The other night, I was driving eastbound on Prince Street, and approached the usual logjam at its Route 1 South intersection, which has been one of my longstanding concerns (and aggravations).
However, I was most gladdened to see a uniformed police officer directing traffic, ensuring that everyone obeyed the laws, to include not interfering with the traffic flow by trying to squeeze in line before there is room. I recommended this type of traffic intervention when I ran for City Council back in 2000. It was specifically aimed at the Prince Street-Route 1 South juncture during peak traffic hours, since Route 1 is a major north-south thoroughfare, and it is strategically important to keep traffic flowing.
Under the sponsorship of former council member David Speck, the City Council adopted the initiative, and it worked! However, after about a year it was discontinued for reasons unknown. Many kudos to Police Chief Mike Brown for bringing this initiative back.
Townsend A. “Van” Van Fleet
Alexandria