Taming the Traffic

I know, I know. Menifee used to be such a sleepy little town, didn't it? Remember the days of driving from the old Target towards Quail ...

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I know, I know. Menifee used to be such a sleepy little town, didn't it? Remember the days of driving from the old Target towards Quail Valley, and reaching Murrieta Road in just 5 or 10 minutes? Where have those days gone?

Our town has become a city; we have Kohls, Red Robin, medical offices, fast food, and a Starbucks now. And with growth comes traffic. And with traffic comes anger, hostility and frustratation. Angry drivers populate our streets daily, honking their horns, running red lights, and cutting in front of other's vehicles. Everyone has somewhere to go; every one of us has left home a little behind schedule and rushed down our street, into our little city, and been in a hurry. For most of us, this is the epitome of frustration. Trying to cross over the 215 on Newport at rush hour, or trying to drive past one of our elementary schools when children are leaving. Cars, cars, everywhere cars, and everyone in a hurry.

That angry driver who cut in front of you yesterday is your neighbor, a member of your community, a soccer mom with an SUV of kids, a retail worker late for his shift, a teenager learning to drive, a senior citizen who is a little slow behind the wheel, or maybe, a friend of yours. Or maybe, just maybe, it was you that cut in front of me. Perhaps you just didn't see me when you were reaching for that phone, or changing your station on your car stereo.

Nevertheless, remember we all live here, and we all have somewhere to be. Forgive and forget quickly, be careful, leave a few minutes early, and don't forget to smile. It is my road too.

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  1. I think one of the biggest things that contributes to traffic in Menifee is the lack of road connectivity to other cities. If you want to go west you either use Newport or Scott roads. If you want to go North you use Goetz, Murrieta, or Menifee roads. If you want to go south you use I215. I know there are hills in the way that prevent some connectivity, but when you can't even take Antelope from Newport to McCall it's ridiculous. This forces too many people onto too few roads and causes major traffic issues. We need more roads that connect within the city and to roads in other cities. Once that happens the traffic will spread out and be less of an issue.

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  2. I have been here for 20 years. Yes of course, more business equals more traffic, that was expected. But I believe the point where this area changed from polite small town drivers to rude angry drivers was when NewportDomenigoni opened all the way to Hemet. The difference in traffic and attitudes on Newport road was immediate. Other than adding more infrastructure (which will not entirely fix attitude) there is no other solution. Welcome to progress.

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  3. Our so call leaders keep helping new home and apartment builders to keep adding more housing instead of fixing our road problems like the above comment. Traffic is such a nightmare now because of all the new building but leaving us with the same streets as when I first moved here in 1991. Last week I sat at the same spot by Yellow Basket turning left onto Newport Rd. thru four green lights. We were all stuck because cars on Newport couldn't move forward so there was no place to turn left. I say no more to these damn developers until our streets are fixed!

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  4. There has to be a law that every time a developer is approved to build a huge community, it also has to provide money to build or improve the main roads to reach the community. I live in Temecula and we have the same issues. It takes me 25 minutes from Walmart in Temecula parkway to reach I-15 and it is only 3 miles away!!!!

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  5. I would just like to point out that new home developments came to a screeching halt two years ago. New home builders did have every intention of paying for roads, but the economy went south and so did their companies.

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  6. There are some very simple solutions to the bottlenecks created at Newport Rd. and the 215.
    Put a bridge over the 215 at Holland Rd. (No offramps or onramps). This would significantly ease the traffic on Scott and Newport.
    Widen the south left turn lane on Newport onto Haun. The developers for the countryside marketplace really screwed this up.
    Widen the Scott Rd. bridge over the 215.
    Widen the Newport Rd. bridge over the 215

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  7. For those that are not aware here in Menifee, regarding the future of the Holland overpass.. Quote by Councilman Scott Mann. "The I-215 Central Phase Improvement Project is a combination of State and Federal money and local "Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF)" money managed the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG). Oh by the way....since I have been on WRCOG as Menifee's rep, I have successfully added a new "Holland Road Overpass" across I-215 to give the city another east-west route. This is scheduled to be done in connection with the I-215 Project".
    "the entire Executive Committee of the Western Riverside Council of Governments approved the addition". per Councilman Scott Mann.
    We can all Thank Councilman Mann for being our representative and getting this approved!

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  8. I still love my Menifee...traffic and all! And when waving to other drivers I remember to use all my fingers not just one of them!

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  9. does anyone know why Railroad Canyon is closed

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  10. I agree with previous posters about road conditions vs traffic congestion. These roads are horrible. Only a few choice communities seem to get the star treatment. City council memebers we know you read these, especially Scott Mann. Hillpoint has been repaved over twice in 3 years where Rancho La Vita North of them has not been touched in over 20 years. We need your assitance and we will get in the next vote..let Mr. Denver know he has to represent not doing poll times but after.

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  11. I've been trying to find a place where I can make comments about my new Menifee residency.

    My wife has, too. We both live in Sun City, which has ceased to exist.

    We have a few concerns about our new status as non-existent Sun City residents.

    We now seem to be under the watchful eye of a police department that we did not vote for and a city that we don't want to be part of. Yes, we both did vote but, as usual, our vote didn't mean anything.

    I'm glad there is a place where I can make comments (that will have no impact on anything) but I can see in writing, assuming they don't get edited into nothingness...like Sun City did.

    I think I had better post this anonymously as I don't trust you.

    Thank you,

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  12. Of all the things I dislike about being an unimportant Menifee resident the thing I hate the most is the Menifee Police.

    They are what we use to call "Bull" cops. Bull cops get a big kick out of terrorizing unimportant, old, useless, worn out people like me. It makes them feel so good about themselves to see me shaking with fear at their imperious attitudes and their stupid questions as they cowardly hide behind their guns and badges.

    They feel so brave and important making me look like a fool in front of the curious onlookers who wonder who that old fool is and what he has done wrong (nothing). It also gives the onlookers something to gossip about (at my expense) and they love their cowardly cop for that because they like nothing more than having an old fool like me to gossip about.

    There are other things I hate about Menifee but the cowardly bull cops who hide behind their guns and badges are what I hate the most.

    I'm wondering if this will be edited out of existence.

    I've been posting this and similar comments about Menifee on other more national sites, so someone will get to read it.

    Thank you,

    davr

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  13. I have never been "bullied" by the Menifee Police Department (RSD). I guess maybe I have never given them a reason. Davr, maybe you should look in the mirror.

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  14. You're covered under the "curious onlookers" section.

    davr

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  15. February 24, 2010
    Menifee, California


    Elder abuse is against the Law. It’s a crime. When Bull Cops engage in elder abuse they are committing a crime. If you are encouraging someone in the commission of a crime you are breaking the law. You are a criminal.

    I have no interest in a criminal who is committing a crime. What they think and do is none of my business. As a law abiding citizen who has not had so much as a traffic ticket in my home state of California for 35 years I avoid anyone who breaks the law by aiding and abetting a Menifee Bull Cop who abuses elderly people like myself.

    Frankly, people like that make me sick. Just like those people in Nazi Germany who aided and abetted the Nazis in the Holocaust by ignoring what they were doing or defending their crimes by looking the other way and insisting that nothing was happening while millions of people were being denied of their rights, abused, tortured, imprisoned and murdered.

    If you are like that I have no interest in you. You are an elder abusing, torturer and murdering anti-Semitic Holocaust denier.

    Get behind me Devil!

    Davr

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  16. Wow Davr! Scroll to the top and review the "Taming the Traffic" portion, yes? Good golly, I've lived here for twenty years and recall when the cops took hours to respond to emergencies out here because they were coming from Lake Elsinore. Thank God for our own cop and fire folks in Menifee. "I've fallen and I can't get up" sound familiar? Thank God we'll have someone to help us quickly when that time comes, eh? Don't be a hater Davr. Menifee is the "town of a lifetime" remember? Traffic and all.

    Menifee Lifer

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  17. Just a little dramatic, don't you think?

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  18. tottally agree with Davr. Menifee Police is a little over to the top. They are sitting at all stop signs on Murrieta, waiting for any little mistake. It's a little rediculous when I see all the poor people getting tickets for not coming to a complete stop when they are the only ones on the road (besides the cop HIDING). Give me a break, aren't there crimes out there to fight, Maybe if cops spent more time catching the bad guy rather than giving all Gods creations ticket, Cheasea King would still be alive & going to a track meet..
    Our government is so distored & no one cares.
    What's wrong with you people, demand more from our workers, we pay for them, Every Pay Check!!

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  19. City has very little money left for anything as the budget is very tight. All cities and counties are making up for the loss of housing fees by increasing police citations and code enforcement citations. Notice how there's a DUI checkpoint every two weeks now in Menifee, for ticky tacky stuff, not necessarily DUI.

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  20. The oath they took was to protect the people, NOT TICKET them because the city is short on funds.. Am I just a weirdo who thinks the police are a little out of control?? I saw one driving on a cell phone the other day!! DRIVING ON CELL!! No hands free device needed, he's a cop..
    If the cities/counties are short on funds, & can't pay their workers than lay off like all the companies..
    Pensions, Holidays, wonderful benefits, no chance of lay off/ or termination = governement jobs..
    Boy I wish my husband had that kinda job security.
    But he works for a big company that's weathering through the bad economy like the rest of them.. We are thankful he has a job..

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  21. i am a menifee grandma who sure understands all this frustration with the satuation of cops here hiding. it seems like they have nothing more important to do.they should do a check up on all the child molesters that would keep them busy.

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  22. Agree Menifee grandma.. Maybe if the Police watched closer to the Magens Law Map, they would actualy see there are Pedetors walking Distance from the Middle School & High School. The map is scary. All parents should be studing those pictures, watching the addresses & monitoring those men.. Molestors should not be alowed in menifee.. It can be stop people standing up, picketing those addresse, letting the landlords know who is renting from them.. WHY DO WE ALLOW THIS???

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  23. A few comments: 20 years of Law Enforcement – Retired 1992
    1. davr - Whatever medication you're on please remember to take it every day. To elevate your hatred for Law & Order, to being a Holocaust denier and Elder Abuser, is a little extreme. Most of us are already aware of your anarchist views in Sun City. One need only go to a City council meeting to hear the views of some of our finer elderly towards the races, the classes, etc. Don’t like being pulled over, learn to drive.
    2. Yeah the OATH is to protect. To protect you from a gun wielding crazy just as fast as a thoughtless driver who could kill you just as easily. Wish your husband had that kind of job security? Don’t give it another thought. Your husband couldn’t do the job. Your husband would not be willing to stare down an angry person with a gun. He wouldn’t want to go into pitch black darkness to search for the bad guy you just reported in your garage. Would he fight a knife wielding nutball to save someone else’s wife and kids? Job security? What kind of job security provides a better than even chance of going to work and never seeing your kids again? Shoe salesman? Car Salesman? No chance of termination? Sure we do. Some even get fired because whiney people like you complain we didn’t smile enough when we took a stolen bike report. Oh yeah we get “terminated” for things the average public citizen would not allow in the work place. When’s the last time anyone heard of a shoe salesman being required to make a sale in a fraction of a second, or he could die. Tell your husband to keep his job. If he’s stayed with you, it already shows poor judgment, we don’t need him. Question: Would you complain so hard if you saw the cop using a cell phone, talking on the radio, and reading a map at the same time he was chasing a car that had just abducted your kid or someone else’s? Nah. didn’t think so. To answer you question, yeah you’re a weirdo, or worse!
    3. Yeah the cops write traffic citations. It’s called preventive Law Enforcement. See they train us, and when we’re done being trained, most of us can do both. Give thoughtless drivers tickets for driving with their heads “in another place”, and catch bad guys too. But the really intelligent people in charge, assign people to perform either function, so the traffic cops don’t have to catch Sexual Predators. If you don’t think issuing a citation for running a stop sign is somewhat important, then you haven’t seen them have to take a 4 year old out of mangled car in pieces. First thing I asked, the first time I saw it was, “Why was I not here? Maybe they would have slowed down and been more careful.” You just go home and hug you four year old, and try harder next time.
    4. Why do we allow the Predators to live near schools even though it is unlawful? Easy, the liberal jerks you vote in year after year, don’t think your kids are as important as the predators rights. And by the way [See how it’s spelled? It’s Megan you moron. Its easy stuff, this spelling, It’s not Pedators its Predators. All knowledge is easily gained. They hide that stuff in books. Go look for it]

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  24. March 7, 2010


    When I was a little kid, probably about six years old, I was walking to school one day when I saw the local cop picking up a young Indian boy who he was pushing into his cops’ car. The Indian was about fourteen years old, poorly dressed because his family was poor, like most of the Indians were back then, skinny from malnutrition, like most Indians were then, and he was crying and terrified by the cop. He was screaming and begging someone to help him but no one did.

    None of the towns’ adults wanted any trouble from the cop.

    As I was walking home from school later in the day…it was getting along towards dark and it was later than when I usually walked home…I had stayed after school playing with some other kids…so there was no one downtown as the stores had all closed. As I walked past the town jail which was located on the main street where most of the towns businesses were I heard some loud whacking and thudding sounds coming from inside the jail. I also heard that Indian kids voice crying for help and begging not to be hit any more. The town cop who had picked up the kid earlier that day was amusing himself by beating on the kid when no one was around. He probably kept on beating on the Indian kid until late into the night…until he got to tired or too drunk to beat on the kid any more. The town cop had a reputation for drinking a lot.

    I looked around for someone who might help the kid but the town street was empty. No one wanted to get involved in helping some Indian kid and they especially didn’t want to cross the town cop. They didn’t want the cop beating on them or their kids, which he would do if they gave him a reason to.

    I didn’t know what to do, I was standing there on an empty street and it was almost dark and I knew my parents would be concerned about me if I didn’t get home pretty soon so I just walked on home. Being a six year old kid and not knowing what else to do I let it pass.

    That was the first time I ever knew about bull cops. I’ve learned since then that there are a lot of bull cops in the world…at least one on every police force. They all have some things in common. They are arrogant and mean; they like to hurt people physically, mentally and emotionally. They are protected by the cowardice or ignorance of the towns’ citizens and their fellow cops. They are cowards and bullies (i.e. “bull” cops) who hide behind their badges and guns and they like to embarrass and humiliate their victims. If they weren’t cops hiding behind their badges and guns they would be stalkers, child beaters, wife beaters, elder abusers, etc., etc.

    I am a senior citizen, handicapped and part of a minority group. I was recently the victim of a Menifee bull cops sadism. I have seen him bullying other people in the Sun City area and now he has bullied me.

    I think I shall not let that pass.

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Readers are invited to leave a comment to contribute to public dialogue. Comments will be reviewed by a moderator and will not be approved if they include profanity, defamatory or libelous comments, or may otherwise be considered objectionable by Menifee 24/7 editors.

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