My town has drafted a proposal about safer driving & wanted citizens to read it & give thoughts.
I did read it. And I did have thoughts. I do have thoughts on things but I have to be in a... quirky mood to actually voice what I'm thinking, which apparently I was on that day. I messaged them saying this.
On the Safe Roads Hattiesburg Safety Action Plan post it say, "Residents are encouraged to review the draft and provide feedback". I'm unsure what this means. I did review it, but am unsure what feedback means. I do have some safety issue concerns that weren't addressed, but I'm not certain that's what you're looking for. I only saw one thing that seemed to be a typo & an idea that I'm not certain will be beneficial.
I'm not sure how to give feedback & if it's the "comment" on the draft at the top, I'd rather not do it that way. Could I just... say the things here?
They responded with that this would be fine.
So, I launched my attack... eh... wrote my observations. And remember, I wrote them this fucking novella on Facebook messenger. One giant message. Poor things. But let's dive in, shall we? I'll leave in colour what I actually wrote to them & anything that looks like this will be my extra words to, well... y'all, since you don't live here.
Disregard some of these if this is how draft proposals go. In the beginning of the draft, one of the tools mentioned to get safer driving into the hands of drivers was through pamphlets.
I find that people rarely read pamphlets, especially if they are too wordy, but generally they just get tossed. But events are something people seem to like. Either what y'all have been doing, visiting Hubfest & other events & having a booth set up, or if you have a lecture or event type thing (specifically about the changes/proposed changes) where there is food, people do show up for those.
I didn't see it mentioned but, if it isn't already being done, implementing this information in schools would be beneficial.
It's true. At least here. People might seem nice & take your pamphlet, but they won't read it & will toss it. Or they'll remember it when they get home, cleaning out their bag, glance at it, then toss it. No one will read it. Period. End of story.
It's much more likely that they'll read your pamphlet if they seek you out at your booth at an outdoor event, but really they'll just talk to you because they approached you & also don't need a pamphlet.
And as much as I hate it, teenagers can't run away. If they're in school & you show up to discuss this or it's handled in a class, they have to listen & absorb that. And they are the beginning of the driving chain, so hitting the schools would not be a bad idea, though my 14 year old self would kick my 44 year old self for even suggesting it.
I found that the draft seemed to repeat itself. But as I said, I'm unsure how plan proposals go, so perhaps this is the way, but it just made me want to keep skipping because I felt I was reading the same things over & over again.
It goes without saying. I don't know how draft proposals are supposed to look, but it was fucking wordy & did repeat itself constantly. Seemed highly unprofessional to me. If that's how proposals go, then than entire system needs to be overhauled, but that was not the subject at hand, so that's for another day, I suppose.
About the Biking & Walking Friendly Community plan, it stated that it was NOT complete, but went onto say that you hope it's complete by 2016, which was almost ten years ago now.
Was this a genuine type, or do these types of continuity things not count in a proposal. Like I'm thinking they meant to either say that it was completed, or the date should read 2026 or 2036, ya dig?
I did agree with plans or people's responses to the survey (which I never saw, though I go to the webpage to check my sewer bill pricing & follow this page here on Facebook, so perhaps getting that info more out there might be nice), about more lighting being needed, people using center turn lanes as traffic lanes, distracted driving, & or other reckless driving & running traffic lights (& using stop signs as free-for-alls) were all things I have noticed as well.
All true. I never saw any notice about "take our safety survey" or whatever. So, who was taking this? Two people? Also, yes I'm surprised people can manage the round-a-bout they put in downtown, because people will just gun it out into oncoming traffic, use center turn lanes as driving lanes, are either looking at their mobiles or imaginary butterflies while driving & most certainly run traffic lights like their lives depend on it.
I live on Westover Drive. While I'm in Lamar County, this DOES connect to Hardy & 4th Street which y'all do maintain. And it's weird since I'm Hattiesburg, but also not, but...
...this road is a major thoroughfaire & we are all living in or visiting Hattiesburg, so I do think it should count somehow. But the dangerous curve on this road is still dangerous (some guy was killed in a hit & run there just last year!). Not nearly as much as in decades past, but the ginormous signage, I get is supposed to be seen with one's headlights, but a street light at the TOP of the hill actually would be really great so people can actually see that the curve is coming up, before they are actually in it. There is a realtor who moved a house there at the corner lot & if someone is living there the street light is on, if no one is living there it is off. It does make a HUGE difference.
I'm not even kidding. To the left of my property line up to 4th street (which isn't very far) is some sort of dead zone because it's Lamar County & not Forrest. But EVERYONE uses it. And since no one really knows whose jurisdiction it is, when 911 is called, both counties show up & basically duke it out.
And that light is a something that we really need. You can't see the massive, fuck-off reflective signs the way the road is, until you are right on top of them & if you weren't prepared, then it is too late, yet they have one that barely gives off light several yards up the street from it & two at the bottom. Wrong placement y'all.
And excellent example is the incident I mentioned about the college age kid getting killed. He was walking, just below the curve & it was a hit & run. Those two street lights at the bottom of the hill that I mentioned? They are like a foot from each other on the left side of the street. He was hit on the left where it is very dark. So one of those should be on the opposite side of the road!
Also several nights ago, someone came to the curve going north (so no light right before it), slammed into the gaurd rail & flipped their car. They might have died. I have no idea, though someone was being cut out of that car, screaming, & taken away in the ambulance.
Also of note is that Forrest County is who arrived on the scene. Four cop cars, two fire medic trucks, a huge fire truck, & an ambulance. The lone Lamar County sherrif showed up 45 minutes late, kicked some debris outta the way, talked with the guys, & then just left.
If all of Forrest County is going to show up for a wreck in Lamar County territory & take over the entire scene & Lamar County doesn't care, then I don't want to later hear about no street lights or whatever because it's up to Lamar Country, blahblahblah school kids on a playground bickering.
Also, there is numerous bike & pedestrian traffic up & down this road without any real or safe walking paths. It is mentioned in the plan about no vehicle or impoverished households just on the other side of this road. But these people are mainly walking from their houses to their jobs using this street.
There also is no easy access to public transport. One has to walk up the entirety of this very busy & unsafe road & THEN cross the very large Westover/Hardy intersection to reach a public transport spot (as I believe there is one in the Westwood Square where Winn Dixie is... or is it by Chili's), so perhaps one in front of Miskelly furniture or near this on THIS side of the intersection would be helpful.
I have not used the public transportation, but have had car trouble in the past & had to navigate some roads & intersections on foot. The one at Lowe's & Walgreens is massive & dangerous too. It's not that I've seen loads of people trying to cross at either (& mainly it's the one at Westover), but I have seen people having to cross (presumably the people using Westover to get from home to their job on the other side of Hardy).
I can't really see any way to make this safer for crossing in any capacity other than better traffic light start & stop times or just getting the word out about safety.
And while some of the intersections are troublesome, where one lane goes for what feels like 10 minutes & the other lanes get what feels like 2 seconds (I'm mainly looking at the straight lane from the south side of Westover to the north side of Westover - from Westwood Shopping to Miskelly's), which the people sitting in this traffic will just go for it, whether the light turned red or not, which thus causes accidents.
Something that the were really trying to hit on in their proposal was bike & pedestrian safety. However, while improvements of lighting or pedestrian/bike paths or even beautification was mentioned in various other sections of the town, what was listed for my section was "education". That was it. No improvements.
Just on the other side of this roads is 4th street & then all the people who live to the north of that. But a lot of those people do walk my street to get to work, because there is a major intersection up from my house with restaurants & hotels & some stores where these people walk. Or else they're walking to go to the corner store or a grocery store to shop for themselves.
I know the people walking aren't all transients (though some are) & they don't all work on this side of the intersection. There were people I knew up lived in a neighbourhood off 4th & would walk past my house to then cross over that intersection to get to their job at Chili's or O'Charley's or to their bank on that same side. There was one guy recently who worked at Zaxby's (which is in the same shopping center as Chili's, which is on the other side of the intersection from here) who stopped & asked about a car we had for sale. These people are walking a long way. Hell maybe even a public transport at the petrol station at the corner of West Hills (Westover becomes West Hills Drive, because they changed the road on the north side of 4th) & 4th would be more beneficial.
Another is the offramp from HWY 59 (going south) to get onto Hardy Street. It used to work better I think. Where you'd come off the ramp & stay in the extreme right lane & just merge left into traffic or merge onto Westover Drive.
Now there are cement partitions because you do not want the traffic to do this. You want people coming off the ramp to only merge onto Westover. Which would be fine, except, people don't do this & want to merge left & it holds up traffic & people on Hardy Street who wish to merge into this lane to access Westover are blocked by the partitions & the people who used the off-ramp incorrectly. And boom! Traffic is backed up, making people agitated, & thus causing accidents.
Oh this off-ramp is now terrible. I see what they did. You come up & everyone stops at a light with three lanes. You can either turn left or two lanes to merge right to continue west onto Hardy Street. There is still one far right lane where you come off the freeway & just keep going right to gain Westover Drive. They did have a good plan, however...
...as I mentioned to them, people still come up that off-ramp & get in that lane wanting to then merge left to gain Hardy Street & with them & those partitions, traffic gets backed up. Plus with the partitions, if you happen to be ON Hardy already & want to merge right to get to Westover, those partitions make it almost impossible, as there isn't enough length & traffic at the light is backed up, so you're just... waiting. Causing more backed up traffic. But I know they put those up thinking it would deter... reckless merging or to stop the people coming off the freeway from suddenly realizing they could only turn right? But it's not working.
I have also noticed that older generations (that I find myself around a lot & they like to talk about these things) remember things a certain way & liked it the way it was & get angry about the changes, then want to just try & do things the old way, which is unhelpful in implementing safety & traffic changes. I don't know if this is being touched on in your outreach problems but it probably should be. Obviously in some gentle way to nicely explain why the intersection or whatever was changed & how that will better the flow of traffic or safety.
Somehow I find myself surrounded by old people. Some people I used to clean house for, my own parents, people they meet while out & about shopping wanting to talk. I don't think I've met a single person over 65 that doesn't just want to drive the streets here like they USED to. They're diggin' their heels in on the matter & are causing traffic back-ups where the city has designated this certain road as a right turn only, or blocking this once accessible crossover with a median.
But there is certainly too much traffic now to not warrant some places as right only turns or blocking crossovers where you'll never get across... because there's just too many people now. I get it, but these older people simply do not.
They did not mention this in their proposal. Only older drivers as being perhaps too old to drive, but are still driving. So one's that can't see as well or their reactions are slow, which certainly is true, but they're also just stubborn, or possibly also can't remember that there were changes made.
And the crosswalks on 4th Street for USM. I know it is posted that is 15MPH at each end of this section, but people will still fly through here. A lot. Passing the person going 15 like that driver is crazy & then almost slamming into the students trying to walk across.
I've seen the rules about this played out, on the local news, social media, word of mouth. I even tried telling natives who live here that it's only 15 most of the time (because even I can't remember the hours it's implemented) & they still don't believe me, so I'm thinking people aren't listening, aren't seeing the signage, or are busy thinking about other things to care.
A sky walk here would cost money (I don't know if it's an exorbitant cost or only moderate), but I think in the long run would make traffic run smoother & have way less chance for incidents or serious injury or death.
Just keep the flow of traffic at 35 & no one is crossing, except perhaps at the lesser used one closer to the 49 overpass bridge, which I believe has a push button and flashing lights as well as the main one?
It also would not effect game day traffic too much, since this section is always busy & people know it's either game day, don't go that way or they've realized & are just in it now, or are actually trying to find parking for said game. No one's going to slam into the pedestrians on this day.
I'm pretty certain that the university is its own entity & raises its own funds for things, but the city claims them as their university, so perhaps things should work together & not against? A sky walk was proposed twenty or so years ago when this was being hammered out, but USM wanted to spend it's money elsewhere on something stupid...
(I mean they are, or were, in a scandal over the use of ill-gotten funds to build their new volleyball building, which might or might not be wrapped up in the scandal of the former governor & Brett Favre using money for low income families to do stuff. I know that Farve did have a hand in getting the volleyball building built... but these things run at the same time & then take so long to investigate & resolve that it's been like ten years, so it's... muddled.)
But USM did not need a volleyball building, which I think they spent their money on beautification which was needed, but not nearly as much as a skywalk & would have cost the same or they'd have had some money left over from the skywalk project to use towards beautification.
They needed traffic to not be interrupted & students to not feel like their in a game of fucking Frogger every time they want to cross. Poor money/projects management right there. And like I said, it's been twenty-ish years & it's STILL dangerous going down that road & people still fly down it.
I have no idea if they'll take any of what I said into consideration, but they should. And I'm not just some backseat driver on this. I'm actually out there, in the trenches, living this every day. I didn't talk about what I don't know, saying they shouldn't worry with this section of town or that one, I only told them what they probably don't realize since we are slated as "education only".
Education Only tells me they don't realize that their traffic lights out this way aren't timed correctly. They aren't sitting in that traffic seeing the other drivers getting agitated, or them feeling it themselves, wanting to take the next light at any cost, because only two cars got through each of the other two times & the other side lanes get fifteen cars through & the main thoroughfaire is green for what feels like seven minutes each time. They aren't seeing the vehicles just going through yellow & red lights like nobodies business. Or running them where it's clearly your green light & you start to go & some asshole just zooms past you goin' 50 on a light that's been red for them for enough time that they know it's not their turn. So you have slow starts because of this, wondering who's gonna shoot out of some parallel universe this time? Or else you go because it's your light & you get slammed into.
It tells me they don't realize who's street these walkers are using in their area of demographic gathering help area's. They live there where you say, yes, but do you actually know how far they have to walk to get to a grocery store or to work? No. Who does? The person that lives on this street & knows when people are walking up & down the street because they're noisy. I'm not complaining about the noise, but it does make me look out the window to see what's going on.
This street shouldn't be a dead zone like it doesn't exist because it's not in their jurisdiction. Sorry, but your jurisdiction is using it to walk alone & to ride through & to access accidents in this jurisdiction, so public transport & lighting options should go for this section as well.
I have unsolicited talk from older people, so I know they're refusing to go with your traffic rules. They're not going to read a pamphlet & you can't simply tell them that's how it's done now. It's a problem that should be addressed.
I do think I have excellent points, especially in an area where I live my daily life & see it all unfolding, which clearly seems to be missing from their projected plans.
And while I didn't mention it because I don't know how to fix it, but how exactly are they going to get their traffic safety out to the myriad of people from out of town. And I don't just mean neighbouring counties, though there are certainly a fair number of them, but I mean the people from Alaska, California, Arizona, Utah, Montana, New York, etc. There's a lot of people not even from this state & from rather far away who drive a certain way where they are from which is not how people drive here.
You gonna stop 'em & hand 'em a pamphlet? Because I've seen near misses (& been in some), & some accidents, seen some reckless driving (like pulling out into traffic with no lee-way. Some lady from fucking South Dakota pulled out from a side road shopping center, flew through center traffic almost slamming into me, who had the right of way & was in the flow of traffic), swerving in between cars, going faster than the flow of traffic (or slower) or general asshole behavior from people from out of state (& out of county).
Or people even from these same counties, but apparently don't live here. They go real slow & stop a lot because they don't know where they are & are looking at their Google Maps trying to tell them where to go, thus impeding traffic by moving slow, creeping through traffic lights or running them, or making undesignated U-turns where one shouldn't be taken to turn around & do it all over again.
I've given them some thoughts but damn I'm glad I don't have to figure out ways to better this traffic because it's giving me a headache.
And the guys racing down the freeway with their glasspack equipped muscle cars or through town? They're from neighbouring, po-dunk counties. You gonna join 'em at the start & hand 'me a pamphlet telling them how uncool it is to race? Let me know how well that goes.
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