Dear Mahatma: The left turn light at Scott Street and Markham Street -- turning north onto the Main Street Bridge -- is incredibly short at rush hour. We timed it at five seconds. It lets one or two vehicles through, and then at least three drivers run it. Can this be right, or should the timing be changed?-- Feisty Girl
Dear Feisty: A grouchy old news editor famously said this to a job applicant: "You've got spunk. ... I hate spunk."
In this space, we love spunk. Also feisty. Maybe because it violates the spelling rule that says "i" comes before "e," except after "c." The word emerged in American English in the late 19th century.
English is rich and beautiful and a whole lot nutty. Read Bill Bryson's book "The Mother Tongue" to learn why. But we wax poetic. Back to the question, the answer to which comes from Bill Henry, the city's top traffic dude.
Henry points out what we all know: Scott Street across the Main Street Bridge is a main route into North Little Rock. When lights are timed, priority is given to the direction and route that carries the most traffic.
To give more eastbound left-turning traffic more time would mean taking away time from the major flow northbound on Scott. Time, he explained, is allocated on percentage of traffic flow, and at this intersection the eastbound left turn has the least.
This reminds us of something written about time by that Shakespeare guy: "Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore, so do our minutes hasten to their end."
That's deep. Very deep.
Vanity plate on a tan Toyota Tacoma: TAN TAC.
Mahatma: Go to Autumn to where it ends at Kanis Road. I dare you to try to safely make a left (east) turn onto Kanis while following the law. Those laws would be stopping at or behind the bold stop line and stopping behind the crosswalk. I think you will find the intersection is blind. There cannot be any way the builders of the new Kanis Road think that is now a safe intersection. -- David
Dear David: We pitched this fastball to William Henry, P.E., traffic engineering manager for the city of Little Rock. He swung at it with a reminder plucked from the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, which says this:
"Also there may be a line painted on the street or roadway at the intersection next to a stop sign indicating where the vehicle must stop. If necessary, a driver may pull forward to the stop sign or the edge of the intersection, then proceed only when it is safe to do so."
Vanity plate seen on a Mercedes: AMENDS. That's a reference to a Janis Joplin song, in which she implores the Lord to buy her a Mercedes Benz. Because her friends all drive Porches, and she must make amends. Personally, we drive a truck.
It's manly. Very manly.
Fjfellone@gmail.com