QUESTION: On northbound Mason Montgomery Road, there are two left turn lanes onto Fields Ertel Road. Then, there are two left turn lanes onto southbound Interstate 71. The extremely wide white stripes push the traffic so far to the right that it is often difficult and dangerous to get into the second left lane to go south on the interstate. This causes cars to use only the left lane on Mason Montgomery, backing up traffic. Can the stripes be narrowed or removed?

        Thomas Ost
       Symmes Township
       

        ANSWER: Tom Langenbrunner of the Hamilton County Engineer's office said existing striping is less than adequate. The department has developed a new striping plan for Fields Ertel from Mason Montgomery Road west to the I-71 south entrance ramp. It includes additional arrows, lane lines and signs. It should be completed by summer. No changes will be made to Mason Montgomery striping.

        Q: On I-75 northbound before Exit 22, there is a sign that states“Tylersville Road 1 mile.” The next sign states “Exit 24 2 miles.” This is confusing. Signs should be replaced with the first sign reading: “Tylersville Road Exit 22 1 mile/Cin-Day Road Exit 24, 3 miles” and the second one stating “Tylersville Road, 1/2mile.”
       Sheel Mathur
       West Chester
       

        A: Kim Patton, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), said existing signs on I-75 northbound read as follows: First sign: “Northbound I-75, Tylersville Rd., Mason, 1 mile”; second sign: Ohio “129 West, Hamilton 2 miles”; third sign: “Tylersville Rd., Mason, Next Right”. To incorporate the lettering for both “Tylersville Rd, Mason, 1 mile” and Ohio “129 West, Hamilton 2 miles” onto one sign would require too many words on a single sign and exceed interstate regulations. It is important to keep the amount of wording to a minimum because motorists, traveling at 65 mph, can absorb only a few lines of text.

        Q: I am concerned about the ramp from westbound Glendale-Milford Road to northbound Interstate 75. Bushes there are so tall that there is no visibility of the northbound motorists on the access road that merges with the ramp before the I-75 merge. Will the bushes be trimmed?

        John Hopkins
       West Chester
       

        A: Mrs. Patton said maintenance crews have trimmed the bushes.

        You Asked For It, which runs on Mondays, answers questions about regional history, government, schools and roads. Call 381-2800 and enter 2002. Fax 755-4150. E-mail wschaefer@enquirer.com. Mail The Cincinnati Enquirer, 7700 Service Center Drive, West Chester, OH 45069. Include name, neighborhood and phone.

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