By Ron Ulmer

Let’s think out of the Box today, I just hope my cat never does.

What if we could increase vehicle mileage while simultaneously reducing air pollution and traffic accidents? Last week I drove a hands-free combine guided by GPS. If farm equipment can be guided by satellite, certainly satellites could be used to warn drivers of ice, snow, fog,or stopped traffic ahead thru the use of real time warning signs with a posted safe speed limit, thereby reducing rear end collisions and smoothing the stop and start traffic to a safe steady lower speed.

Let’s consider a non- traditional approach to traffic flow.Has a traffic engineer ever run a traffic flow model on a divided thoroughfare that would have speed limits with up to a 5 MPH differential resulting in the ability to better time the lights thereby reducing stopping and starting that wastes gasoline and leads to rear-end crashes?Signs would be posted indicating that when you drive the recommended speed, you are likely to approach more green lights than if you speed. How’s that for outside the box?

With the expansion of retail and service sector hours, employees without access to a car, need transportation to work at odd hours as a result we are told we need to expand the hours of connect transit schedules. However, what we really need is a cost efficient way to provide shift workers transportation to work. Why not provide a qualifying person with a transportation card, similar to the food stamp debit card? After regular bus service hours, commuters would text a number with their individual security code which would identify their home location. The local cab companies would dispatch a cab to take the people to work. The driver would swipe the transportation debit card with a square reader type device to ensure payment to the cab company. This convenient door to work destination service would be much less expensive and much less polluting per passenger mile than running scheduled buses all night with few riders.

Finally, let’s think outside the box for a new soccer field complex. How about evaluating the Mitsubishi factory grounds for new soccer fields with the nearby humongous well lighted unused parking lot to accommodate parking even for the largest national soccer tournaments?

Let’s get some robust out of the box discussion going to solve problems, instead of the same old, same old.

Ron Ulmer is an economist, have taught economics/finance at 3 central Illinois universities and employed by Illinois Power as a Senior Rate Analyst, supervisor of economic research, Market Program Manager. Now retired, Current member Normal Kiwanis, past 25 year member Optimist International Service Club, Property owner and manager in Normal for 37 years ongoing.   

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