Proposed expansion of Greenhouse Road has some worried
Bentonville and Centerton are teaming up on a major infrastructure project they say will help improve safety. But those who live along the proposed project aren’t completely on board yet. According to AR-DOT, over 14,000 vehicles a day use the one-and-a-half-mile stretch of Greenhouse Road to get between Bentonville and Centerton. And that’s way more than the tiny two-lane road was ever initially built to handle according to Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards.“We do have a lot of accidents on that road, and we have a lot of growth. It’s not just Greenhouse Road, there’s Kimmel Road for Centerton, that road is really taking off, and the on the east side where glen road is there’s a lot of impact and more growth there from the city of Bentonville,” said Edwards.To address the safety of the road both cities are joining forces and are proposing a four lane road with two lanes in each direction with turning lanes and other amenities at key intersections.“We’re putting a roundabout in at Kimmel road, which is also glen road on the east side. And then at quail ridge way and 28thstreet, we’re going to put a traffic signal there also,” said Edwards.But bigger isn’t necessarily better according to those who live along Greenhouse Road, like Joseph Mayans who tells me making the road this wide might actually make it more dangerous.“If you look at the data, it shows that they type of road they’re trying to install here is literally the most dangerous type of road in terms of crashes and accidents, even Bentonville’s own master street plan does not recommend and actually advises against installing such a large throughfare next to residential areas,” said Mayans.He adds people are also afraid of the amount of their own property that may be gobbled up by the project.“Centerton is proposing to take about 11 feet or roughly a third of people’s backyards, now that’s a significant concern, not just from a private property standpoint but that’s also a concern for safety,” said Mayans.He and many others are not against making greenhouse road safer, but they would rather the road be three lanes rather than 4 or 5, I took those concerns to the mayor.“Maybe 3 lanes works today, but we’re trying to design this for 10-15 years down the road because it certainly needed and this area right here in just a few years we’re expecting 400-thousand people just in Benton county,” said Edwards40/29 News did reach out to Bentonville for comments and they say they have no comment until after the next meeting. And that next meeting is set for Monday October 2nd from 4-7pm at the Bentonville Community Center.
Bentonville and Centerton are teaming up on a major infrastructure project they say will help improve safety. But those who live along the proposed project aren’t completely on board yet.
According to AR-DOT, over 14,000 vehicles a day use the one-and-a-half-mile stretch of Greenhouse Road to get between Bentonville and Centerton. And that’s way more than the tiny two-lane road was ever initially built to handle according to Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards.
“We do have a lot of accidents on that road, and we have a lot of growth. It’s not just Greenhouse Road, there’s Kimmel Road for Centerton, that road is really taking off, and the on the east side where glen road is there’s a lot of impact and more growth there from the city of Bentonville,” said Edwards.
To address the safety of the road both cities are joining forces and are proposing a four lane road with two lanes in each direction with turning lanes and other amenities at key intersections.
“We’re putting a roundabout in at Kimmel road, which is also glen road on the east side. And then at quail ridge way and 28thstreet, we’re going to put a traffic signal there also,” said Edwards.
But bigger isn’t necessarily better according to those who live along Greenhouse Road, like Joseph Mayans who tells me making the road this wide might actually make it more dangerous.
“If you look at the data, it shows that they type of road they’re trying to install here is literally the most dangerous type of road in terms of crashes and accidents, even Bentonville’s own master street plan does not recommend and actually advises against installing such a large throughfare next to residential areas,” said Mayans.
He adds people are also afraid of the amount of their own property that may be gobbled up by the project.
“Centerton is proposing to take about 11 feet or roughly a third of people’s backyards, now that’s a significant concern, not just from a private property standpoint but that’s also a concern for safety,” said Mayans.
He and many others are not against making greenhouse road safer, but they would rather the road be three lanes rather than 4 or 5, I took those concerns to the mayor.
“Maybe 3 lanes works today, but we’re trying to design this for 10-15 years down the road because it certainly needed and this area right here in just a few years we’re expecting 400-thousand people just in Benton county,” said Edwards
40/29 News did reach out to Bentonville for [on camera] comments and they say they have no comment until after the next meeting.
And that next meeting is set for Monday October 2nd from 4-7pm at the Bentonville Community Center.
