Dangerous Road for Motorcycles
A Menifee 24/7 reader e-mailed me a topic of discussion that hits home with me. There's a stretch of road on Antelope Rd, between Garban...
http://www.menifee247.com/2008/10/dangerous-road-for-motorcycles.htm
A Menifee 24/7 reader e-mailed me a topic of discussion that hits home with me.
There's a stretch of road on Antelope Rd, between Garbani and Craig roads, that's been torn up by the folks working on Christensen Ranch. They've laid some patchwork of temporary asphalt, and patchwork of asphalt is dangerous for motorcycles and scooters.
It becomes dangerous at night, because you can't see the bumps up ahead. It's not that bad of an issue in the daytime. But it's bumpy enough that even if you were to ride at a moderate pace of about 40mph, you still can't see the bumps coming up in the darkness, and they'll put a lot of tear on your vehicle.
And at night, you pretty much have to stay with the flow of traffic because the cars behind you often have difficulty seeing you. It's hard for drivers to gauge the distance of the motorcycle in front of them, and its rate of speed.
The most dangerous scenario comes when a motorcycle has to brake hard for another vehicle, or object in the road. When you apply the brakes firmly over a bumpy surface, the bumps cause the wheels to lose traction with the road, and lock up. That causes a skid, which will often result in the motorcyclist going down.
Scooters are even more susceptible to this, because they are much more difficult to see at night, and their light weight makes them more unstable on bumpy roads.
I ride a motorcycle most of my driving time. It's rare that I actually drive a car or truck these days. Even just for commuting around town, I can get 40-50 miles per gallon with it. Scooters can vary from 50-100 MPG. I'm seeing so many more people in Menifee riding motorcycles and scooters for that very reason.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees that stretch of Antelope as an accident waiting to happen.
There's a stretch of road on Antelope Rd, between Garbani and Craig roads, that's been torn up by the folks working on Christensen Ranch. They've laid some patchwork of temporary asphalt, and patchwork of asphalt is dangerous for motorcycles and scooters.
It becomes dangerous at night, because you can't see the bumps up ahead. It's not that bad of an issue in the daytime. But it's bumpy enough that even if you were to ride at a moderate pace of about 40mph, you still can't see the bumps coming up in the darkness, and they'll put a lot of tear on your vehicle.
And at night, you pretty much have to stay with the flow of traffic because the cars behind you often have difficulty seeing you. It's hard for drivers to gauge the distance of the motorcycle in front of them, and its rate of speed.
The most dangerous scenario comes when a motorcycle has to brake hard for another vehicle, or object in the road. When you apply the brakes firmly over a bumpy surface, the bumps cause the wheels to lose traction with the road, and lock up. That causes a skid, which will often result in the motorcyclist going down.
Scooters are even more susceptible to this, because they are much more difficult to see at night, and their light weight makes them more unstable on bumpy roads.
I ride a motorcycle most of my driving time. It's rare that I actually drive a car or truck these days. Even just for commuting around town, I can get 40-50 miles per gallon with it. Scooters can vary from 50-100 MPG. I'm seeing so many more people in Menifee riding motorcycles and scooters for that very reason.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees that stretch of Antelope as an accident waiting to happen.
And even not just motorcycles, if you take someone on a bicycle / skateboard / walking in the bike line, i see more and more people driving in the bike lane to get a smoother ride (not as may bumbs and potholes) in that area while driving north. give it some time, someone may get hit by a car.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just Antelope Road, either. La Piedra Rd. westbound was torn up a few months ago and patched up a similar way, the road is so bad that nobody uses the right lane anymore. Newport Road between Bradley and Winter Hawk has several huge bumps that feel like huge Frost Heaves like they get in snowy areas. Construction has seemed to stall on Scott Road, especially between Menifee Road and Antelope, with loose cones and gravel, as well as patchwork asphalt creating dangerous road conditions.
ReplyDeleteI hope the city makes it a priority to address the state of our roads as quickly and efficiently as possible.
I agree with Steve, that section of Antelope road is in bad condition. I ride thru there almost daily and try to dodge the bumps and creases in the road. Even in my truck I find that road extremely rough on my suspension. Was there suppose to be oversight/inspection in that area by the county or other agency when the contractor finished? If so, someone dropped the ball.
ReplyDeleteThis stretch of road really needs to be redone properly at the expense of the Christensen Ranch development. This road was never that bad until they started tearing it up to put in drainage, etc. for that new community.
ReplyDeleteSteve, what is your email address where people can bring up suggestions for you to write about? Love 24/7!
ReplyDeleteThey will end up tearing Antelope up again as they still have another section of sotrm/sewer to do at the abandoned condo proj. Brensen the developer went BK.
ReplyDeleteMy e-mail address and phone is on the "About Us" page, linked from the left-column of the site.
ReplyDeleteSteve is right on. I also ride a motorcycle as my primary mode of transportation. Antelope described by Steve is bad, but there are many pot holes in a lot of the major roads in the Menifee area. Now that Menifee is a City, I don't know if they will end up with the responsibility of maintaining the public streets? How about a 24 hour a day hot line like several cities have, where anyone can call and report pot holes or any road hazards, and the street department will come out in a timely manner and take care of the hazards. It's only a matter of time before there is tragic accident caused by one of these road hazards.
ReplyDeleteThis stretch of road is not only dangerous for motorcycles, it is also causing extreme wear and tear on every car or truck that travels it. I have already had my alignment redone twice and my shocks and struts have been replaced. According to the car repair place they said that it was caused from either hitting curbs or driving on uneven or rough roads. Considering I have hit any curbs, the only possible cause is from this stretch of Antelope Road.
ReplyDeleteAs the last poster suggested, maybe we need a hotline or something to report dangerous and hazardous roads within our city.
I try to avoid this road but since it is the main access for me it is hard to avoid.
Maybe we could have a general topic of discussion just for roads, traffic, etc.
ReplyDeleteI would like to suggest that the West bound section of Newport Road before Antelope be made a 3 lane road. The roadway is wide enough and the amount of traffic justifies it. Everyday the traffic is backed up in the afternoon for almost a half mile. The majority of the cars in the left lane and either backed up trying to turn left onto Antelope(this left turn lane needs to be lengthened). The remaining vehicles are stuck waiting to get by to go up and turn onto the Southbound 215. The right hand lane is full of people just trying to get through the intersection and then darting over to the left to either get on the 215 Southbound or to proceed West on Newport. I also noticed several vehicles that will go onto the Norrhbound 215. If the right hand lane (currently a right turn only) was to be remarked as a straight or right turn lane it would eliminate quite a bit of backup on this stretch of Newport.
Another suggestion that would help eliminate a lot of traffic on the Newport Rd. I215 Bridge would be to build a bridge overcrossing on Holland Road. This would eliminate a lot of congestion on Newport Road for those coming and going to MSJC. With the marketplace now opening several stores it would also help eliminate traffic on Newport as well. Numerous people that live on the Eastern side of the 215 must either take the Newport Bridge (2 lanes), or the Scott Road bridge (1 lane) to get to the Marketplace. Considering that a large portion of our community is on the Eastern side of the 215 this would make logical sense to build a bridge overcrossing on Holland Rd.
What does anyone else think?
I would like to add a comment of agreement with most of the postings here. The Church that went in on La Pietra is quite beautiful and well done but I fail to see the reason why they ( or whoever is responsible) are net held resp. for fixing the horrific patching job they have done. Completely unnec. Also the portion of Antelope road. With understanding as to why the Christensen Ranch stopped building, I see no reason why they aren't required to fix the road. They have patched in areas along Craig going up the hill too but its not bad. Palomar in the same area is neither finished, nor are the weeds in check, as well as Garbani-there, the builder also walked away. I was recieving their junk mail, including applications for jobs placed on my door! for over a year. I finally got that stopped but had to call the electrical post company to come get the huge posts running down my street and into my yard (not that anyone asked to put that in my grass-2 years!!!) The builder simply cut the wiring and walked away-leaving the posts! They care about the profit and little about their public and area reps I guess. The field in front of my house-where the Practice range was-is empty. As a local I just wish the builders would take the fence down and let us have our field to look at! What are they expecting us to do with a field? That they think they have to fence it in-there is nothing to hurt! At least move the fence to the area they are actually working in--
ReplyDeleteAs for an overpass at Holland, I do not think there is enough room on the east side of I-215 for the grade required for an overpass. In other words, The houses are too close to Antelope, and Antelope is too close to I-215.
ReplyDeleteI have heard there will be an overpass at Garbani though, which would have the same effect.
I've been griping to my family about that stretch of Antelope. It is really horrible, and I'm always worried someone behind me won't pay attention when I slow down to 35-40 MPH for the rough portion. Although you can see it in the daylight, if you're not familiar with it it is difficult to tell how bad it really is. It sucks to hit that at 55.
Is this something someone would like to bring up at a city Council meeting?