Northeast News
October 24, 2012 

The traffic signal debacle continues, courtesy of the city’s Public Works Department. Two key traffic signals were studied last Tuesday but still continue to blink yellow. The two intersections, St. John and Topping and St. John and Quincy, are both heavily traveled in the morning and afternoon by school kids on their way to and from school.  

City crews, in their infinite wisdom (sarcasm inferred) have disabled the crossing signal buttons that cycle the lights to red, creating an extremely perilous situation for kids and adults alike trying to cross the street. We’re still workin’ on that whole “safer” thing.   

The present situation at these two intersections only goes to show that pedestrian safety flies out the window when the city’s Public Works Department arrogantly tries to stand on principal and not change any of the traffic signals back to the way they were. This city’s Public Works Department owes the neighborhoods of Northeast an apology, not only for ignoring the guidelines set forth in the St. John Corridor Plan regarding infrastructure upgrades, but also for putting the lives of pedestrians and motorists alike in peril from their foolish decision to change out traffic signals without collaborating with neighborhoods first.