleneck