To the editor:

As I continue to negotiate the traffic snarls caused by the 19th Street construction east of Massachusetts Street, I’ve devised some suggestions to be implemented in the future, by the City Commission, perhaps (Are you with me, Boog? How about you, Mr. Mayor?), or the Journal-World.

1. What’s going on? Is it true that the East 19th Street closing involves the construction of another of Lawrence’s notorious mini-traffic-circles?

2. Why is the work necessary? A useful question, given that those circles are now known to impede emergency vehicles, while not really improving the traffic control by four-way stops.

3. When will the construction be done? If it isn’t completed on or before the deadline (and on or below budget), why not?

4. Why isn’t the work proceeding 24/7 on this, and indeed on all road-closing projects? If the answer in this instance is the cold, snowy weather, this brings up a corollary question: Who’s responsible for planning these projects during the winter? Could it be the same resident genius who puts out orange barrels and starts digging holes just when KU — with its horrendous traffic increases — starts up in the fall?

I still shake my head over the construction that benefited only Home Depot, while impeding access to K-mart, the Jayhawk Post Office and Wal-Mart recycling. Street-closing construction should focus entirely on two bracketing dates: the day after KU commencement and the day before classes resume in the fall. The rest of the year could profitably be spent in filling and sealing our equally notorious potholes.

Albert B. Cook,

Lawrence