McGrath Lexus Driving Into Traffic at Elston & Division - Insights Needed

Twice during my morning commutes on Elston, I've seen individuals* leave the McGrath Lexus main entrance by turning left into the right hand lane and driving until they can get around the line of cars waiting at the intersection or until there is a small opening in the line of cars that they can get through. Both times this has occured I have been in the right lane and the car has been headed directly towards me.  For those of you who ride Elston, be careful!

 

I get that the company is placed at an awkward spot for a left turn - my guess is they are 25 feet or less from the light. And you bet your bottom dollar I'd be frustrated as a driver trying to turn left at an intersection that regularly has lines of cars at a stop light. That being said, this is extremely dangerous, especially on a road often traveled by cyclists. Before I stop into the dealership to speak with a manager about this, I wanted to see if any of you have had similar experiences? If so, can you send me as many details as possible, as I want to stress the graveness of this situation.

 

*I'm 90% sure it has been the same person both times, but I'm giving this the benefit of the doubt

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joel on October 31, 2011 at 2:53am
I've seen people drive like absolute maniacs in and out of that place on a regular basis.  I'm really surprised they haven't caused an wreck.
Permalink Reply by John L. Douglass on October 31, 2011 at 1:18pm

Katie,

Let me first apologize to you. There is never an excuse for dangerous or wreckless driving, let alone at that time of day. Could you be more specific with the time? A network wide E-mail has gone out expressing your concern, as well as moving security cameras toward that corner of the property. We will make every effort to stop this behavior and I thank you for bringing it to our attention. I would like to be personally contacted if you witness this again.

Sincerely,

 

John Douglass
McGrath Lexus of Chicago

 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 31, 2011 at 1:28pm
Nice to see such a speedy response.
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on October 31, 2011 at 1:38pm
Yeah, I'm impressed too. Did Katie call or send an email or did John Douglass just find the thread? Either way, nice!

Anne Alt said:
Nice to see such a speedy response.
Permalink Reply by A.K.A Paul on October 31, 2011 at 2:04pm
Awesome to see a quick response from McGrath.  Thanks John Douglass for being so proactive, it's very much appreciated.
Permalink Reply by Gopher Biker on November 1, 2011 at 12:56am
I pass through there twice a day on my commute and luckily I haven't experienced what Katie has but definitely have seen many car-carriers blocking the bike lanes there unloading vehicles. The truckers coming in and out of Morton's can be real jerks. I always get a chuckle out of McGrath's autosprinklers watering the road early in the morning.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 1, 2011 at 2:12am
I'll be more impressed if they actually follow up and tell/show what they found and what they did to correct the issue.  Right now this is just lip service by a rep from McGrath.
Permalink Reply by KatieP on November 1, 2011 at 3:02am

Hi John,

I really appreciate the quick response and attention to the issue! I will be sure to let you know if I experience the issue again - my guess is it's tough to know what people are doing when they leave the parking lot, especially customers, so I appreciate any effort. For my particular experiences, they happened around 8 am in the morning.

 

Have a great day, and thank you again!

Katie

Permalink Reply by KatieP on November 1, 2011 at 3:02am
Kevin - I hadn't gone in to McGrath yet, so it looks like John found this on the internet. Kudos for Chainlink being a top search engine choice!
Permalink Reply by John L. Douglass on November 1, 2011 at 3:20am


John L. Douglass said:


Katie Paffhouse said:

Hi John,

I really appreciate the quick response and attention to the issue! I will be sure to let you know if I experience the issue again - my guess is it's tough to know what people are doing when they leave the parking lot, especially customers, so I appreciate any effort. For my particular experiences, they happened around 8 am in the morning.

 

Have a great day, and thank you again!

Katie

Permalink Reply by John L. Douglass on November 1, 2011 at 3:37am

Katie,

 

We are going to monitor the video surveillance more closely at that hour. One thing we did notice however, are eastbound Division vehicles cutting through in order to avoid the long wait left onto Elston. Hopefully, we can address this issue with signage and Chicago's finest. Is there any chance you can be more specific on the vehicle that you witnessed on more than one occasion?

 

-John

Permalink Reply by John L. Douglass on November 3, 2011 at 11:58am

Katie,

Video has taken a few days to set up, but we are live with emphasis on morning commute. We will monitor for a week and report our findings. The company wide E-mail blast should have deterred the employee, if it was in fact an employee. I will report next week with the findings. Please let me know if anything occurs sooner.

-John

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