AuburnPub.com - Challenge for the interim manager

Challenge for the interim manager

By Guy Cosentino

Friday, August 18, 2006 10:00 AM EDT

At dinner last month, just days before Auburn city manager John Salomone announced he was leaving for Newington, Conn., the topic of the mis-timed traffic lights in Auburn came up.

One of the ladies at the table, we will call her Fran (yes, she has appeared in someone else's column on occasion) asked why I had not written on the subject in some months.

I had found a kindred soul who thought the subject humorous (only in columns) and maddening (when trying to get from her home to almost anywhere).

I said that I had given up on the subject for now - that the city's leadership (in the form of Salomone) dismissed it as not worthy of their time, or at least not a problem.

And it probably isn't if you only had to go through but four lights to get to work or drive 10 to 20 miles above the posted speed limit.

But for some reason one would think that the officers serving under police chief Gary Giannotta might have a problem with such speeds.

After a little good-natured kidding, I pledged that once Salomone had left office I would bring up the topic in a column.

Well, he finished on Wednesday and this is the first column to run since his departure. So here it goes:

Dear interim city manager Michael Long,

We all know that you will have your plate full in the coming months, trying to not only deal with a myriad of day-to-day crises that face city managers, but to resolve dozens of outstanding issues that have been left to you as you try to move the city forward.

Yet, just like making sure the trash is picked up, that water comes out of the faucet and wastewater ends up at the sewage treatment plant, there are other little items that can make all the difference to the folks that pay your salary - items like being able to get from one end of the city to the other on the Arterial, Genesee Street, North Street or State Street without having to stop at every single traffic light.

We all know that you also have the added advantage or pressure (depending on your point of view) that the city council and public are seeing how you handle things right now as a possible test of whether you should lead the city permanently.

Getting the city's lights timed is a way that will show councilors and the public that you are someone who can get things done.

Your predecessor didn't do it. Can you?

Yes, this is a little bit of a test of sorts and to a degree, it is a challenge.

Let's see how you do.

All the best and good luck.

Guy (and Fran and all the other drivers/taxpayers who are frustrated.)

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be e-mailed at cozguytho@aol.com

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The Citizens' Say

There are 4 comment(s)

Don wrote on Aug 23, 2006 12:08 AM:

" The current mayor is too busy with his wild dreams, a casino to cure the ills of Auburn "

Dave wrote on Aug 19, 2006 10:13 AM:

" I recall about 6-8 years ago when I drove for my job all over Auburn all day long that the lights from South all the way up North Streets were timed very well. Once the red light I was sitting at turned green it was like a domino effect they all turned green virtually simultaneously and you could travel from the South Street, Genesee St light right up to the North St, Standart Ave light without stopping. Traffic flow was great and there were virtually no back ups. NOW its a different story I get stopped at virtually every light now both on the South St North St run and the State Street run is horrible!! How hard is it really to set the timers on these lights anyway? Isnt it a matter of opening that little green box and resetting the timers so they are basically set the same way? The Dill St, State Street intersection that cuts over 5&20 is constantly backed up during the afternoon rush hour nobody has anywhere to go but stay put and this backs up traffic all over Dill St, and now with that road coming down the Auburn Commons area just adds one more intersection in an already backed up mess! Just go time those lights, should'nt take more than a half a day of work so whats the big deal??? "

Patrick wrote on Aug 18, 2006 12:07 PM:

" Yeah, sommething needs to be done about the trafic lights. They are a mess. I don't care who did or didn't, lets just get them fixed. Try riving down South St and stop at the light at Lincoln St, heading north. WGHen that light turns green, the VERY NEXT ONE a block is turning red. You get to go 1 block. Does a lot for your gas milage, too. "

Catherine wrote on Aug 18, 2006 10:49 AM:

" Uh, didn't he complain about this very topic as mayor himself? That's how he's remembered -- the mayor who complained about the traffic lights. Like Nero and Rome burning, the traffic lights were Guy's fiddling....... So, why didn't HE fix them? If this is some test of resourcefulness or whatever, some gauntlet he's thrown down....what does it say about the fact it wasn't done YEARS ago, when he was mayor and active kvetch-er of this same problem????? "

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