I am here to speak for the Removal of the Stop Sign on 126th and Auman Dr.

February 15, 2015

I am here to speak for the Removal of the Stop Sign on 126th and Auman.

Mr. Mayor, Councilors and ladies and gentlemen my name is Rick Smith and I live in Newark edition.

In the process I will show that this is a Politically Motivated Operation that dates to 2010. It was the Mayors Ace in the Hole for 2011.

He didn’t need it then so he put it back up his sleeve.

Councilor Finkam has either been misled or is complicit in aiding in this story.

I’ll expose Mayor Brainard’s politically motivated and duplicitous actions.

These actions compromised the Public Safety of the citizens of Carmel and allowed hundreds of thousands over 4 years to wait in unnecessary lines and did not enforce laws currently on the books.

That was my opening if anyone really wants to hear the entire video message me at: Facebook c/o Concerned Neighbors of Carmel IN and I will send you a copy. I expect no requests. It was laid out in painstaking detail why we did not want a stop sign!

What was the Neighborhoods preference?

Some facts and not emotion. 126th St. gets 13,141 cars/day 80% of the volume that Rangeline Rd carries and 73% of the volume on Carmel Dr. at Rangeline Rd, Easily 60% of that volume comes in two 45 minute periods. Rangeline and Carmel Dr are 5 lanes. 126th is 2 lanes. Rangeline and Carmel Dr get steady traffic throughout the day, though they too are obviously heavier at rush hour.

This is a political issue and nothing more. If you want to be mad be mad at the Mayor who allowed this problem to fester for 5 years so he could use it as a campaign issue when necessary. It wasn’t necessary in 2012 as he had 2 opponents. Surprise, it comes up just 6 months before the election.

All we are asking for is a motion activated signal that flashes yellow 22 hours/day and has a trip with a minimum 90 second delay and No Turn on Red to halt cut through traffic from turning right without a wait during the 2 hours/day it is active. This solves all the issues. My understanding is the Street Department has old lights available. What is wrong with this solution?

Jim Brainard’s Email; Jim offers an acceptable solution to issues ==> we liked what he proposed!

This is the email I received from Jim Brainard…

Rick,

Bruce Kimball speaks for himself not me.

I have been, however, very clear about my position on this stop sign over the years.

State law has requirements that have to be met to install a stop sign.  This sign doesn’t come close to meeting them and as a result should not be there. Also, the city attorney can’t prosecute a citation issued for disobeying that stop sign. For a stop sign to be legally placed requires that a minimum of forty percent of the vehicles arrive from the less traveled street. The traffic counts on Auman provide well under ten percent of the traffic at that stop sign.

Friday night the back-up eastbound kept cars in the intersection at 126th and Range Line after the north south light turned green.  This is a serious safety issue.

I live off a side street that feeds Into 126th and have no trouble finding a gap to turn left or right, even at rush hour, because some people drive faster or slower than others and natural gaps are created on 126th.

The police are not traffic engineers and have no training in traffic engineering or street design.  There skills and training are in other areas. Our city engineers are licensed, well-respected and have indicated that the stop signs on 126th should not be there. The “police” also have no opinion as a body. I did hear Councilman Sharp say some unnamed police patrol officer indicated he thought the sign should remain but I did not hear this or have any confirmation what exactly was said.  Our police chief clearly defers to our trained city engineer in these matters.   I have had several police officers ask me why the sign is there because of the back-ups.

I do understand that there is concern about children crossing 126th.  A crosswalk with a motion activated pedestrian warning signal would solve that problem.  I drive through this intersection at least four times most days and one day late last Summer was the only time I have seen a child crossing there in almost a year….it was a teenager.

There is a lot of lost time and gas, air pollution from idling not to mention frustration generated as a result of this sign.  I am starting to see more and more cars simply disregard the sign…many lawyers and others know it is illegally placed and a citation can’t be enforced.  That in itself is dangerous and adds to overall disrespect for all traffic laws.

I believe the community would be far better served by:

1.  Removing the sign;
2.  Installing a motion or pedestrian activated pedestrian warning signal for the crosswalk;
3.  Strictly enforce speeding in that area.

Jim
Sent from my iPad

 

My closing statement:

Remember the $150,000 I asked you to remember for the traffic signal.  Let’s do some simple math 170 homes 2 people/home = 340 Lets chop more than 10% of and say 300 to make the math easy. $150,000/300=$500/person.

Isn’t that less than was spent to quiet Steve Libman and Pay Les Olds for work he wasn’t authorized to do?

Mayor Brainard are you saying the citizens in our community aren’t worth $25 a year for the 20 years you have been their Mayor?

There has been no investment in our neighborhood except the sidewalk to Nowhere on Nappanee in 40 years.

Now they want to put our lives and our children’s in harms way so they can have another term.

Remember Sue’s observation:

“Conditions don’t warrant a signal No Matter the Cost!”

They are not only tolerating Gridlock they have let the situation get worse for 4 years so they could use it as a campaign issue?

Disgraceful! What if the Fire Department needed to get through?

The Focus of this committee is exactly the opposite of what it should be. Utilities and Transportation should never be put before Public Safety.

I believe I have demonstrated through the Mayors own documents and actions that this IS a political issue and we are and have not been enforcing the laws that are on the books.

How many people have we endangered needlessly for political expediency?

Public Safety is the Primary Responsibility of our Mayor and Elected Officials. There should be nothing more important than Public Safety- NOTHING!

Put in an on demand traffic Signal active for 45 minutes 2 times a day Monday – Friday. Place a “No Right Turn On Red” sign on Auman. In non-rush hour conditions Flash it Yellow on 126^th and Red on Auman.

Simple solution that takes into account the safety of all of Carmel’s citizens, most importantly those of our children.

Thank you for your time and attention.