CHARLOTTE, NC – You could soon see traffic lights on the ramps to interstates in the Charlotte area. NCDOT wants to study putting what are called “ramp meters” on Interstates 85, 485, 77, and 277.
With the meters, a red light holds traffic momentarily and allows only one or two vehicles to merge onto the freeway every few seconds.
“As long as there is asphalt in front of me, I will not stop,” says East Charlotte resident Chris Christianson. Drivers like Christianson don’t like the idea of having to wait on the ramp. “It causes backups, it causes rear end collisions, so if you’re gonna put a stop light there, that’s just gonna magnify it, it’s gonna make it worse,” he explains.
But commuters like Pamela Crow like the idea. “People trying to get out and stuff and traffic steady going, not (anybody tries) to let you over when (they’re) trying to get to work (themselves),” she says.
Monday night Charlotte City Council will decide if they want to approve money to contribute to the study, which would take about one year and cost $700,000 dollars. Charlotte’s share would be just over $150,000.
If approved, the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization plans to cover the cost using Federal Grants.
