In Lowell, Massachusetts: "Watch those signs and look both ways!"

online.com/news/public_announcements/article_1415c016-04b8-5295-9b8f-00c9abd1b1aa.html">Dubuque, too.

City officials have said the traffic pattern switch will make downtown streets easier to navigate and safer for pedestrians, particularly in the developing Millwork District.

We just spent two nights in Dubuque in early August, and had no idea the change was afoot.

It's always worth recalling that as Develop New Albany drags its feet on the two-way issue, terrified not so much of endangering its non-profit tax status as offending the likes of Bob "Antediluvian Non-Urban" Caesar, DNA's parent organization celebrates its 12th year of advocating what DNA is too timid to grasp.

Many factors combine to make main street economically successful. One important, but often overlooked, aspect is the traffic pattern. One-way streets are efficient but they are not customer friendly for people coming downtown to shop two or three times a month. For these infrequent visitors, the downtown circulation system needs to be as easy to use and as easy to understand as possible.

Following is the example of Lowell, Massachusetts. To be fair, not everyone favors the change, these generally being the sorts for whom any alteration of routine is pretext for wailing.

Watch those signs and look both ways! Four downtown Lowell streets open to traffic in two directions, by Lyle Moran (Lowell Sun)

LOWELL -- When Leon Kay of Dracut heads to downtown Lowell to visit Brew'd Awakening Coffeehaus, he typically takes a right off of Bridge Street onto Merrimack Street and then loops around on one-way streets to Market Street.

But on Saturday morning, Kay was able to take a quick left off of Merrimack onto Central Street and then turn right onto Market to get to his destination because of the two-way traffic that went into effect yesterday.

"It made it a lot easier for me to get here," said Kay, 28. "I think it makes a lot of sense."

Thank you, John Gonder. That's exactly what I was thinking.

"I can't help but wonder what could have been a better use of this benevolence."

Is the Horseshoe Foundation's cool million a necessary bonus, or unnecessary charity? What's a few days going to matter, anyway?

At-large councilman John Gonder's blog posting is reprinted in its entirety here.

The Little Bridge That Could ('ve)

The Horseshoe Foundation has offered an incentive of one million dollars to get the Sherman Minton Bridge open earlier. While the community spirit of this organization is well-known and welcome, I can't help but wonder what could have been a better use of this benevolence.

Since the bridge closed in September, what if that noteworthy sum had been committed to a timely reopening of the K & I Bridge? A minor, but vital, link between New Albany and Louisville would have been re-established. Access for cross-river workers may have been eased a tiny bit. Off hour traffic would have been a snap. (Direct travel to the Horseshoe Casino would have been easy, as would the directions--get off the bridge, turn left, stop at the boat.)

But now, as the imminent reopening of the Sherman Minton approaches, the renewed K & I would settle back into a pattern of reduced relevance for workers and gamblers, yet the bridge would remain. We could soon be engaged in a productive discussion of how best to incorporate The Little Bridge That Could've into a soon-to-be-unveiled Greenway and,how best to utilize that structure as a link for bike and pedestrian traffic across the river.

Those primary uses of the bridge would not preclude the use of the bridge as a steam valve to let off some of the congestion caused by a bridge closure in the future. It would also serve as a link to life saving emergency services if another bridge were blocked or closed.

Apparently, the value of having the Shermn Minton open about 25 days earlier is worth about $40,000 per day to the casino. Once the gamblers have replenished the coffers, perhaps the Horseshoe Foundation would see fit to throw about a month's worth of that forty Gs a day toward a revitalized K & I bridge. All the current incentive is buying now is some time, but a renewed K & I would be a real and lasting benefit to the community.