Problem Intersection: Boulevard and Hamilton Avenue

When former Mayor Shirley Franklin first took office in 2002, one of her initial moves was to form the "Pothole Posse" to address the many road hazards that kept auto mechanics busy.

Motorists rejoiced, but equally as bad are the faded or sometimes non-existent road stripes and markings on the streets.

Residents of Grant Park, Boulevard Heights and Benteen Park who share a stretch of Boulevard going north from the U.S. Penitentiary know that all too well.

There are two lanes headed north on Boulevard, from McDonough Boulevard to the railroad tracks just north of Hamilton Avenue SE.

But once you cross over the tracks, the lanes begin to converge into one. (It splits back into two at Confederate Avenue SE.)

The problem: The arrows alerting motorists of a lane merger are either not there or barely there.

During the daytime, you can intuitively tell there's a merger, but at night it's hard to gauge.

There are the white bumps — turtles — strewn about from Hamilton to Confederate Avenue SE, but again, they're not always easy to see, particularly in the city to busy to pay attention behind the wheel.

One idea — and it seems to have worked well on Candler Park's McLendon Avenue NE — is to build curbs that jet out into the street. Those not only keep drivers in their lane, but also seems to cut down on speeding, which is another problem for the stretch of Boulevard south of I-20.

Better lighting and/or flashing lights might help, too.

How would you like to see this problem stretch of roadway fixed?