Pay attention, Irv, just for once: "This is a home and a destination, not a place to pass through quickly on your way to somewhere else. The streets should be designed to reflect that."

The author lives in Milwaukee, but her arguments apply just as cogently here in New Albany. In fact, we've outlined these same points again and again.

Every day that passes without action to revert New Albany's one-way streets to two-way traffic is a missed opportunity to enhance safety, boost business and reduce confusion. There are additional considerations revolving around quality of life, property values and plain decency, and these are included under the three broad categories in the essay (a snapshot follows, but read the whole article for maximum effect. Even you, Irv).

As the city's daily existence pertains to two-way streets, until Jeff Gahan does something, he has done nothing. Until he does something, he is being hypocritical in making private assurances amid public inaction. Those who claim to be in support of two-way streets reversions but fail to call the mayor's perennial bluff are complicit in both hypocrisy and inaction.

They should loosen themselves from Adam's partisan spiderweb, and try leading for a change.

3 REASONS TO TURN THESE ONE-WAY STREETS INTO TWO-WAYS, by Rachel Quednau (Strong Towns)

... I'm going to outline three main reasons that Farwell and Prospect should be converted to two-way streets.

1. ONE WAY STREETS ARE MORE DANGEROUS

Because of their one-way design, Farwell and Prospect are very dangerous streets where cars consistently speed. I can’t tell you the number of times I have almost been hit by a car while trying to cross this street. The one-way is not only dangerous because of how fast cars move but also because it means anyone turning onto that street thinks he/she only needs to look one way for traffic, instead of looking both ways in case of pedestrians crossing on either side of the street. It is downright frightening.

2. ONE-WAY STREETS ARE WORSE FOR BUSINESS

Two-way streets offer more exposure for local businesses because cars driving in both directions pass by their storefronts. Two-way streets also slow the cars, meaning drivers and passengers have more time to notice local businesses out the window. Two-ways also encourage more foot traffic because they feel safer for pedestrians.

3. ONE-WAYS MAKE NAVIGATION NEEDLESSLY CHALLENGING

Another way that conversion to two-way streets improves business opportunities (and decreases headaches) is by making navigation simpler for drivers, as well as cyclists and transit user. If you’re trying to reach a business on Farwell and you’re approaching it from the south, you’ll be forced to drive up Prospect or nearby Oakland (which is blessedly not a one-way), cut through a narrow residential street and hope you calculated correctly to arrive in front of the business. If you overshot, guess what? You get to drive all the way around the block again. The same navigation issues, of course, apply to cyclists.