TRAFFIC FLOW A recent decision by the Minot City Council to enter an agreement with the N.D. Department of Transportation to conduct a traffic study in Minot is a welcome idea. There certainly are plenty of areas in the city that would benefit from improved traffic flow. The study would cost $250,000, with the state paying 80 percent of the cost. With growth occurring in literally all quadrants of the city, traffic has been a major issue, even before the flood of 2011. Residential and commercial growth has exploded on North Hill, bringing with it an enormous increase in traffic. Just ask anyone living in the area of 27th Street Northwest about that. That area has experience a tremendous growth in vehicle traffic with the housing boon, and it will get worse after the council approved another development at Monday's meeting. There are also other non-flood related locations that need changes to improve traffic flow. How about a protected left turn lane on the 2 & 52 Bypass in southeast Minot, near Kroll's Diner? That intersection has been completely redone in recent years, yet no protected left turns have been installed. We're all in favor of conducting the traffic study, but then the city must act on the recommendations. Oh, and here's another idea to improve traffic flow in the city of Minot: Fix the street lights around town that haven't been working for better than a year.
FIREWORKS We hope everyone had a happy and safe Fourth of July holiday. The sounds of fireworks exploding around the city of Minot was pretty much an all-day happening on?Wednesday, despite a city ordinance banning the use of fireworks in city limits. We did, however, see a fairly regular police presence in parts of the city telling folks to stop setting off fireworks. Most groups we saw appeared to be taking proper precautions, with the exception of a group of young men who were holding Roman candle-type fireworks, chasing each other and shooting balls of fire at each other. Not the smartest way to enjoy the Fourth of July, in our opinion, and we hope no one was injured.