Traffic signals

From Dale E. Minner • Creston |  With regard to Creston City Council’s problem with the cost to replace nine traffic light controllers at a cost of at least $9,000 each, I suggest simply replacing them with metal stop signs. In as much as some traffic lights have functioned well by being left as flashing reds in both directions, why not just to leave them off? I assume signs would be less costly both to buy and to install. Also, they would need no electricity and using them would avoid digging up some streets.

I moved to Creston before the one-way streets turned back to two-way without catastrophe. Since then, the traffic lights that held us up, even when there were no vehicles in sight, have turned in expensive surrogate stop signs without significant problems. In fact, traffic seems to have flowed even more smoothly at Maple-Montgomery, Maple-Adams, Montgomery-Elm and at Highway 25 and Townline.

On the other hand, perhaps we need modern traffic lights during our rush hour of 5 to 5:10 p.m.?