IN MY OPINION

Let’s talk traffic! Well, I will anyway, and hope this generates some form of discussion or hopefully, a debate! I have a theory about the efficient movement of traffic. I shared it several times with Clark County engineers while employed there, and it really didn’t go anywhere. Well it kinda did during Ron Bergman’s stint as Public Works Director back in the late 90’s. Ron was the only one who understood what I was saying. It seemed difficult for book-learned engineers to comprehend what was actually happening out on the roads. This past month on the 19th a wire report published in the Dallas Morning News named the worst traffic jams in the U.S. major cities. Dallas-Ft. Worth was named 5th out of the top 10. Based on a national study, “Too many people, too many trips over too short of a time period on a system that is too small”, as quoted by Alan Pisarski, a transportation expert and the author of “Commuting in America.” Let’s face it folks, we’re in love with our cars - big, small, and the emerging new hybrids and flex-fuel vehicles. In my perfect world, we’d teach driving efficiency along with safe driving in our driver’s training programs; we’d improve intersections that have created bottle necks, slowing free flowing traffic; and we’d put more effort into utilizing effective technology for traffic signals. I could go into much more detail and probably will at some point over the next few weeks. AND, let’s not even get me started on the role of enforcement in this topic! Or should I say lack of enforcement? Somebody needs to take charge! Who is driving this bus?