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City creates a cheaper fix for Main at Allen

The city has come up with a solution to a make a downtown intersection safer — at a cost savings of $90,000.


A Hendersonville public works crew this week added overhead signage and bold street markings to address any confusion motorists may have on northbound Main Street at Allen Street.

In November City Councilman Jerry Smith raised the issue of safety at the intersection, the only one of nine Main Street crossings from Caswell Street to Sixth Avenue that has no stoplight. The left-turn only lane, he said, was confusing to motorists and could lead to a head-on collision.

He asked about installing a stoplight. The cost came back at $93,000, a high-priced fix that Councilman Steve Caraker likened to "trying to kill a flea with a sledge hammer." Chief Hubert Blake said there had been just four accidents in the intersection since 2011.
The Main at Allen intersection before city added signage and bolder pavement arrows.The Main at Allen intersection before city added signage and bolder pavement arrows.After the council balked at a stoplight, City Manager John Connet promised to look at a cheaper solutions. This week, a city crew installed prominent overhead signs to direct traffic and on the roadway applied new bright-white straight and left-only arrows with bold black borders. The cost: $2,300.

Crew applied new arrows with bold black border.Crew applied new arrows with bold black border.