Aurora residents raise questions, concerns with Hwy plan

Questions about Hwy 34 plan
Dear Editor:
Dwayne Juzyk mentioned several good points regarding the changes to be made to Highway 34 that I do not think our city officials or NDOT took into consideration when approving the highway plan. I would like to offer up a few points that I see.
Has anyone of the council members, or NDOT spent time trying to make a left-hand turn onto Highway 34 between 7 and 8:30 a.m. on a weekday, especially when school is in session? Or when a semi, that has stopped at the train track west of town, putters into town with 15 cars behind it. Or between 11:30 and 1:30 p.m. when people are coming and going, or from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. when the shift ends at Bonnavilla, and school gets out at the same time. A person can sit for several minutes waiting for a lane to open so they can proceed. Now you are going to narrow that down to one lane? With the number of semi-trucks that are on Highway 34 now, you are setting the city up for failure. How can the crosswalk to Streeter Park become safer when you are removing the number of lanes? Getting into and out of the park is already difficult heading either direction, and now you are going to make that worse. If the city proceeds with this plan, I hope a number of stoplights are installed, specifically at 1st Street, 5th Street, 9thStreet, and 12th Street, along with the existing stoplight at the 34/14 intersection.
When I look at Highway 14 going through town, I see numerous problems that should be addressed, specifically the Highway 34/14 intersection area. There are numerous semis headed north or south, trying to get into Casey’s, blocking the turn lane because they need a wide birth to get into the parking lot. People are turning left from the right lane because they don’t know how the middle lane works, i.e.,who has the right of way when making a left turn. Or, how about someone coming from the north, wanting to turn into Casey’s, or Dollar General, or Jim’s and meeting someone already in the center lane waiting to make a left turn. There is a lot of congestion in that area.
As Dwayne pointed out in his letter last week, the 1.7 miles of four lane is needed. Travel into Aurora from the east sometime when you are behind a section of wind turbine, or half of a modular home. It gets very frustrating to travel 50 miles per hour from York, as there is nowhere to pass. By removing the additional lane, you now must wait until the Phillips exit to pass safely. Or travel into Aurora from the west and get behind a semi that has just left Iams, or a semi that is loaded with fertilizer and must stop at the railroad crossing. You get to follow him all the way to York.
In the article published in the News-Register on July 5, 2023, it was said that NDOT “cited studies from other communities which indicate a pattern of traffic calming and fewer accidents.” What other communities? Do these communities have the same manufacturing plants located adjacent to their communities as Aurora? This is not a case of what is good for other communities  must be good for Aurora. Each community is different and must be looked at accordingly.
In closing, I ask you to talk to City Hall and find out the real thinking is here. This change is not good for Aurora.
Kevin Vaught
Aurora

Visual example of Hwy 34 plan would be helpful
  Dear Editor and Aurora City Council members:
How long has the original Hwy 34 had four lanes? Have they been in use for 30 years? 40 years? Why was it originally changed to be four lanes? Was there more traffic then, than now?
How can going down to three lanes be an improvement or “safer,” and still be able to handle the amount of traffic that uses it daily? With the amount of traffic driving to Grand Island daily, ethanol traffic, 60 new houses going to be built, projected businesses going to be coming in along Hwy 34 west, and more kids and staff driving to and from school… How will going down to three lanes work more safely and efficiently then the current four?
I am a visual learner and the way it has been described to the public is confusing. Can someone please draw up a schematic of what the new projected road would look like and put it in the paper for all to see?
Were the results of the online road questionnaire poll that was available to Aurora residents to fill out last year ever posted? Were they even taken into consideration? What current data is being used? Was it from Aurora traffic and commerce needs, or some other numbers from another town?
How were the two lanes going east and one lane going west decided? What current information dictates that school and ethanol traffic going west in the morning needs one lane versus how much traffic heading east needs two lanes?
Is the decision to go down to three lanes actually beneficial to the town of Aurora residents, or is it all about the money that would have to be spent to improve the current four lanes?
P.S. Talking about this at coffee and the grocery store is not going to be heard by the city council or solve the current problems. Please write a letter to the editor, too. 
Waiting for a response,
Bill Ulmer
Aurora

Council ignored citizen poll input regarding Hwy 34
  Dear Editor and members of the Aurora City Council:
I am very disappointed about the decision on lane reduction on Hwy 34, as are many others. This decision is a step backwards and I encourage you to rethink and change your mind about going from four lanes to three. 
In the poll when the situation was presented, just over 90 percent of your constituents favored keeping the four lanes and yet the council seems to have just brushed off their comments and concerns. You are supposed to work for us, the very ones who voted you into office.
The editorial in the July 5 News-Register was right on target with this.
Bonnie J. Campbell,
Aurora