Red Oak... a shade better... except maybe the lights

So how long do you have to live in a community before you get the right to criticize some aspect of it?

I’m hoping its two months.

Since coming to Red Oak in late May, I’ve been impressed with a lot this town has to offer. I’ve never had friendlier neighbors, the community as a whole seems to take a lot of pride in its appearance, downtown is more vibrant than most small town communities, and most people I’ve encountered have been kind and exceptionally cordial.

Beyond that, even in this economic recession, Red Oak has even managed to actually attract a company that is going to employ 150 people in a year.

Impressive. Red Oak — A Shade Better.

Count me on board with that.

With that said, let me direct my attention to Broadway Street, and more specifically, the traffic lights.

They are as maddening as they are inconsistent. Obviously set on a timer, you can stop at one light in front of Hy-Vee, although no one is coming from either direction, and wait for that non-existent traffic to pass, and then wait even longer as the turn arrow allows more non-existent cars to pass through the intersection.

Then, after sitting there for 20 minutes (okay, I’m exaggerating there) you get to repeat the process at the very next light.

It took me about three days of driving that to find an alternate route to work … Fourth street. I’ll take the periodic stop signs any day over those traffic lights.

I talked to City Administrator Brad Wright about the lights, and with the exception of the light at Cherry Street, the rest of Broadway’s signals are on a timer. However, they are supposed to be timed so that if you get a green light at one, you should be able to make it through all of them.

They aren’t timed right, unless the speed limit is actually 65 mph and I’m just not reading the signs correctly.

While the Cherry Street light is the only one triggered by oncoming traffic, Wright said he didn’t know why the others were set on a timing basis instead.

I would imagine when the lights were installed, it was cheaper to go with the timer option, as it involves less hardware with the absence of underground sensors to determine when a car is sitting at the intersection.

However, as I have discussed this grievance with other members of the community, I realize I’m not the only one who uses alternate routes to avoid the temperamental lights.

And that’s not good. Broadway is set up to be a main thoroughfare for traffic, and motorists should want to use it instead of side streets.

In discussing this issue with Wright, he commented if this is the biggest complaint Red Oak citizens have about the community, we are pretty lucky.

He’s right there. But maybe it just seems worse because they have been spoiled for so long, and have grown to expect every thing in Red Oak to be, well, a shade better.

And those lights … they are more than a shade off.

Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express. He can be emailed at publisher@redoakexpress.com