GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Main and Bank work to begin on Monday the 13th -- or was that Friday the 16th?

On Thursday, it became apparent that Slick Jeffie's $500,000 stop light project at the intersection of Main and Bank, the urgent need for which has been apparent for at least six years, but which has been delayed until right NOW because of the mayor's self-glorification imperatives elsewhere, is coming to fruition only because of election year politics.

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: The shenanigans and ass-hattery of Deaf Gahan's last-minute Main and Bank stop light project have commenced.

 ... The foreman seemed to be in a blind panic. He said the Bank/Main project had been labeled "emergency" election year status and therefore would be fast tracked, adding that the amount of work they have to get done would typically require three months -- ah, but Deaf Gahan has demanded that work be completed in 27 days.

Gahan's insistent it be finished before Harvest Homecoming even though this foreman admitted he had never had a project this size proceed that quickly and didn't know how they were going to get it done.

One might say okay, but at least it's finally being done -- except it should be a four-way stop project from the get-go, albeit inflated to fiscal grandiosity in a vacuum owing to the usual dictates of fluffery, and as oft times before, the independent businesspersons nearest the project, whose routines are to be interrupted most profoundly BEFORE Harvest Homecoming renders them inaccessible for a whole week, HADN'T BEEN TOLD ANYTHING AT ALL BY THE CITY ABOUT THE PROJECT.

Of course, this is standard dysfunctional procedure, and the way it works almost every time. If a mayoral flunky or visiting engineer tells the Bored of Works that stakeholders have been notified, it means none have been notified. Team Gahan's obligations tend to be toward self-perpetuation, not timely notification.

But on Thursday afternoon, September 12 ... with 27 days of compressed destruction about to commence on Monday, September 16, at long last Gahan got around to letting shopkeepers in on the program.

By proxy, of course.

Look what showed up at the end if the day yesterday. Delivered by the construction foreman, not a member of the administration. Charmingly vague, eh?

This is what "work starting Monday" looks like.

I don't blame the construction company for getting started right away, but Gahan's office needs to get it's head out of its ass and be up front about the impact this is going to have on businesses. Work starting today is fine, just SAY that work is starting today.

Like, that's not even a lie worth telling.

Construction slated to begin on the 16th actually began on Friday the 13th, so apparently it must be a lie worth telling because Gahan tells it every single time -- and still the sycophants sing the praises of a mayor whose only noteworthy skill is using an abacus to count the money given to him by no-bid contract seekers.

We can do something about this, you know.

#FireGahan2019
#DrainTheGahanSwamp

Red light running: "The real way to save lives is to #slowthecars through road design that makes drivers feel uncomfortable moving quickly."

"Pedestrians and cyclists should make eye contact with drivers, according to AAA, which also recommends not wearing headphones while commuting."

I've known about the "eye contact" rule for years. You?

It's essential for bicycling, but increasingly difficult to manage because of drivers opting for tinted glass. That's why I refer to tinted glass as the last refuge of narcissistic sociopaths.

Strong Towns commented:

Here's the thing: of *course* people race yellow lights and end up running reds. You and I do it too, especially when every other thing about the road you're driving on besides that one little light is signaling to you that it's time to drive fast.

Most good traffic control really isn't about traffic signals or signs at all. The real way to save lives is to #slowthecars through road design that makes drivers feel uncomfortable moving quickly. (Bonus? Those road designs are exactly the kind we can actually afford to maintain—unlike the stroads we've got in our neighborhoods now.)

AAA's spokesperson predictably is a tad too harsh on "distracted" pedestrians, a phenomenon that largely isn't, being the invention of imaginative car-centrists to condone their own imperialistic impulses.

Sorry, but there's nothing in the Constitution about the supremacy of your vehicle. It speaks instead of the equality of all, including those of us wishing to walk or ride a bicycle.

Deaths From Red Light Running At A 10-Year High, AAA Study Finds, by Bobby Allyn (NPR)

Deaths caused by motorists running red lights have risen to a 10-year high, a newly released study finds.

At least two people are killed this way every day in the U.S., according to the study of government data by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

The study looked at fatalities from 2008 to 2017, the most recent year data are available. Drivers blowing through red lights killed 939 people in 2017. That's an increase of 31% from a low in 2009, when 715 people were killed.

More than half of those killed were passengers or people riding in other vehicles. About 35% were the drivers who ran the red light. Pedestrian and cyclist deaths connected to red light running represented about 5% of total deaths.

The precise reason for the jump in fatalities isn't clear. But AAA's director of traffic safety advocacy and research, Jake Nelson, says distracted driving is likely a major contributor ...

ASK THE BORED: BOW says it might do what it said it couldn't, but only after a Gahan campaign donor gets a fat no-bid contract for another $85k "study."

They've dragged their feet for YEARS on the request of businesses and residents to just INSTALL A 4-WAY STOP at the intersection of Main and Pearl.

But no. Nothing simple can occur without ANOTHER $85,000 "study" conducted by ANOTHER of Jeff Gahan's campaign contributors -- and if the pre-determined outcome is delivered, there'll be ANOTHER fat contract for the same amount or more to ANOTHER donor, when all we really need to do is plant stop signs, slow drivers and help them negotiate passage safely.

Susan Duncan doesn't agree with the verdict of our own two eyes, but corrupt is corrupt.

#FireGahan2019

The city should know later this year whether a stop light is warranted at the intersection of Bank and Main streets.

Many business owners in the area have asked the city about placing a light at the intersection saying it poses a danger to both drivers and pedestrians. The city has hired Lochmueller Group to determine if a light is needed.

City engineer Larry Summers said with the new city hall and other proposed development coming to the area, he thinks a light will be warranted. The contract for the study is not to exceed $85,000.

However, the headline writer at NooBune gets it right, capturing the abject futility of a city unwilling, unable (actually both) to reign in fireworks, short of begging the citizenry not to set shit on fire.

Residents asked to use 'common sense' with fireworks, by CM

New Albany follows state law

NEW ALBANY — It's almost July 4 which means it's time for fireworks. And whether you love them or wish they were banned, they do generate plenty of discussion.

New Albany follows state law which means fireworks can be shot off starting now. People are supposed to shoot them off on private property and have safety measures in place in case something happens.

New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey told the Board of Public Works & Safety on Tuesday that people need to use "common sense" if they plan to use fireworks.

"People need to slow down and take a step back if they plan on using fireworks," he said.

Local fireworks vendors are open now through July 6 when their permits run out.

"I am already getting calls," Board of Works President Warren Nash said. "Everyone needs to be mindful of the dangers."

David Hall, director of the New Albany-Floyd County Animal Shelter, said July 5 is the busiest day for shelters across the United States for people looking for lost pets who run off after being spooked by fireworks.

"It's very stressful [for the pets]," he said.

He said some shelters across the country have people on staff who stay late into the night on July 4 to calm the animals due to all the noises.

ASK THE BORED: BoW's fantasy world? Talk is cheap, and pedestrians likely will be sitting ducks at intersections that aren't "stop controlled."

Bored minutes from July 25 are hot off the presses. Let's begin with the city engineer's testimony about high-visibility crosswalks.

"At intersections that aren't stop controlled," there'll be "high-visibility crosswalks," rather than a fruitful discussion of why an intersection that merits this extra expense, one undertaken primarily to fool pedestrians into believing they're being protected, isn't being subjected to the logical step ... of being stop controlled.  

Be still my throbbing ticker, because someone mentioned the future bicycle/pedestrian meat grinder at Spring & 10th. Wait ... here comes a truck now!

See how the driver of this improperly speeding heavy truck blithely cuts off the bike lane, and has very nearly strayed into the weird detached parking space? At 40 m.p.h., this driver might strike a walker, biker and parked car, all at once.

Given that the cone is marking the spot where a pedestrian pedestal probably will be erected to (a) block handicapped access, because that's what the city routinely does, and (b) contribute to a false sense of security for pedestrians at a crosswalk that isn't stop controlled ... alas, I suspect Lincks refers merely to the task of implementing whatever smoke and mirrors atop pedestals are available to make this intersection somehow seem safe, when the logical solution ... is to make it stop controlled.

Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Rice of HWC Engineering (dude -- the cross hatching fix?) once stated to me that INDOT simply won't allow 4-way stops and stop lights to be planted for the purpose of slowing traffic.

That's a shame, Jim, because the intersection of Spring & 10th is so potentially dangerous that someone probably will be hurt, and soon, and this injury will then be used to justify the logical and belated fix ... you know, making it stop controlled.

Because, my dear Jim, it's about safety, eh? Wouldn't you rather be pro-active than reactive, or does this require an extra campaign contribution?

Meanwhile, chairman of the bored Warren Nash -- still struggling to keep his story straight about the University of Michigan door-to-door canvassing, which he's convinced is somehow connected to fluoridated water and street pianos -- indulges in a bit of surreal and self-congratulatory reasoning.

Really? Allow me to walk you through it, Warren.

But of course you knew how long the project was going to take. You're the consummate insider, who knows everything so that you can conceal it.

Perhaps the reason you're hearing confusion from the public about the duration of the McDonald Lane project is that Team Gahan does an exceedingly poor job of telling others what it intends to do -- and by others, I refer to those folks who work days and cannot attend your BoW meetings at 10:00 a.m.

It comes as no surprise that something like this would even be said aloud.

Okay, kids -- the Green Mouse is "bored" to tears, so join us again next week as we sift the wreckage of Gahanism for a few ephemeral nuggets of entertainment.

The pestilence of auto-centrism: "To Make Streets Safer, Seattle May Get Rid of Traffic Signals."

As I've said many times before, you simply cannot grasp how badly most of us drive until we've walked (or biked) the same streets we speed through in our cars. Take away the protective wrapping of metal and plastic, and the truth has a better chance of seeping into our craniums.

Stop to consider that as much as I walk in downtown New Albany, it isn't possible for me to constantly monitor signalized intersections. My sampling size is very small, and yet one or two times daily, I witness drivers speeding to race through yellow and red lights -- in a densely populated urban area. Imagine the daily total.

The fact remains that the vast majority of complaints about streets and roads, from potholes through roundabouts, primarily are expressions of annoyance at being forced to reduce speed. And yet, speed obviously kills.

We're not doing very well looking into those mirrors, are we?

To Make Streets Safer, Seattle May Get Rid of Traffic Signals, by Angie Schmitt (Streetsblog)

Here’s an intriguing idea to make city streets safer. Seattle is reviewing 10 intersections to see if traffic signals should be replaced with four-way stops.

Signalized intersections carry special risks. Drivers often accelerate into the intersection during the yellow phase to “beat the light,” for instance, leading to high-speed crashes. The Federal Highway Administration warns that improperly placed signals may “significantly increase collisions” [PDF, page 9-35].

One alternative to signals is a roundabout, in which traffic entering the intersection is deflected by a center island, and incoming drivers yield to traffic in the circle. One study cited by the FHWA founds the crashes with injuries declined 78 percent at nine intersections after signals were replaced with roundabouts.

Another option is the basic four-way stop, which is more common in America.

Yo, Warren: "The benefits of removing stop lights."

The problem?

Streets need to have two-way traffic lanes for the regimen of 4-way stops to work.

The solution?

Two Way Streets Now.

The benefits of removing stop lights, by Robert Steuteville (Better! Cities & Towns)

A growing number of experts advocate stop light removal to save money, improve safety, make cities more walkable, and boost traffic flow.

... Planner Jeff Speck, author of Walkable City and former Director of Design of the National Endowment for the Arts, is a big proponent of removing traffic signals. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has eliminated many in the last year based on Speck's downtown revitalization plan. Four-way stops improve traffic flow because automobiles don't have to come to an extended stop and wait while signals change, Speck points out. For pedestrians, four-way stops are much better—because every automobile has to come to a complete stop and traffic is calmed.

According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette:

Speck said doing away with most of the downtown traffic signals in favor of four-way stops would make for a "dramatic change" to the downtown. Such an arrangement favors pedestrians — "The pedestrian is king" in the setup, he said — and he said motorists will prefer it because they don’t have to idle at traffic signals waiting for lights to change.