Editor性视界传媒檚 note: Jo Lee Ferguson is on leave, but Answer Line will return in the future. This Answer Line originally was published in March 2019.
QUESTION: We were coming down the Spur the other day and noticed right where you get to the intersection of South Street and you go straight and you turn left and you go down the Spur 性视界传媒 they性视界传媒檝e got the signs wrong. South Street has the Spur 63 sign on it, and Spur 63 has south Street on it. I wanted to call and let you know about it and see if you could maybe get it changed?
ANSWER: That intersection has a lot going on, and I性视界传媒檒l admit to driving through it a number of times and really confusing myself. Thankfully, the city性视界传媒檚 public works director, Rolin McPhee, helped me figure it out.
So, first, we性视界传媒檙e talking about the intersection where Texas 31 comes into Longview from the south and forks off to the right to follow South Street or to the left to Spur 63, with both options controlled by traffic signals. From Spur 63, drivers have the option of merging onto Texas 31 to the right or following South Street to the left through a traffic signal. Drivers heading from downtown on South Street are controlled by a traffic signal as they head straight on Texas 31, or they can merge onto Spur 63 to the right.
It性视界传媒檚 an intersection full of curves and traffic signals.
That makes it easy to forget that the road name signs we see on traffic signal arms are actually for the street we性视界传媒檙e crossing. They do not indicate the street we性视界传媒檙e on. (That性视界传媒檚 the reminder that McPhee provided me.) Look around while you性视界传媒檙e driving around town and you性视界传媒檒l see it性视界传媒檚 true. (Or just use the little 性视界传媒測ellow man性视界传媒 tool on Google maps to virtually navigate around town.) After I talked to McPhee about this, I realized that性视界传媒檚 also really true of regular street signs positioned at intersections: The signs are positioned so that drivers see the name of the road they性视界传媒檙e crossing, not the road on which they性视界传媒檙e driving.
So when Texas 31 enters Longview, and you see the traffic signal arm to the right says 性视界传媒 Spur 63,性视界传媒 that really means that you性视界传媒檙e crossing over Spur 63 as you head down South Street, for instance.
It性视界传媒檚 easy to get confused, though, in this intersection because of all the curves and traffic signals at various angles directing people through those curves.
Q: Who is responsible for cleaning up the broken glass after an automobile wreck?
A: There are local and state laws that basically say the person who removes a vehicle after a wreck is responsible for the cleanup.
Longview Police spokesman Lt. Shane McCarter previously told me that usually means that job falls to the wrecker service. He has said that people who see debris left on the road after a wreck can call the police department性视界传媒檚 non-emergency number to report it at (903) 237-1199. Then, officers can assess what needs to be done.
