Here, somewhat belatedly, is my column from the Sunday paper. It was also posted here, where it’s already garnered a couple of dozen comments, but your thoughts are still most welcome below. Thanks.

LET ‘EM THROUGH

Alert reader Thomas Alfred Hanson, who uses all three names because there are a lot of Thomas Hansons in Minnesota, drives a snowplow for his hometown, Brooklyn Park. He called up Roadguy with a suggestion: Give plow drivers the power to change traffic signals to green, the way emergency vehicles do.

This would be beneficial in numerous ways, he said. Streets would be cleared faster, and plows would operate more efficiently — it takes a lot of energy to move them from a dead stop.

It also might reduce the number of dangerous maneuvers that car drivers undertake to try to get around plows, Hanson said: “If we could change the lights, everyone would want to be behind us.”

MORE ON METERS

After last week’s column about the testing of new parking meters, alert reader Lisa wrote in to report that one of the old meters seemed to notice when she moved her car. It wouldn’t accept her money at first, then it did after she moved the car.

Such technology does exist, but it’s not in use locally at the moment, says Tim Drew, Minneapolis traffic engineer. Some of the new meters being tested can automatically go back down to zero minutes when a car pulls away, meaning no free minutes for the next person. The city hasn’t decided whether to use that feature yet.

Alert reader Chris the Nurse, meanwhile, was concerned about how drivers with disabilities might fare with the kiosk-style meters, which make you pay at a kiosk somewhere on the block. “Do they have to walk MORE to use this new ‘meter’?”

Drew pointed out that drivers with disability plates or window tags can park for free for up to four hours at most metered spots in the city, so they wouldn’t have to go down the sidewalk to pay. And the future pay-by-cell phone option could allow anyone to make a payment from the comfort of one’s vehicle.

A final thought comes from alert reader Becky, who tried some of the meters in the Warehouse District test area:

So far they work well — except they are too high for me. I am about 5′ 2″ tall and have to stand on my toes whenever I read the meter to see the display. I know this is pretty minor — but there are many people shorter than I am, and they will not be able to read the display at all.

This had not occurred to Roadguy, who is a foot taller than Becky. Drew says the new meters aren’t any higher than the old ones, but the display is angled upward, making it more difficult to read if you’re short and not carrying a stepstool.

Becky has already shared her thoughts with the city’s 311 phone line, and if you try the new meters, you should, too.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 29th, 2008 at 3:35 pm and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.