(WSBT) If you drive along the retail strips in Mishawaka, you know there's a lot of traffic. People used to use Main Street to beat the congestion on Grape Road. But that's no longer a shortcut.

“It's very congested, you know? Too bad we can't put in some more lanes,” said Sylvia Bubick.

“Traffic is very, very dense,” said Belle Keiser, who is a stylist in Mishawaka.

“The lights aren't very, timed very well and there's always just horrible amounts of traffic,” said Glen Lothary.

You can probably guess what these people are talking about — Grape Road traffic. We try to find ways around it.

“For the most part, if I have to get around it I go on Main,” Mona Graham said.

“I usually go down Main Street,” Bubick said.

Until that started getting crowded too.

“It's starting to get, you know, like Grape Road too, because of the building,” Bubick added.

“Main Street is starting to get worse now that we're getting more restaurants and stores on it,” Lothary said.

The congestion can be hard on businesses.

“My clients, I mean they come here because they want to, because it's not easy,” Keiser said. “It's a little bit hard to get in and out of this particular area.”

And that difficulty translates to accidents.

WSBT News compared a section of Main and Michigan streets in downtown South Bend with a section of Grape and Main in Mishawaka.

Even after taking into account the different levels of traffic in each area, at least twice as many accidents occur on Grape and Main. The difference? Downtown South Bend is a one-way corridor — a fact that some experts think makes it safer.

Would that ever be considered in Mishawaka?

“I think that would hurt the businesses down through there more than it would help them,” said Mishawaka Traffic Manager Todd Scheets.

Experts agree. According to the American Planning Association, two-way systems promote slower speeds, while one-way systems move vehicles through town more quickly, and that can be tough on surrounding businesses as people speed through the area.

“I don't think it's that bad that it warrants putting five lanes going one direction and five lanes going the other direction,” Scheets added.

Scheets said things will get better as city projects are completed.

“I think when we get the main street underpass that's really gonna help traffic flowing down there, yeah, we're trying desperately to keep on top of the growth,” he said.

And it's that growth that keeps people coming.

“I mean there's a lot to do here, so if I have to come here I go ahead and deal with the traffic,” Graham said.

Because one-way systems move people through an area more quickly, cities across the country are considering moving back to two-way streets to revitalize their downtowns. The idea stalled in South Bend due to a lack of public support.