LAWTON, Okla_Drivers are
slowing down on East Gore in Lawton
after four new traffic lights were installed early Monday morning. The city has
been working on the project for about a week, and Monday, they flipped the
switch for the first time. The new lights are at the entrance to the fort Sill Apache
Casino, where a new hotel is going up, and traffic is expected to
increase.
City officials
say for the next 72 hours, the lights may operate sporadically until they work
out expected glitches or make needed adjustments.
You probably
won't be able to see any sort of drastic changes to traffic and that's just
what city officials were aiming for. When the casino was erected several years
ago the plans were already in place for the lights, but not scheduled for
completion until the hotel was completed. The lights were erected in
anticipation of heavy traffic coming in and out of both the casino and hotel.
Lawton Planning
Director Richard Rogalski says when it comes to installing a traffic light, the
decision to start or stop isn't so easy.
"Well when
you look at installing a traffic signal it's not something you want to take
lightly. You can imagine what it would be like if every store that came in
installed a traffic signal. We would be constantly starting and stopping and
we'd end up having gridlock."
While Rogalski
understands the need for speed by most drivers, they'll need to hit their
brakes as Lawton's
growth accelerates.
"Lawton
likes to be a growing city, we like having new things coming to town, we like
having new development, this hotel conference center and the restaurant is a
good thing to have on the east side. You get enough of those good things and
with it comes traffic. At a certain point the roadways which we love to zip
down, at some point it becomes a little concerning."
A brief delay
is an inconvenience most are willing to deal with.
"Your
safety becomes an issue. I would say I would rather have that signal there and
stop now and then and not have to worry about a collision every time I drive
through there."
The lights
won't be fully functioning for 72 hours. Until then, east and west bound
traffic will be cautioned by yellow flashing lights and north and south traffic
will yield to a red blinking light.
The lights were not funded by tax dollars. Instead were paid for in full
by the Fort Sill Apache Casino.
