Unintended consequences. Improper planning. Not thinking things through. This seems to be commonplace with government, whether it’s Federal (Obamacare), State (pensions), or local (traffic congestion). The examples are endless. Successful businesses can’t allow that to happen. That’s the difference between free enterprise business and bureaucratic government. Politicians don’t have consequences, unless they are voted out of office, or if they get caught in the chaos of their own ill-advised decisions.
This surfaced during the last Naperville city council meeting, when councilmen Doug Krause, Steve Chirico, and Paul Hinterlong questioned Naperville’s Director of Transportation, Bill Novack.
In fairness, councilman Chirico was not on the city council when initial decisions were made effecting current traffic flow, and Krause warned fellow council members of possible traffic issues which have now materialized. However council members Brodhead, Fieseler and Wehrli were directly involved with those decisions, and they all sat on their hands while Novack was left to ‘hang out and dry’ during questioning.
Washington Street is a traffic problem, now Van Buren is a problem, and these are just appetizers for the madness of the Water Street Project coming soon to a gridlock near you. The good news about Naperville’s ongoing traffic congestion, is that speeding will be eliminated, and walking will be back in style. Based on recent council decisions regarding traffic flow and congestion, the following clip could give us a glimpse of downtown Naperville in the future.
It’s possible that the only thing Bill Novack, Director of Transportation can do now, is to get out on the streets himself and direct traffic. Sometimes government titles are magically appropriate.
