- Old 27 runs through St. Johns and has posed many traffic frustrations.
- During rush hours, neighbors find turing onto the road very difficult.
- The video shows some of struggles neighbors face when on the road.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I'm your neighborhood reporter, Russell Shellberg, here in St. Johns, where I found one of the busiest intersections off of Old Highway 27. Just turning onto the road isn't as simple or safe as it may seem.
"In some spots, there are 7 lanes of travel, and a lot of times those lanes are completely occupied," said St. Johns Chief of Police, David Kirk.
Chief Kirk says that due to the high volume of traffic on Old Highway 27 at Sturgis Street, the department saw 13 crashes across 2023. He says one of the main causes for these accidents is neighbors making left-hand turns to merge from the other side of the road. But Kirk says that a longer alternate route can save you the stress.
"The simple and reoccurring suggestion we make when we have those contacts is to try to turn right, as opposed to traversing 6 or 7 lanes of travel and turning left, because it's difficult," said Kirk.
But if that left-hand turn is a must...
"As you pull out, you have to be cognizant of traffic using that lane to join traffic, almost like a freeway entrance. They use it to accelerate as opposed to slowing down to turn left," said Kirk.
Click here to view our team coverage showing mulitple spots of concern across Mid- Michigan.
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