When they came for the hair braiders, I did not complain because I did not braid hair. When they came for the hot dog vendors, I did not complain because I did not sell hot dogs….
-Anonymous
Traffic signals in Raleigh seem deliberately timed to cause the most aggravation and frustration for drivers. I have no desire for more traffic signals. But if I try to do some work to confirm my views, I might be accused of engineering without a license.
David Cox probably does not agree with me on the question of traffic lights, but he is facing sanctions because he tried to prove his case for two new traffic signals to accompany expansion of Falls of Neuse Rd. The News and Observer
After an engineering consultant hired by the city said that the signals were not needed, Cox and the North Raleigh Coalition of Homeowners’ Associations responded with a sophisticated analysis of their own.
The eight-page document with maps, diagrams and traffic projections was offered to buttress their contention that signals will be needed at the Falls of Neuse at Coolmore Drive intersection and where the road meets Tabriz Point / Lake Villa Way.
It did not persuade Kevin Lacy, chief traffic engineer for the state DOT, to change his mind about the project. Instead, Lacy called on a state licensing agency, the N.C. Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors, to investigate Cox. …
Cox has not been accused of claiming that he is an engineer. But Lacy says he filed the complaint because the report “appears to be engineering-level work” by someone who is not licensed as a professional engineer.
DOT’s complaint does not appear to be that Cox and company performed inadequate work or did not prove their point. It is an attack against Cox for questioning the work of government employees and intruding on a protected class.
