Dear Folks: The following happened the other day. It is a true story.
The Mahatma was walking around downtown Little Rock. At the corner of Broadway and Seventh Street, a motorcycle policeman was carefully watching the traffic.
"Are you making this intersection safe for us slow-footed pedestrians?" The Mahatma asked.
"Yes, sir. This is a bad intersection," the policeman said.
"Thanks. All of us pedestrians appreciate the effort," The Mahatma replied.
Right on cue, a driver in a small white car blew through the red light, turning left from Seventh onto Broadway. The policeman turned on his lights and zoomed after her.
Proving there really is justice in this world. Sometimes.
Dear Guy: As we drive the interstates, we see boxes made of boards and black plastic in some medians. They are especially noticeable on Interstate 530 between Little Rock and Pine Bluff. We're curious. -- Monticellonian
Dear Monticellonian: Those boxes are to keep pollutants out of drains as construction projects go on.
BTW: It's always nice to hear from someone who lives in Monticello, home to a weekly newspaper with what may be the best name in the state. Yes, the Advance-Monticellonian.
Dear Mahatma: There should be signage at Fourth and Louisiana streets in downtown to alert drivers to the fact that traffic on Louisiana goes from one direction to two. And vice versa. Not everyone is familiar with the downtown grid, and it changes from time to time. -- Immediately
Dear Immediately: This may be a good time to recall the difference between yellow lines and white lines, whether they are continuous or skip.
Yellow lines separate traffic in opposite directions. White lines separate traffic in the same direction. And so it is with the lines on Louisiana, whether the segment is one-way or two-way. Drivers are informed by those lines.
Dear Mahatma: When Interstate 430, heading north, starts, the first exit is Exit 1 (Stagecoach Road). But the next exit traveling north, Colonel Glenn Road, is Exit 4. Is there a rhyme or reason why Exits 2 and 3 were skipped? Is it to allow for expansion or inclusion of other exits in the future? -- Skip-An-Exit
Dear Skip: Our thinking is that the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has a policy of numbering exits according to the nearest mile marker rather than sequentially. Turns out our thinking was, for once, right.
Danny Straessle, a spokesman for the agency, confirmed. But as usual there are exceptions, including one made recently. Here goes his explanation.
The relocated exit for Otter Creek is Exit 128, the same number as the old exit. The placement of this relocated exit falls between Exit 130 (Baseline Road) and Exit 129 (I-430).
But the new exit on southbound I-430 is also numbered as Exit 128, because it's a ramp to the same destination, even though it falls between Exit 1 (Stagecoach Road) and the Interstate 30 exits (129 A and B).
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 01/03/2015