Playing chicken at the merge

City’s busy Union-Elm intersection eludes easy solution

By RICK GREEN, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — How do you solve a problem like the intersection of Union Avenue and Elm Street?

That was the issue before the City Council on Monday night, and there were no easy solutions. The matter was tabled so the Public Works Department could gather more information.

Traffic clogs there, particularly during the tourist season.

Vehicles going south on Union Avenue back up traffic when they make a left into businesses just north of Elm Street.

Cars traveling north on Union Avenue are not able to bypass cars turning left onto Elm Street when more than four vehicles are stacked in the left-turn lane, especially when vehicles are parked on the east side of the street.

New problems

Possible solutions could create new problems.

On Union Avenue, north of Elm Street, there currently is a shared through/left turn lane and a right turn lane for southbound traffic. This could be changed to shared through/left turn and a shared through/right turn lane.

Parking spots would be removed and the road widened for 200 feet, allowing two lanes of travel for a short distance, then cars would have to merge to a single lane again.

It's that merge that concerns City Councilor Robert Hamel. Drivers often don't yield at such merges, and “it turns into a game of chicken,” he said.

If vehicles don't merge in an orderly fashion, a car can be forced to stop, creating a traffic obstruction.

Elimination of parking spots, already at a premium in the area, doesn't sit well with some local businesses, including Mustache Pete's barbershop at 744 Union Avenue.

Difference of opinion

Charlie St. Clair, a state representative and a member of the Planning Board, also is the executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, which has an office at 1105 Union Ave., so he uses the intersection frequently.

He opposes changes that eliminate parking spots. He isn't bothered by occasional backups.

“I don't it expect it to be like an expressway when I go through that intersection,” he said.

Mayor Ed Engler said something needs to be done.

“I don't think we can afford to do nothing,” Engler said. “It's going to be a detriment to the growth of this community.”

One possibility, Engler said Tuesday, could be finding a way to keep the southbound portion of Union Avenue two lanes from its intersection with Elm Street until a “Y” in the road at Messer Street, a distance of one-half mile. That would require eliminating a turn lane in the middle of the avenue.

‘How old are you?’

In a lengthy discussion, councilors discussed the idea of purchasing property in the area for use as a parking garage.

A larger issue is the status of some of the underutilized buildings near the intersection.

On one corner is a 14,000-square-foot, three-story building that once housed the Lakeport Opera. The largely vacant building dates to 1885. Many of its windows are boarded up and city property records grade the structure as “below average.”

Councilor David Bownes commented during the meeting that the building once held a beautiful theater, to which someone replied, “How old are you?”

The building sold in 2015 for $40,000 and was resold that same year for $60,000.

Next door, at 777 Union Avenue, is a one-story brick building adorned with a sign, “Jilly's Bistro.” It also is vacant.