Wow, Gayle Prest was a quick fix of a problem. I know it was not a MPLS Issue., but I am impressed by the effectiveness of posting such a problem.
Since we are talking about traffic lights and problems, can any City employee address the catastrophe the City has created for signals on 11th Avenue beside the Dome. This incredible bottleneck makes driving down 11th Avenue heading north almost impossible at rush hour. That is legally driving north on 11th at rush hour. You cannot cross 6th and 5th most times because the lights are so close together and timed such that the downtown traffic on 6th fills up the lane and the light changes before you can get across the intersection. This forces drivers to break the law in one of two ways, they either block the intersection until a light changes or they pull into the bike lane. Actually driving in the bike lane appears to be the preferable method as it seems to be the safer alternative and is the one most often employed. The street was two lanes prior to the bike lane and traffic negotiated the intersection with a minimum of problems, so there was no need to do proper traffic engineering for the site. Given that Minneapolis is trying to promote bikes as a viable transportation alternative, I would suggest that "Traffic" fix this problem. I also would suggest that the Traffic Department look at such bottlenecks when the City is putting in other bike lanes. With the necessity of compact use of street rights of way, (several forms of transportation using them simultaneously), it is also necessary to do a little more effective and proactive traffic engineering. You can't just remove a lane of traffic and add a bike path without adjusting other elements in the equilibrium that is the urban environment. (hope that was adequately pedantic) I am interested to see how long it takes for a response. We may have found a method to address the constituency response problem the "List" has been hot with. MPLS Issues Jim Graham, Ventura Village From: Prest, Gayle A <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: 'Steven Houdek' <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 10:12 AM Subject: RE: [Mpls] storm/lights out > Thanks for the information about the signal light not working at Minnehaha > and Portland. The Public Works Dept is resetting the lights. > > FYI: There are close to 800 signal lights in the City and not all of the > lights are a part of a computer monitoring system yet. If you spot a > problem with signal lights please call Public Works at 673-5750. > > Gayle Prest > Minneapolis Public Works > Tangletown > > -----Original Message----- > From: Steven Houdek [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 6:01 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [Mpls] storm/lights out > > > > Hi- > Here is an odd thing that keeps happening at the intersection of Portland > Avenue South and Minnehaha Parkway: Eveytime it rains hard, or when a storm > happens, the stop lights are out at that intersection! I am not making this > > up!, I drive thru it to work every morning and the last 6 months if there > has been a storm overnight the stop lights are out. What's the deal with > this? > BTW, I like it when the lines are painted on the streets, think it helps at > night. > Steve Houdek > Nomkomis > > > _________________________________________________________________ > MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: > http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx > > _______________________________________ > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls > _______________________________________ > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls > _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
