Friday, March 27, 2015

New Austin City Council does something right


"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

In case you were still skeptical that the new council is light-years better than the old one:
Intersection improvements. Better signal timing. And a crackdown on drivers who block intersections.

Austin officials announced a slew of efforts Friday morning targeted at reducing the traffic congestion, ranging from immediate fixes to longer-term undertakings. Officials hope the cumulative effect will ease some of the pain felt by commuters each day.

“It’s time for us to start trying new things,” Mayor Steve Adler said.

Among the efforts drivers should notice first: Police officers stationed at key intersections to help keep traffic moving; a crackdown on delivery trucks blocking critical roads during commuting periods; limiting the places for mid-block left-turns that can cause traffic to back up; and an aggressive “Don’t Block the Box” campaign to remind drivers not to pull midway into an intersection, only to block traffic when the signal changes.

Other initiatives will take more time. The city plans to ramp up efforts to use “smart signals” and other technology to adjust signal timing based on traffic flow, coordinate signal timing along corridors and adjust the timing to keep buses rolling through green lights.
Austin no longer has the craziest local government in this state; if that's not proof miracles really happen, we don't know what is....

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