I hope everyone is ready to begin the Water Street  Detour. I am not sure what day next week it will begin. It will have a bumpy start. I was out this  morning and wanted to report on the signage alerting drivers to the changes.

This is the intersection of  Water Street & Salem Street.This is  a major intersection for many commuters. The left drops  you to Water St and out to Newfields Road. It has been  equipped with 2 do not enter signs. Drivers will be forced to go right,  back to the Water & Main  Street intersection.That intersection is busy all day  currently, especially during the commute. Then they will take a left, thread their way(literally some mornings) through the coffee shop parking  gauntlet and coffee junkie jaywalkers to the Swasey mouth then left again to continue their  journey outbound to 101. A smart guy or gal will do that  one time. The real smart ones will soon after the detour turn right again  on Park St, race up and over the RR bridge  and get back to Epping Road and then  101. They will avoid the  Swasey entrance.

So the habitual  user will seek alternate routes.

Bing Map

The  111A traffic will  now  turn left on Epping to reach 101 rather than  use  the

Park Street- Oak Street-Salem Street-Water St- Newfield Rd -Route 101

route.

Increasing the number of cars turning left from 111A  will have an impact on the Columbus Ave/111A intersection, already under severe pressure.

Route 111 traffic  cuts across the grid using Winter Street then the same route past the Park Street Common to reach Newfields Road.Riverwoods drivers capable of 101 exit jumping use this  route to the grocery stores and many commuters bound to and from  the low tax(no services) hamlets of  Brentwood and the Kingstons.

Route 111 currently(today) has no signage alerting anyone to the detour. Route 111 drivers might be  advised to stay on Front St and head for Spring Street or Center Street for a quick duck over to the mouth of the Swasey,then on to Newfields or Route 101. There is  quite bit  of traffic that  I see on Newfields Road headed to   Portsmouth using 108  to Squamscott Road rejoining 33 above the Stratham clutter. UNH is a destination too, right Lionel?

I was in Xtra mart  today on Main Street for some milk, they sell newspapers, but don’t read  them, they had no clue to the detour. I was just  suggesting they may see an uptick of coffee and butt sales. Main Street past the school in the morning will be different, read busy.

I am suggesting we make a better effort with signage well outside the area of the actual detour.

You will see lots of  pattern changes as folks figure this out.

Exit hopping which occurs between  Exits 9 10 11 will increase which causes conflicts  with the  high speed traffic.

I saw the detour map the Newsletter had in the paper at my Aunts place this morning. I don’t take the paper anymore. Was it just  my Aunts edition that had the illegible map? I noticed the Allen Furniture ad was  perfect(awful)

Please exercise  caution when  motoring on the Parkway. The Parkway pavilion is  attractive to children  and the steps  are close to the road.

It’s still a Park despite this detour.

1900 voted out of  11000

Mike

UPDATE 4/17/11 1pm

The detour will be in place sometime tomorrow, Monday 4/18/11