Got Asthma? Got A Hospital Bill? Got The Right Of Way? Got Congestion? Got Patience? Got An Explanation That Makes Any Sense, Mr. Perry?

(This HUDseen article goes out to all of you, of course, but particularly to Peter Spear and Tom F.  Have a safe and happy winter and holiday season!  And be sure to look all four ways before crossing!  Do it twice at 3rd & Warren!)

If you spend any time near the intersection of 3rd & Warren observing what is going on at the city's busiest-with-foot-and-vehicle-traffic intersection, or if you just happen to be walking or driving by there at the right (or wrong!) time, you will notice a problem -- really, if you look close enough, a host of problems -- created by City Hall that they somehow aren't aware of or don't care about.  Or, more likely, both.  It's an absurd, unwelcome, dangerous, easily preventable and even deadly situation brought to us years ago by the one and only Rob Perry, our $125,000 DPW Superintendent. He needs to offer an explanation and justification for his actions that have created quality of life issues for all of us without actually solving a problem he set out to solve on his own.  But who might force an explanation out of him? Kamal Johnson?  Joe Ferris?  Rich Volo?  Margaret Morris, perhaps?

Still there ten seconds later!  No hurry, nowhere to go!

It's not at all uncommon these days -- especially in the mid-to-late afternoon -- to have a line of 10 or 12 vehicles headed south on South 3rd Street waiting at the 30-second red light at Union Street, with the last car (or TRUCK!) completely blocking the pedestrian crosswalk on the south side of the Warren Street intersection. Sometimes, as I have witnessed, drivers will stop in the middle of the intersection with nowhere to go because there is a line of cars in front of them not moving. Sometimes drivers headed south will stop at the green light at Warren because they don't want to get stuck in the middle of the intersection with nowhere to go and when Warren Street traffic gets a green light.

When you see this frightening shitshow in action -- especially over an over for 20 or 30 minutes with pedestrians walking AROUND vehicles stopped in the crosswalk -- a reasonable person's only reaction can be, "This is insane.  It's just a matter of time before someone is run over."  Rob Perry is not one of those reasonable people.  Neither is Kamal Johnson.

All of this is happening, and happening more regularly, because, according to Rob Perry's response to a question of mine at an informal meeting a few years ago, several years ago he decided that too many people were racing out of town on South 3rd Street to beat the 30 second green lights at Union and Allen, forcing him to shorten their green lights by ten seconds to 20 seconds and increase their red lights by ten seconds to 30 seconds.  It was a genius move:  make the green lights ten seconds shorter to prevent drivers from rushing to beat the red lights.  It's difficult to know if Rob Perry's upside-down, idiotic approach to traffic calming on the tail end (and beginning) of the truck route has had any positive outcomes (he probably doesn't know either), but he has most definitely created another problem or four that he likely did not foresee and that he most certainly doesn't give one crap about.   Cars and trucks regularly being forced to stop in the pedestrian crosswalk at the city's busiest intersection, sometimes for up to twelve seconds (I've timed it)?  WHO. THE. F%@#. CARES!

(Our DPW Superintendent does not have the authority to change the timing of traffic lights or to alter any traffic control devices, including signs.  The city code stipulates that these decisions can only be made by the Police Commissioner!  DPW can only install or alter traffic control devices at the behest of the Police Commissioner, a fact that Rob Perry is well aware of but ignores.)

On a particularly busy Saturday afternoon a few years ago, I was chatting with Sergeant Larry Edelman while he was inside his HPD vehicle parked near 3rd & Warren in the parking lot behind Steiner's.  He may have been observing traffic, of which there was no shortage (it was nuts!).  Pointing to another long line of southbound cars on 3rd Street waiting for the light at Union to turn green, I asked Larry if he was aware that both of the red lights on 3rd Street last 30 seconds and both of the green lights last 20.  He said that he was aware of it.  I asked him if he knew why this was.  "I have no idea, and it makes no sense to me," was his reply.  That must have been 3, maybe 4, years ago.

Not counting those who run the yellow and red lights, no more than 7 vehicles at a time can make it past a 20 second green light on 3rd Street.  And if even one vehicle headed south has to wait to turn left onto Union or Allen, forget about it!  That's when the lines really start to form.  And it's worse, of course, when tractor trailers -- the length of 3 or 4 cars -- are involved.

The busier the city becomes with visitors (and this is what City Hall wants, right?), the more traffic we have on all of our streets.  The more hotels we have, the more traffic we have, including, of course, on 3rd Street.  The more traffic we have, the more traffic congestion we have.  The more traffic we have, the more air pollution we have. The more traffic we have waiting for 30-second red lights to turn green for 20 seconds, the more lung cancer, brain cancer, asthma and a host of other large and small health ailments we have.  We, as in the residents of Hudson, not necessarily the people visiting here or passing through town, of course.  This can't be acceptable, and it shouldn't be ignored!

Rob Perry does not care that this is a regular occurrence.

Of course, if a pedestrian or three get run over (or backed up over) at 3rd & Warren because a block-long line of cars and trucks had formed between Union and Warren, Mr. Perry would no doubt lay the blame on the pedestrians: "They should have been paying closer attention! Do we need a crossing guard there now?  Is that what you want me to do?" Or he would deny that he had anything to do with changing the timing of the two traffic lights on South 3rd years ago, using one of his favorite dismissals: "Sorry, I don't even know what you're talking about. I can't help you."

These are facts:  For South 3rd traffic in both directions, the red lights at Allen and Union last 30 seconds and the green lights last just 20 seconds.  For Allen and Union "traffic" in both directions, their red lights last just 20 seconds while their green lights last 30 seconds, the complete opposite of the lights for the much, much busier artery in and out of the city along a portion of the truck route known as South 3rd Street.  The green and red lights for all four directions of traffic at Warren & South 3rd Street each last 30 seconds.  Beyond South 3rd Street, there are no 20-second green lights on the truck route, only 30-second green lights (at Columbia & 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and Green.)

Inching forward, last in line.

Not only has Mr. Perry made the busy intersection of 3rd &
Warren a more dangerous place for pedestrians and, to a lesser extent, drivers, he has also slowed down both directions of traffic on a major artery in and out of the city, increased drivers' impatience and rage, likely increased the number of speeding vehicles and red light runners, definitely increased congestion and, last but not least, certainly increased the amount of toxic air pollution shit making its way into our lungs and brains.  Thanks, pal, we really appreciate it! Especially the children!  

Hooray for stupidity and carelessness!

(All pictures taken last month.)