A petition with over 1,500 signatures from citizens who oppose INDOT’s plan to install J-turns along U.S. 31 was submitted to INDOT Thursday.
“Residents between Plymouth and Tipton have been telling INDOT to forget installing J-turns on U.S. 31 for years now,” commented Bill Friend, former Indiana State legislator and property owner who lives and farms in Miami County. “J-turns were designed for low speed, low volume traffic areas. U.S. 31 is packed with thousands of fast-moving semi-trucks, farm equipment, school buses and passenger vehicles in excess of 70 mph. Low-cost J-turns invite disaster and will be detrimental to local businesses. We want them stopped.”
The petition, which is available at www.CitizensAgainstJturns.com, gained momentum this past December as more citizens up and down the corridor were given an opportunity to sign it. Citizens Against J-turns has also been sharing videos from actual residents along the corridor who oppose INDOT’s plans.
“We’re Hoosiers,” added Friend. “We understand that there’s only so much money and it could take years to do this right. We’re just asking for the same solutions that other parts of the state have been getting with overpasses and traditional on and off ramps. Let’s not waste taxpayer money on low-cost options that make the highway less safe. INDOT’s plan is a solution in search of a problem. We suggest that NO action is better than the WRONG action.”
Nearly 70% of citizens who live along the corridor between Plymouth and Tipton oppose INDOT’s plan according to a poll conducted in 2020. The poll, which features a 3 percent (plus or minus) margin of error was conducted by DatAttic, a polling and research company based out of Mishawaka, Indiana.
ABOUT CITIZENS AGAINST J-TURNS
The Citizens Against J-turns group was formed in the spring of 2020 when rumors began circulating along the corridor that INDOT was moving quickly to install J-turns along the highway. The group consists of citizens up and down the corridor who view the installation of J-turns on U.S. 31 as a wasteful and dangerous precedent.
For more information, visit www.CitizensAgainstJturns.com.