Are The New Common Council Committees Any Help?

It shouldn't surprise anyone one bit that the Common Council, the mayor's office and the so-called SAFETY Committee are all tied up in knots with what to do about too many vehicles turning right on red at intersections throughout the city.  Last I heard, the SAFETY Committee is hoping for more DATA before they decide which approach to choose: a blanket NO RIGHT TURN ON RED law throughout the city or individual signs at intersections that someone deems necessary.  What kind of DATA they are they hoping to get (and from whom) is a mystery to me.  

To perhaps better understand the absurdity of this situation, readers may recall a few HUDseen articles in early 2024 about a missing NO TURN ON RED sign at the "improved" Stewart's intersection (Green & Fairview).  If you don't recall, here is the gist of that issue.  Prior to the improvement of the busy intersection along our truck route, there was a NO TURN ON RED sign for southbound Fairview traffic hoping to turn right onto Green.  The sign did not reappear when the improvements were completed, even though the flow of traffic in all directions did not change.  Turning right on red was still a hazardous and dumb thing to do.  Margaret Morris seemed to understand the problem and conveyed her concerns to Police Chief Franklin.  Twice, at separate meetings!  Chief Franklin responded to Margaret both times with this:  "I will speak with the commissioner about it."  (The first time, Margaret thought Chief Franklin was referring to the DPW Commissioner!)  A month or two later at a meeting, I brought up the issue of the still missing sign and Margaret responded that the intersection was fine without the sign.  She had completely changed her tune and she was done with the issue.  End of story. (Morris, of course, was not the council president at the time.)

With a nudge from the new mayor, Morris's SAFETY Committee that has taken up the issue of too many intersections lacking NO TURN ON RED signs and too many vehicles turning right on red where it is unsafe to do so.  The committee, chaired by Henry Haddad, has to decide one of the two paths forward. Haddad was absent from last week's meeting; the issue was not part of the agenda.

One can't help but wonder if after all of this is figured out if the busy Stewart's intersection will get back its missing NO TURN ON RED sign that Chief Franklin and Margaret Morris somehow became convinced a few years ago was no longer needed.  Or maybe the intersection will be included in the complete ban on TURNING RIGHT ON RED throughout the city.  Or maybe the Stewart's intersection will be the only exception to the law! 

But wait a minute, the Police Chief and Margaret Morris told us a few years ago that the Stewart's intersection didn't need a NO TURN ON RED sign anymore!

Here's a very widely read HUDseen article from just over three years ago showing the difficulties City Hall had in installing one NO TURN ON RED sign at an intersection that needed one.  Chances are you've read this piece, but if not, please give it a read.  It should stand as a warning to all current council members -- particularly Henry Haddad and Margaret Morris-- currently grappling with the NO RIGHT ON RED issue.  Include the mayor in that group.

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!

By the way, last Wednesday morning there was yet another vehicle collision at 6th & Columbia.  (I found out about it hours later.  The lead picture shows evidence of the crash.)  Though the house at 602 Columbia was spared this time, the crash was bad enough to create a fluid spill and get a fire engine or two to the scene.  It was no fender bender.  They never are.

Last year

There are still no crosswalks or stop lines at this busy intersection along the truck route that is filled with pedestrians on Saturday mornings.  In fact, there's nothing white on the pavement to be had at all and there never has been (and Rob Perry is okay with that).  Wednesday's "accident" was likely no accident at all, just like all the others there over the years.  Either a driver on 6th ran the red light or turned right and got slammed into by an eastbound Columbia vehicle (perhaps a semitrailer!) they never saw or saw too late. (I'm thinking it was the latter.)  The lack of visibility of eastbound Columbia traffic for drivers on 6th at the light is PRECISELY THE SAME as it is for drivers two blocks away on 4th at Columbia.  And guess what?  About two years ago, after yet another crash there caused by someone turning right on red off of 4th, the geniuses at City Hall decided that it was time to prevent any more such crashes.  So, just like that and with little or no discussion at a council meeting, without the aid of a SAFETY Committee, "ACCIDENT DATA" or a law passed by the Common Council and the city attorney, a long overdue NO TURN ON RED sign was finally installed next to the traffic light above the intersection of 4th & Columbia for drivers on 4th.  

Meanwhile, Henry Haddad, Margaret Morris and their SAFETY Committee (including Dewan Sarowar!) are waiting for DATA to help them figure out what to do next about all the city's dangerous intersections lacking NO TURN ON RED signs, including, presumably, 6th & Columbia.  No need to worry about 4th & Columbia or 4th & State, though.  Someone already took care of them.

But what about all the intersections lacking stop lines and crosswalks?  Which one of Margaret Morris's committees is going to take that issue up, gather all the "data" and discuss it for a minute or two every month for years, allowing everyone involved to feel like they are making progress?

What stop line(s)?