Eastbridge residents have never been proponents of Havana St. eventually becoming a through street. Many have made their voices heard at block captain meetings, MCA meetings, and SUN meetings. “We already get enough accidental traffic,” says Eastbridge resident David Clark. “People ignore or don’t see the sign right now, so imagine if they opened it up and encouraged people to come straight through on their way to Aurora.”
That’s exactly what will be happening in the next couple of months when Havana and Iola will wind right into our rougher, less refined neighbor, Aurora. “First, we are allowing them to hop on a bus right in the middle of our community,” says resident Kyle Streff. “Now, we are going to allow them to drive in and out without any type of inconvenience or barrier? This is ridiculous?”
Residents fear that the already busy road will become the main access for Aurorans to access their homes. The Stapleton Transportation committee recently completed a study, and the results are quite alarming to residents in the area. The study includes but is not limited to the following information:
- Auto theft expected to go up 400%
- Home invasions to rise 230%
- Police chases (may include helicopters) to increase 220%
- Shootouts to go up another 500%
- Gang related tagging to increase 150%