Mike Russell wrote:

> I want to thank Joe Dumas for taking up this cause.


I appreciate your support and that of others.  (I have received a number
of e-mail messages on the subject and have not been able to personally
reply to everyone, but I appreciate all feedback.)  Even though the
proposed changes to Fifth Street are not what I or many others wanted,
perhaps they will help somewhat.  If my effort keeps one UTC student,
faculty or staff member from being killed or injured on what is
currently a very unsafe street, it will have been well worth it.

> I suspect that the
> university administration might have been more receptive to the idea of
> restoring Fifth Street to a two lane configuration if they entered and
> exited the university via that street--especially if they had to fight
> their way across the diamond lane into parking lot #10.


That is true, and that was the basis of my response to Tom Bibler during
the last Faculty Council meeting.  He didn't think 50-odd e-mail
responses were much of an indication of interest.  That's because a lot
of people arrive on campus via other routes and never encounter the 5th
Street situation and so didn't respond.  Practically everyone in Holt
and Grote wants it changed because they have to deal with it every day.


> I have a different proposal about that street to make. Why not just
> abandon the diamond lane designation? I have never seen anyone riding a
> bike in that lane. The Carta buses could continue using the lane, but so
> could the rest of us who want to turn right to enter a parking lot. We
> could enter the lane early so as to avoid being passed on the right by
> some aggressive driver. Asking Carta to accept that idea would be to
> operate the same way that they do on most city streets--including
> McCallie.

Which they certainly could do.  That is the basis behind one of Mr. VanWinkle's two proposed solutions, though that is not the one I think he intends to implement.  But perhaps if enough people prefer two "normal" eastbound lanes over one regular and one diamond lane we could get the city to do that instead.  As long as they keep three lanes I don't think they are married to the idea of the right lane being "buses only".

> As for Bailey Avenue and McCallie, I agree that it would be preferable for
> commuters to retain their status as one way streets. That consideration, I
> realize, is complicated by merchants on McCallie who want incentives for
> people to shop in their stores.


The best way to get people to shop in the McCallie/MLK area would be to
reduce the crime rate and make people feel safe being there.  According
to a study someone (I forget who) posted a link to on RAVEN a few weeks
ago, Chattanooga is in the bottom 25 cities in the US with respect to
the crime rate, and that area is not one of the safer areas in town.  If
people don't feel safe they will not frequent the area, regardless of
one- or two-way streets.  However, it's a lot easier and less expensive
to reconfigure a couple of streets than it is to clean up the crime in a
bad area of town.  Reconfiguring steets is "doing something", or at
least appearing to, and all politicians and bureaucrats like to be seen
as doing something ... it justifies the existence of their positions.
But sometimes the best thing to do is to leave things alone.  As
physicians are taught, "first do no harm," or as I put it in a previous
message, "if it isn't broken, don't fix it."  The streets are not the
thing that is broken, but they are easier to "fix" than the real problems.

Ultimately, my view is that the primary purpose of roads and streets is
not to promote business or to build (or rebuild) neighborhoods.  The
primary purpose of roads is to move traffic in as efficient and safe a
manner as possible.  Streets are tools for traffic engineering, not
social engineering.  (And remember, these are not just city streets, but
major U.S. highways 11 and 64.)  Making it intolerable for suburbanites
to commute to downtown won't improve the downtown situation; it will
just encourage suburban dwellers, and their money, to stay away from the
area as much as possible.  The overall economy of the city is likely to
suffer, not benefit:  every dollar spent in the MLK/McCallie area is
likely to be a dollar not spent in the Eastgate or Northgate or Hamilton
Place areas, while some people will simply choose to avoid the traffic
mess entirely and shop less (or shop online with out of town merchants)
instead....

A couple of people who favor restoring Fifth Street to two lanes, and/or
oppose reconfiguring McCallie/MLK/Bailey, have asked me "what can I do?"
  I have suggested calling or writing city officials and writing letters
to the editor of the Times/Free Press or other local newspapers.  For
their convenience (and even to help those who disagree with me to voice
their opinions, too :) I will paste in the links to contact information
below:

The Chattanooga City Council has a web page at:

http://www.chattanooga.gov/council/members/index.htm

By clicking on each council member you can get their contact
information.  Some have e-mail addresses; I think they all have
telephone numbers.  Call or write your district's council member and let
him or her know how you feel.  If they are concerned about re-election
(and what politician isn't?) and if enough people oppose something, it
will make them think twice about supporting it.

I couldn't find an e-mail address for Mayor Corker on the site (imagine
that ... wonder how much e-mail he would get if it were published :) ...
however, I did find a page with the contact information for all of his
executive staff.  You might try sending your concerns to one or more of
those people; if enough constituents do, he will hear about it from his
staff.

http://www.chattanooga.gov/mayor/staff.htm

You might also want to send a letter to the editor of the Times/Free
Press.  Their e-mail address for submissions is:

[log in to unmask]

I hope the above information helps.  And take care, all of you, when
driving or crossing Fifth Street!

Joe Dumas