To the editor:

Being in Marquette for minor heart surgery from May 19th, I had no opportunity to go to the May 20, public hearing on changing White Street in Hancock to one way.

While my wife and I would be happy to see traffic on White Street restricted, we feel the city is taking almost exactly the wrong approach. One of the current problems is the steady stream of southbound cars turning into White Street off the highway, making it very difficult to make a left turn out of the top of White Street onto the highway.

Their plan of going one way uphill from Reservation Street to Pine Street does nothing to stop cars from turning into the upper section of White Street, from which they can turn onto Shafter Street and often get down to Reservation Street with little more inconvenience to them than they currently experience on White Street alone.

If White Street is poorly suited for high traffic, the Shafter Street route is much more so.

Having two active teenagers and a young toddler, my wife and I do not welcome additional traffic going past our house on Shafter. Especially hotshot drivers who are in a hurry and think they are being clever. In addition, southbound cars stopped in White Street to make left-hand turns onto Shafter present a significant hazard to other cars following behind them at relatively high speeds off the highway. That is not something to be encouraged.

It seems to us that a better solution would be to reverse the city’s plan. Leave most of White Street two-way, and just limit the short section above Pine Street to one-way, uphill traffic only.

By doing that you minimize internal inconvenience to neighborhood residents, you cut the southbound through traffic off at its source, and you make it easy and safe to turn left out of the top of White Street onto the highway.

While local residents could come in from the North by Elevation Street or Scott Street, you create enough of a maze as to discourage virtually all southbound through traffic.

John W. Loosemore

HANCOCK