Bismarck, North Dakota News

" Okay, after reading my last blog, I look illiterate. Let me re-phase what I said. It should have been parent drop off circle, not drop out. "

" Okay, it is the second day of school and there were 5 cars in a line to get to the new school. It still took me all of 1 minute to drop off my son and get out of the parking lot. It is not that difficult to manuever through the parking lot. It is obvious from the way the cars are parked which way you can go through a parking aisle at. Also, as you exit the parent dropout circle, to the left there is a stop sign exiting the parking lot. Not all that difficult to figure out. I think too many people leave their homes too late and are in a hurry to get their kids dropped off and get to work. Maybe leave a little earlier so that you can wait that 2 minutes it takes, at the most, to drop off your child. It is definitely a better situation than it was at the Jr. High. I went down the hill by the 6th grade academy yesterday and thanked my lucky stars I am no longer needing to pick kids up there. Talk about a cluster around that school. We have it good at MMS. "

" I drove through the intersection of Old Red Trail and Sunset around 8am and there was no traffic. I was pleased. "

" Who cares!? At least they are recognizing they need a stop light! Good grief, if the city or DOT wasn't acknowledging this, you all would be complaining that nothing is being done! "

" okay, reading some of these comments really ticks me off. I've been saying since they started this new middle school thing, lights will need to go in. I was informed it will all be handled & done.
No, DOT isn't able to get this information over night but neither was the school project. Every day I drive that intersection & everyday I pray for the safety of our kids as they would be going to & from school.
You can't tell me I'm the only one that thinks the drivers in our area are rude & careless. Stop signs mean STOP not come to a rolling stop just so you can beat the next person to go. Yield signs mean SLOW & PROCEED WITH CAUTION not go flying through as though you have the right away. People standing at cross walks - naw, they're really not wanting to cross the street, they like standing around watching cars speed by.
My question for the city is - how many accidents [whether vehicle or pedestian] need to happen before this project becomes TOP priority? Maybe that building in downtown Mandan can wait another year to be torn down .... "

" What a cluster at that intersection. No one knows where to go, when to go, or who should go. I can't wait to see how many of those stop signs sticking out in the middle of no where are going to be plowed over by drivers. Or worse, having a bus hit. By the time the city keeps replacing them, they will have spent the same amount of money and could have installed the street lights for the same price. That's if they even get them by the fall of 2009. And do you think I would let me child walk thru that intersection to get to school? I don't think so. Can't wait for a big parent/child event at the school. It will be a total car cluster! Wake up Mandan. Let try to keep everyone SAFE. "

" I had some questions, too, as I thought there should be a 3-way stop at the south end of Ft. Lincoln school. I talked to some people, including the city engineer at that time, and was told that there wasn't a need showing for it. I don't know what constitutes a need, so I have to accept the opinion of the experts who work with those things. Point is I made some calls and tried myself to get information rather than depending on others. At least now if this comes up in a conversation I have more than my personal opinion to offer, I have some facts. Mandanite, I understand your concern regarding the 4-way by Custer. Since that is such a busy intersection I never understood taking the 4-way down, but at least you got some information and saw the other side of things. Thanks for the information. "

" Did you think that traffic studies and engineering reports happen overnight? Come on...get out of your bubble. Talk to an engineer to see how much time and effort is needed for an intersection or street traffic study. As for the street painting, this is my assumption, I think it was done at this specific time for two reasons. One, it allows for fresh markings in a school zone; and, two, it was a wide awakaneing fact for the several thousand vehicles that drive back and forth through that intersection. It was a reminder that there is a school there and that PEDESTRIAN traffic HAVE the RIGHT OF WAY. "

" You said it Step Up! I did not realize how much work there was in getting the DOT to examine situations and get results until I had to help try to get a 4-way stop again by Custer Elementary after it had been taken down when 1st Street was
re-done. Obviously, the DOT thought that there was no need for this, but there is a lot of work that goes into trying to get crossings, stoplights, stop signs, etc.. "

" If I was that concerned about the stop lights and all the rest I wouldn't depend on someone else or all the procedures it takes to get things accomplished, I would call myself. I could have been calling the DOT a year ago, and maybe many did, but these things take time and there are steps, procedures, showing need, and all the rest before things can be done. I think they need to monitor and evaluate a situation first before taking action, to ensure the action is adequate. That really couldn't be done until now, could it? Everyone beefs about things and complains that others aren't doing things, instead of checking into it themselves and finding out what all is involved. Stop sitting back and waiting for everyone else to do it, take a step forward and research it yourself. You may have a different outlook. "

" How sad it is though that Mandan waited so long on all this. Crews where still painting lines the day before school started. Do our children not warrant a little forethought and planning? And the fact that they thought a flashing crosswalk light would do is crazy. They could have been contacting the DOT a year ago or more when the school was being planned and built. Way to prioritize Mandan. "

" I actually thought the traffic at the Middle School was great, maybe it was the time I was there. I dropped my son and his friend off at around 8:20 and there were only 3 cars there dropping off children and the buses seemed to be doing just fine. The whole thing, from pulling up to the dropoff area for parents, to pulling out of the driveway took approximately 2 minutes, if even that. I was extremely happy. It was definitely different than at the Jr. High before. "

" Traffic sucked this morning going to the new Jr. High, even the buses did not know where to go! "

" You can not get a stop light until you get a letter from the dot. The dot must determine a need and then the community can move forward with installing the lights. "

" Just another fine example of the lack of common sense in the Mandan leadership. Anyone who has ever driven through that intersection can see the need for stop lights even before the possibility of lots of young people walking across the street. What a shame it takes a letter from the DOT before Mandan acknowledges the need. "

" Old Red Trail has needed a stoplight for a long time. "