Recently, the Bismarck Tribune printed an article regarding increases in ticketing drivers running red lights.

Several years ago, I was in contact with the director of transportation regarding my concerns with the vehicle signal change intervals. The amount of time yellow lights allow you to turn left or right and get through an intersection is extremely quick. I observed what I felt was unnecessary road rage because of this. One of the lights discussed was at the intersection of State Street and I-94. Another one was at the intersection of State Street and Century Avenue.

These are primarily the ones I am familiar with because at the time I lived on the north side of the city. There are several others throughout Bismarck. The lights with arrows allow only two to three seconds when it is yellow before turning red. In order for any driver to go through these yellow lights during time allowed, they would have to be speeding or driving recklessly or stop at yellow lights and get rear ended.

A while ago, I was crossing Century Avenue on North Washington Street. I pushed the crosswalk button and both times (going south and going north) I was unable to get halfway across the intersection before the "Don't Walk" sign appeared. I was almost hit by a car making a right turn onto Century Avenue because I was still crossing when the light changed - and I am a fast walker!

In the past, I have contacted various departments at the city, state and federal levels and everyone said it was someone else's responsibility. I did receive documentation from the Bismarck Engineering Department showing the national standards and formulas. What good do national standards and formulas do for the city of Bismarck? I feel these standards are extremely inadequate and could use considerable improvement. My concern is with the anticipated growth of our city. If we can't handle a traffic light and pedestrian crosswalk issue, what kind of infrastructure will we have as an end result?