MEMPHIS, TN - Navigating one of the most narrow roads in Memphis. A trip down parts of Poplar Ave. can be dicey, some say even dangerous. Buses have an even more difficult time, and it's costing you money.
Highway standards call for traffic lanes to be at least 12 feet wide. It's different on city streets, but those highway rules are general guidelines. Eyewitness News found, on one of the busiest stretches, lane width leaves a lot to be desired.
Driver Jonathan Saulsberry lost his rearview mirror when it came in contact with a MATA bus.
“I was headed down poplar, in my lane, and all of a sudden, pow,” said Saulsberry.
He says the skinny street is to blame.
"The lanes are extremely too tight,” said Saulsberry. “It's been that way ever since I can remember. I've avoided many accidents over the years on Poplar. It just doesn't make any sense."
He's not alone. MATA says there were more than a hundred incidents last year that can be blamed on narrow lanes on Poplar.
“It’s challenging along Poplar Ave.,” said MATA spokeswoman Alison Burton. “And they [drivers] do have to undergo training to learn how to maneuver safely along Poplar Ave.”
MATA says the narrowness of the lanes isn't the only problem, it's the storm grates. It's a killer on the tires. Eyewitness News measured and found grates cutting two feet into the width of the road.
“So those tires are very expensive,” said Burton. “If they're just rubbed too much, we have to deal with tires and mirrors.”
Saulsberry is just happy he didn't lose more than his mirror.
“I think it's an extreme safety hazard,” he said. “I think that it really doesn't make any sense, and I think it's well overdue to be changed.”
Just to replace one tire, it costs MATA about $1,000.
Eyewitness News contacted the City Engineer about the narrow lanes, but did not heard back Wednesday night.
MATA says it spent more than $11,000 on repairs last year for incidents that happened along Poplar.
