Red light, Yellow light, Green light GO
I recently read where the Dayton City council approved a memorandum at another “special called meeting” requesting approval for a new traffic light at the intersection of Market Street and Illinois Avenue. The state is going to be placing a red light at the intersection of Market Street and Iowa Avenue due in part that there is a railroad crossing there and studies by the state indicate that the light is needed there for public safety.
However, Councilman Bobby Doss for some reason is dead set on ANOTHER red light at Illinois Ave. and my question is “why”? Could it be that he may have been raised on Illinois Ave. and wants to make family members happy or is he truly thinking of what’s best for the city? Vice Mayor Bobby Doss has pushed for a new light for the last three years to be placed at Illinois and Market ever since he was elected. Then again remains the question, WHY?
Doss said that "Traffic is just so much heavier than it was 10 or even five years ago,". 'There's a tremendous amount of traffic trying to get back out on Market Street."
My opinion is HE DOESN”T. Absent any sort of study he is obviously passing on hearsay and a few complaints of a handful of family members or a few people that have to wait to pull onto Market Street from Illinois Avenue. Really? Then based on that can we have red lights at every intersection?
What about the intersection at Florida Avenue and Market. Ever notice how backed up and crowded that area is. We also know that when traffic gets congested in that area it clogs up the intersection at Delaware and Market. There. Should we place another red light there?
Doss said he knows there may be opposition to the new lights, but he said he thinks it's the best thing for the whole city. So in other words, there may be opposition to the red light but he doesn’t give a damn because HE thinks it’s best for WHOLE CITY. He hasn’t been in office long enough to be that arrogant one would think. That Vice Mayor title must be going to his head.To me it would make much more sense to actually conduct some sort of study and gather some facts other than the disgruntled ramblings of a few people that feel at certain times of the day they have to wait to gain access onto Market Street.
But one thing Mr. Doss has neglected to consider is the amount of kids that walk to and from Dayton city school every day. Many of them walk all the way from the Dayton Housing project and what will the added red light do for them? Also, what about when school lets out and the traffic guard directs traffic in the only two directions that 99.9% of the traffic goes and that is either north on Market or SOUTH on Market. Now imagine this folks. You will now have traffic sitting at the Iowa and market red light and when that turns green the Illinois red light will turn red or whatever. I think you get the point. The point being is you have one red light and then once you get the green light you drive only one block only to be stopped at another one. During all this time traffic will back up to the point that the crossing guard cannot be able to direct traffic SOUTH onto Market at all. This will create haste and confusion and before you know it we will have some child injured or killed all because Bobby Doss said the heck with what anyone thinks because HE wants a red light to please certain people.
The right thing for the council to do is call another special called meeting (those are getting rather popular for some reason) and rescind their vote on this red light scenario or don’t because the realistic sad truth is deep down it doesn’t effect me in the least. I don’t live on Illinois Avenue…
However, Councilman Bobby Doss for some reason is dead set on ANOTHER red light at Illinois Ave. and my question is “why”? Could it be that he may have been raised on Illinois Ave. and wants to make family members happy or is he truly thinking of what’s best for the city? Vice Mayor Bobby Doss has pushed for a new light for the last three years to be placed at Illinois and Market ever since he was elected. Then again remains the question, WHY?
Doss said that "Traffic is just so much heavier than it was 10 or even five years ago,". 'There's a tremendous amount of traffic trying to get back out on Market Street."
Another question is, just how in the world does Bobby Doss know how much traffic is there at that intersection or any other intersection? What sort of study did he do? If Doss works everyday as he says he does mowing grass every day, digs graves or whatever else that is required of an employee of a funeral home, then just exactly how does he know how much traffic there is or is not?
My opinion is HE DOESN”T. Absent any sort of study he is obviously passing on hearsay and a few complaints of a handful of family members or a few people that have to wait to pull onto Market Street from Illinois Avenue. Really? Then based on that can we have red lights at every intersection?
What about the intersection at Florida Avenue and Market. Ever notice how backed up and crowded that area is. We also know that when traffic gets congested in that area it clogs up the intersection at Delaware and Market. There. Should we place another red light there?
Doss said he knows there may be opposition to the new lights, but he said he thinks it's the best thing for the whole city. So in other words, there may be opposition to the red light but he doesn’t give a damn because HE thinks it’s best for WHOLE CITY. He hasn’t been in office long enough to be that arrogant one would think. That Vice Mayor title must be going to his head.To me it would make much more sense to actually conduct some sort of study and gather some facts other than the disgruntled ramblings of a few people that feel at certain times of the day they have to wait to gain access onto Market Street.
But one thing Mr. Doss has neglected to consider is the amount of kids that walk to and from Dayton city school every day. Many of them walk all the way from the Dayton Housing project and what will the added red light do for them? Also, what about when school lets out and the traffic guard directs traffic in the only two directions that 99.9% of the traffic goes and that is either north on Market or SOUTH on Market. Now imagine this folks. You will now have traffic sitting at the Iowa and market red light and when that turns green the Illinois red light will turn red or whatever. I think you get the point. The point being is you have one red light and then once you get the green light you drive only one block only to be stopped at another one. During all this time traffic will back up to the point that the crossing guard cannot be able to direct traffic SOUTH onto Market at all. This will create haste and confusion and before you know it we will have some child injured or killed all because Bobby Doss said the heck with what anyone thinks because HE wants a red light to please certain people.
Therefore, I think that IF some tragedy happens and an innocent child is killed and the contributing factor is his fabulous red light then he should personally be forced to dig the grave and mow that lot for free. For what it is worth, I am going to send the state my own request and ask them to deny any funding for any such red light until some sort of safety and feasibility study is conducted. By doing so I will in the least feel that as a citizen of Dayton I did my part to not only speak out but be proactive in situation.
The city should say NO to one of the red lights and think of the overall situations that can occur due to their hasty actions to please a very, very small minority of people.
Oh, and what do I base my figures on? I suppose I based them on the same thing Doss did, I just “think” that is what the deal is. Then again, he’s the elected official not me. If someone gets killed it will indeed fall on his shoulders as well as the entire councils shoulders and to me we are all INDIVIDUAL responsible and liable for our actions. Bobby Doss may not have much to lose but the rest of the councilmen seem to have lots of assets to lose if something as simple as a court filing fee freezes everything up.
The right thing for the council to do is call another special called meeting (those are getting rather popular for some reason) and rescind their vote on this red light scenario or don’t because the realistic sad truth is deep down it doesn’t effect me in the least. I don’t live on Illinois Avenue…
In the same special called meeting the Dayton city council voted to increase the cost that the city residents will have to pay for trash pickup. The new rate is now going to be $9, up from $7. Also, as if that wasn’t enough, it seems that residents will soon see the increase on their utility bills AGAIN. Folks, how many times has YOUR electric and water rates increased within just the past 5 years? Where is all the money going?
Source: TennesseeGadfly.com
