Our View

Ruth W. Stidger
Editor-In-Chief

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See also: The Last Word

December 2004

How Long Should Repair Take?

What’s a reasonable length of time to expect drivers to put up with closed lanes, milled surfaces with manholes sticking up, and the general inconvenience of repairing a street?

After a few calls to local agencies, small city and county street engineers primarily, the consensus seems to be that a short resurfacing project should be completed in two to three weeks at most. A major effort, including bridge and overpass widening or repair, may take much longer.

Not all agencies meet such schedules, of course. A 3-mile stretch of Dallas’ four-lane street, Live Oak (no bridges; no overpasses), was milled more than two months ago. Today, it is just the same — surfacing has not been completed and striping is just a dream on the distant horizon. Drivers are forced to find alternate routes or bounce from manhole cover to manhole cover several inches above the surface of the street as their vehicles jolt along on the very uneven surface of the street left after milling.

If all agency engineers and managers would look upon drivers as their clients, which they are since they pay the gasoline and other taxes to repair the streets, perhaps work would be more expeditious.

Setting up a schedule for contractors and subcontractors can be like a game of dominos gone bad. Just one contractor gets out of synch and the whole job slips behind.

No doubt this is what has happened on the Dallas arterial. The millers came, did their job, and went. The paving contractor is evidently behind schedule, on another project, or just really doesn’t care whether the road is paved in a timely manner or not. The striping contractor can’t do his or her work because of this delayed schedule.

Perhaps being an editor with constant deadlines makes me more aware of delays of every kind than most folks, but the drivers who directly or indirectly pay our salaries know all too well about every day of a project out of schedule. A business owner near our office calls it “driving in a gravel pit.” These drivers deserve road repairs that get completed on time. With good planning and follow-up, we can give it to them.

November 2004

Small Cities Have Traffic Problems, Too

Since this is a heavy business travel season, I’ve gotten to see road pluses and problems in several parts of the country.

Congestion and inadequate entrance and exit ramps continue to be two critical situations that need solutions. We may think these problems exist mainly in large cities like Chicago and New York, and, of course, they do.

Real problems lie beyond the state highways or the Interstates and create traffic backup in even small cities as well.

One of these problems is inadequate design. Another is poorly thought-out traffic control.

In Valparaiso, Indiana, for example, a newly developing part of the fast-growing little city has placed several new office and shopping parks in an area that had few streets. This offered city engineers the perfect opportunity to create roads that would move traffic in and out smoothly.

Unfortunately, the main route of choice appears to be a cut-through that uses a two-lane back street never intended for heavy travel. It leads to a highway access road and an entrance to the highway that can only hold three vehicles. To make matters worse, this access road has traffic from two directions fighting for the small window of opportunity to enter the highway when the stop light turns green.

The result is congested traffic, flaring tempers, blaring horns, and unsafe driving — worst at rush hour (yes, there is a rush hour in Valparaiso and a very nasty one at that), but ongoing throughout the day.

It is hard to see what engineers can do to correct this situation other than cutting off the street so that it does not allow through traffic from the new developments. Drivers would have to spend an extra minute or two taking streets with greater capacity, but the road would then do what it was designed for — provide access to the highway for the businesses along the road’s edge.

October 2004

Bridges a Key to Sound Systems

While working on the results of our annual bridge inventory and conditions questionnaire results, I found an interesting challenge presented by one of the bridge engineers surveyed. If she could change an aspect of the agency to improve bridges, she would find a way to create more interest in bridges as a vital part of the infrastructure, she said.

And this is something we can all do. Using our community relations departments and our own contacts and conversations with others, we can help educate the general public about the importance of bridges. As their interest grows, they will hopefully support more funding for bridge programs.

Many of those responding to this year’s questionnaire lamented the fact that their agencies’ programs were pavement-needs rather than bridge focused.

Pavement needs are essential, but without a bridge, which is after all a part of the road, the traffic will come to a quick halt.

So when asked to speak to a public group, why not discuss the importance of bridges and the loads they carry. In cities, industrial hauling over bridges is critical. In agricultural regions, bridges help move seasonal products quickly to their markets.

Call your local media and suggest they do a feature on the importance of a bridge in the area — you can offer new work done on the bridge as a focal point, or, if the bridge needs work, you can suggest they look at that need and how it can be met.

Bridges can be the forgotten stepchild of any transportation agency.

Drivers usually take them for granted.

Without sound bridges, though, there will be no adequate transportation in any state, county, or city.

In the next issue, we’ll tell you more about the ideas our questionnaire respondents have for improving and funding bridge programs.

September 2004

Get a Laugh: Take Drivers' Training

Having the greatest streets and highways in the world won’t help control the number of deaths on the road if drivers don’t know and obey the laws and practices that govern safe use of their of vehicles.

How many times have you had a driver pull into your lane from a side street without having adequate room to do so? Sometimes these drivers are taking a right-on-red turn, but just as often, they are pulling away from a stop sign and are too impatient to wait for a safe entry point.

How about the drivers who take a left turn from the right-hand lane, in front of you or another car in the center lane, without giving so much as a glance over their shoulder? I’ve seen drivers cut across as many as three lanes to make such a turn, but even one lane creates havoc as drivers stomp on their brakes to avoid hitting the car making the illegal turn.

What about tailgating, that very dangerous practice of following a vehicle so closely you can’t stop and avoid hitting it if the driver of the lead car has to stop quickly.

And then there’s speeding — studies indicate that many drivers consider a speed limit only a guideline which may be exceeded by a minimum of 10 miles per hour.

Road and highway agencies and law enforcement agencies need to work together to make sure that the streets and roads — whatever their condition — are used in a legal and safe fashion.

Defensive driving classes provide one possible answer. Some states, including Texas, encourage their use by offering them as a way to avoid having a speeding ticket go onto your record. Many insurance companies provide hefty discounts on vehicle insurance if you’ve completed a defensive driving class within the past three years.

Making such classes mandatory seems a better idea to me. Perhaps requiring them prior to renewing a driving license would work best. With Internet-based classes, drivers don’t even have to leave home to complete the class.

There will always be reckless drivers. But, with not too much effort we could increase knowledge about safe driving, require repeated exposure to those facts, and hopefully save lives on the road.

There’s even a comedy defensive driving class — both online and in most locations. You get some good laughs when you attend, and attending may just mean that you’ll be around to drive — and laugh — for many more years.

August 2004

Why Not Tell It Like It Is?

Attending this year’s International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh provided me with an excellent reminder of how important it is to be straightforward when talking to others.

In one seminar, various speakers presented views of topics somewhat aligned to the announced subject of the session — reauthorization of the Federal Surface Transportation Bill. Only one person, Pete Ruane, got up and gave bold, factual opinions about the problem and what we need to do about it (you can read about his views - click here).

When he began to speak, the members of the audience stopped slouching, sat upright, quit daydreaming, and began to function fully — listening to his ideas, as well as the facts he presented, thinking about how they could apply what he said to their own working lives.

Sometimes it’s easier to beat around the bush. In Washington (at least for the next year or so), I suppose that would be called beating around the Bush.

Sure, people can become upset when you tell it like it is. Sometimes they don’t want to face truths or difficult situations.

Not facing problems and finding solutions won’t make those challenges go away. Usually, avoiding problems or difficult work situations only makes them worse.

In the case of the session at the bridge conference, the topic of getting the Federal Surface Transportation Bill reauthorization passed is something we all need in the worst sort of way. Ruane was ready and willing to give ideas about how to achieve that goal.

The same principle applies to other aspects of our work lives.

If we can follow Pete Ruane’s example, think out of the box in a creative way, and present whatever ideas we have for solving specific problems, we will be able to achieve the ends we want. And let’s hope that we reach his goal of getting the Federal Surface Transportation Bill passed soon. We can’t afford to wait until after the election.

July 2004

Responsible or Not?

About a week ago, a Dallas resident phoned our office and asked about the responsibility of city management when a street excavation has been left unguarded, without a cone, a barricade, or any sign of potential danger from drop offs.

Later, she came into the Dallas editorial office with photos she’d taken of the excavation.

When the damage occurred, the caller drove around the corner from a side street and dropped into an excavation hole left with no markings or signs, causing about $2,500 worth of damage to her car.

The next day, when workers returned, she tried to determine who was doing the work — a contractor or a city crew.

One worker told her the excavation should have had signs. Then the crew boss told everyone to be quiet about the matter.

The driver filed a complaint with the city for damages to her vehicle. Within three hours of having hand-delivered this complaint, she was phoned by a woman who identified herself as working for the city and was told that her complaint was denied.

Later, the driver discovered that the woman does not work for the city, but rather works for a third-party company that handles complaints.

Since then, our driver has been given the royal runaround. She has received letters saying the matter is under investigation, that the city cannot be held responsible, as well as letters referring her to state laws that supposedly prohibit her from collecting damages. Upon obtaining copies of these laws and reading them, she finds that the sections quoted were not accurately cited.

Of course, it would be easier for this driver to file her insurance claim, pay the deductible, and be done with it. However, she chooses to pursue the matter because, she says, “What would happen if someone who didn’t have comprehensive coverage or couldn’t afford the deductible had this happen to them? They might not be able to repair their car and might not be able to continue to drive.”

All of this raises the question of responsibility.

Are you and your crews responsible for making sure that safety requirements in the national or state MUTCD are followed? Do you believe it’s fair to try to avoid responsibility by encouraging legislation that does more than cap liability to actual damages, but seeks instead to avoid responsibility?

June 2004

Highway Safety: More Can Be Done

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has finally released vehicle crash and fatality data from last year.

The good news is that the fatality rate didn’t climb, and remained unchanged from the previous year — 1.5 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled — or 43,220 deaths.

The bad news is that the fatality rate remained unchanged when there are ways in which it can be decreased.

“Decreasing fatalities in passenger cars and injuries overall can be attributed to more crashworthy vehicles and increases in safety belt use,” the NHTSA reports.

Even so, 58% of those killed in passenger vehicles last year were not wearing safety belts. And, 40% of fatalities were alcohol-related.

Estimates place the cost of highway crashes at $230.6 billion a year, or about $820 a person, making costs to our society an issue as well.

Most states have adequate laws in place to address the use of safety belts and the issue of drinking and driving.

We can help decrease fatalities and injuries by pushing for greater enforcement of the laws that already exist and by taking part in community campaigns that call attention to the reasons for accidents and their results. Let’s do it for the sake of all drivers and to help lower the figures for 2004.

May 2004

What's in a Picture?

 Pictures help tell the story and that’s why we like to use photos, graphs, charts, and other illustrations when we prepare articles for you to read.

In our digital age, though, few people who send us digital photos really understand them.

If you plan to take digital photos — whether for publication in your agency or company newsletter or to send to us — here are the basics.

1. Set the dots per inch (resolution) as high as possible on your camera. A 3-meg digital camera can produce photos that are large enough to accompany a minor story if the camera is set at the top resolution. A 4- or 5-meg or higher-capacity camera can produce photos that will be acceptable for large use inside the publication and possibly even on the cover.

2. Lens quality matters. If you’re buying a camera look at the maximum resolution and also consider a camera made by a camera company rather than a computer-oriented company. The camera company is the most likely to include good-quality lenses.

3. Don’t set the camera to produce a time/date stamp on the photos. Whoever uses them will have to crop out the area with the stamp and perhaps lose critical details of your photo.

4. Be sure the photo is saved in .jpg or .tif format. These can be used by just about any publishing program.

5. Don’t e-mail large digital photo files unless you check first to make certain you won’t clog someone’s e-mail box. If the files go through a company server, you may be able to send very large files. If you’re not sure, save them to a CD and mail them.

6. Unless you’re very proficient with Photoshop, don’t try to manipulate the files. The publication staff will be able to do this quickly and to the criteria they want to use.

7. Keep your digital camera handy. When you see something that would be interesting to Better Roads’ readers, take the shot, and send it along. We’ll do our best to share it with your peers.

April 2004

They Want to do What with the Highway Bill?

By the time you read this, what’s left of the energy bill may have been tucked into the highway bill as a last-ditch effort to pass the legislation.

The step may also be intended as one way to encourage President Bush to sign the bill into law, since he is extremely anxious to see an energy bill become law, but is not very anxious to do anything about the poor condition of the nation’s roads.

This combination sounds good on first reading, doesn’t it?

The problem is that by combining these two bills, which have little in common, both are diluted in dangerous ways.

For the highway industry, the combination means that needed attention to improved roads, bridges, and maintenance are watered down by the inclusion of proposed legislation for a totally different industry.

This idea is indicative of many of the problems in our Congress — special interest groups tugging this way and that until it is difficult to persuade representatives and senators to do what is right for the country and for the people.

The highway industry deserves its own bill and its own legislation.

We can, of course, complain to our own representatives and senators.

If enough of us do it, perhaps they will think a bit harder and consider acting differently. Or, they may not, depending on the tug and pull of moneyed groups’ representatives whispering in their ears.

November isn’t far away. Perhaps the best way to complain is to use our vote to turn out those already in office and replace them with a new crew. A clean sweep could give us a few months or even a year of open listening to problems and honest efforts toward solutions before the same old way of doing things restores itself.

Breakaway Signs and Vandalism

Breakaway signs were developed to protect drivers who go off the road and hit them. The idea, of course, is that if the sign breaks away when hit, the driver or passengers in the vehicle will be less likely to get hurt if a sign doesn’t come hurtling through the windshield.

The idea is a sound one, from a safety point.

A less appealing side of the picture is the fact that breakway signs are much more prone to vandalism.

For example, after several wrecks on my street, which were caused by drivers not being able to see past parked SUVs, pickups, and other vehicles at the top of a rise, the Dallas Street Department came out and decided on a half-block-long no-parking zone. This gave drivers exiting into the street good visibility.

A week later, the single breakaway sign erected by the street department had been broken off by someone who wanted to retain their usual parking place.

We have yet to get a replacement, and considering that the sign would probably just be broken off again, perhaps this is understandable.

In the meantime, exiting into the street is dangerous and difficult. Nighttime driving is actually the best, since you can see lights from vehicles approaching the hill, even though they aren’t visible during daytime driving.

Some better solution needs to be found for urban environments— perhaps a flexible sign that doesn’t break off, but bends over when hit by a vehicle and then bounces back.

If you, or someone in your department, has addressed this problem and have ideas about materials and designs, we’d like to hear about them.

Whistle While You Work

It may have started with the seven dwarfs in the movie, Snow White, but lots of folks whistle while they work as a way to lighten their day.

In fact, there is even a snow-plowing service in Summit County, Colorado called Whistle While You Work, Incorporated. They plow and sweep streets and roads for the county and other customers.

And, a book, Whistle While You Work: Heeding Your Life’s Calling, by Richard Leider and David Shapiro, guides readers to discover their core gifts and be sure they’re working at something they really want to do.

When you need a song to whistle, I’d like to suggest Van Morrison’s Down the Road. If you don’t know it, you can hear the 2002 remake of his song at www.artistsdirect.com. You can also find an excerpt of it to listen to on www.amazon.com.

The song begins, “Well, it’s down the road I go...”

As usual, Van Morrison doesn’t just write words and put notes together. In this song on his 33rd album, also called Down the Road, he looks at the past and the future, with Down the Road serving as a statement of purpose.

Reviewers said that the recording reflects the burdens of our lives and the things that we need to ponder.

And like whistling as you work, the song focuses on dreams and reflections; about the need to keep on going down the road of life as we all do, making the most of our lives, which definitely includes our working days.

As we continue to improve the roads that we work on, whether we whistle a tune or sing it, this song can remind us of the importance of our work, the joy with which we should face our days and tasks, and the fact that as we work we can make a difference in our community and our world.

Near the end of his song, Van writes, “Further on down the road...down the road of peace.” What better message could you choose to whistle while you work.

How to Have a Happy 2004

Did you begin the year with a party and a laugh, or were you more conservative in your New Year’s celebrations?

However you did it, there is one sure way to have a happy new year.

Begin by setting aside one day to do all of the things that mean the most to you.

Spend time with your family and the friends who are closest to you.

Examine your work and what it means to you and how you can improve both your job and the quality of the work you do.

Look at your community and your company or agency and ask if you are as involved in it as you want to be and should be.

Set goals for all areas of your life — financial, work, family, and personal. After you’ve established what you really want, break them into little chunks and put them down on a piece of paper with the time steps you plan to take to achieve them. After all, if you don’t know where you’re headed, you will probably just head for nowhere.

Whether your primary goals are to move up in your agency or to learn to speak Spanish, whether you want to spend more quality time with your kids or let your friends know how much you value them, now is the time to move ahead.

If you’ll give these steps a try and check back to see how well you’re matching the timeline on your goals once a week or so, you will definitely have a happier 2004.

December 2003

Give Me a Driveable Road -- Please

Are there cities with streets not chopped to bits by telcom and other utilities; with those street cuts properly repaired when the cuts are required?

Are there contractors who mill the edge of an overlay to the curb to avoid dangerous dropoffs curbside?

Are there repair crews who leave a smooth surface rather than a bone-jarring hump of asphalt after filling a pothole?

Are there city managers and street superintendents who make sure a street base is sound before slapping an overlay on it?

Are there city councils who use dedicated street funds for streets rather than spending it elsewhere and then saying good streets aren’t possible because they don’t have the funding?

Are there traffic control departments that time lights in sequence?

There must be all of those things in many towns and cities.

Unfortunately, none of them seem to exist in Dallas — nor in many other U.S. cities.

Much of the answer, in my opinion, lies in enforcement.

We need to enforce contractor specs for milling and pothole repair, get the public to back a campaign to keep dedicated street funds dedicated, and push whoever is in charge of light timing to check the system occasionally.

I plan to begin a renewed push in Dallas. Maybe you will join me by doing the same with your own city officials and those in your agency who have let driveable roads slide.

For more 2003 click here

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