City of Lebanon trying to figure out a solution for traffic congestion

Jefferson Avenue is one of the main roads cutting through Lebanon, and the traffic gets backed up at the light at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Madison Avenue.

That intersection is one of the keys to a plan that a man here in town came up with to help with the traffic on Jefferson Avenue.

"The plan I really like is one way north on Washington and one way south on Madison." said Andy Miller, the man who came up with the plan.

That means drivers who are trying to get to Highway 5 from I-44 could turn right on Washington Avenue and take that one way street and link up with Highway 5. And people coming from Highway 5 could cross Jefferson Avenue and take Madison Avenue one way back towards I-44.

But Miller has received criticism of his plan by some people who live in town.

"The only thing I wanted to do is spread the traffic out through three main arteries instead of one, allowing the center of Lebanon to grow.” said Miller.

People in Lebanon say Jefferson Avenue gets very congested, especially during rush hour traffic.

"During peak hours like lunch and dinner and between 5-7 it is just horrific. You get to one light and by the time you get to the next one it’s red, they’re not in sequence." said Mark Rawlings, who lives in Lebanon.

One issue that Rawlings sees in how close together the stop lights are.

“I would actually take out a couple of these stop lights that are so close together. And make them longer apart. I mean they are right on top of each other." said Rawlings.

Miller took his idea to the city council about a month ago and says businesses along the main road think the idea could work.

"​I polled many of the businesses and did not get any real objection to making those two streets one way. One of them actually said where can I sign to do it tomorrow?” said Miller.

The city of Lebanon is doing a traffic engineering study to look for solutions to the congestion.