Butcher talks Kamakaze Corners
Date: 1/19/2009
By Amanda Butcher
Special to Reminder Publications
"World famous for difficulty,
Renown o'er land and sea.
Old folks often told
Fortune rides with the Bold
At the East Longmeadow rotary." William Speight
East Longmeadow It has been called several things in the past, including "Kamakaze Corners," "Thousand Islands," "the worst traffic nightmare" and "a historical thorn in the town's side." There is hardly anyone who doesn't have a complaint about the East Longmeadow rotary.
The earliest plans to try to make the rotary safer were made in 1969. It was suggested that the end of Prospect Street be closed off, instead using Williams Street as a connector between Prospect and Somers Road. Traffic signals and traffic islands were also proposed. Eight hundred citizens expressed their feelings about the proposal.
Only 25 wanted the change!
Though citizens were against it, traffic islands were installed by 1970 and a new plan was suggested. New roads would cut through the center ball fields and four out of the seven main roads would become one-way streets. At the public hearing, this plan was also shot down. "They like it the way it is," an official remarked of East Longmeadow residents.
Sidewalks were constructed in 1980, encouraging center shoppers to walk instead of creating more traffic by driving. These plans were made mostly to make the town more attractive.
A police officer, who had directed traffic in the rotary before, said, "It's probably one of the worst jobs in the department" and that without anyone to direct traffic, it flowed "better, but I imagine it's probably riskier."
According to 1989 traffic counts, about 39,244 cars passed through each day. That number has probably gone up in 20 years, especially considering all the traffic the bus has to go through as it brings us to school in the morning.
Traffic lights were suggested again in 1993 -- this time by a resident of East Longmeadow who wrote to the Reminder that year. They said, "I and all the people I know, some of whom are long-time East Longmeadow residents, avoid the rotary at all costs."
My mom is no exception. If there is a way to avoid the rotary, my mom uses that way instead. She also told me that I am forbidden to drive through the rotary for a few years even after I get my license!
She has good reason. In 1995, an owner of a store in the center admitted that he was "calling once a week for accidents in the rotary." Also in 1995, it was proposed that the "Dangerous Intersection" signs be changed to say something less foreboding, but that was also rejected.
The rotary is also one of East Longmeadow's claims to fame. It is in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" for being a seven-street intersection with no traffic lights. What they don't know is that we've been trying to get traffic lights for years!
Yes, nearly everyone has had a complaint about Kamakaze Corners at one time or another. But when we're late for school, what else are we to blame but our rotary?
To learn more about the rotary, you may visit the historical archives room in the library. If you would like your own "Ripley's Believe it or Not!" postcard of the rotary, you may pick one up at the library or the historical museum on Maple Street.
