CAK Mr COONTY MOAIINl U AUGUST »J

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the removal of those signals. "Many want traffic signals just to slow traffic,” he said. “They’re not for that. They’re to say stop and go.” But McCarthy is sensitiye to the local persons’ needs, especially the merchants. The afternoon of this interview he was scheduled for a run to Avalon for consultations on pavement markings. With the removal of the signals, McCarthy explained, he is trying to establish the use of certain streets as “cross town streets.” streets that will get a motorist across the town. The more one-way streets a town has, the more cross town streets and hence more traffic lights the town needs. This is the case in Wildwood. Also taken into account are much-used buildings, such as schools and city hall, allof which must be close to a cross town street. Also included in McCarthy’s job is tabulating traffic accidents and keeping watch for potential trouble spots. “If accidents go up and volume doesn’t, you know you have a problem,” he said. At that point the department must decide whether the particular curve or area of .read needs to be resurfaced, 6r its perhaps marked or signaled incorrectly. •( McCarthy has a Ball Bank indicator in his car that determines the safe speed for rounding a curve, and this is used on posted

signs.

all at night while raining. The problem was taken care of with a few

reflectors.

In North Wildwood, when unnecessary traffic signals were removed, he continued, there was a 28 per cent reduction in accidents for July . ::Our goal is to reduce the number of accidents," said McCarthy, adding that if a person is driving carelessly and collides with another driver, the department, of course, is not responsible, but if the markings are providing v/rong information, then it is responsible. McCarthy received a B.A. and Masters in Civil Engineering from Auburn University, in Auburn, Ala., where he also picked up a bit of a southern accent. After completing his studies, he did independent consulting, working on four small town traffic studies, and then went into administrative research for two and

a half years.

He has been through the statistical part of engineering, McCarthy said, and has learned to appreciate it, but after working on the administrative levels, he felt it was time to get closer to ‘ ‘operations.” He came back home to

New Jersey.

\ McCarthy is now at Work at converting the portion of the Parkway at Cape May Court House from a local highway, with its various exits and extranceways, into the character of a freeway by eliminating some of those passages.

On hts desk is a huge, com- With all these duties, one might puterized index of local accidents, expect that McCarthy has quite a

type, time and date, if the driver large staff,

was an in-or-out-of-town resident,

and weather conditions. The question evoked laughter. On Bayshore Road, for exam- The size of his staff, he said, is pie, three accidents had occurred himself.

X.

” Jersey Cape I walked across the dunes at 44th Street in Avalon this morning (on the path of course). This is the seventh week in a row I’ve done so on my way to search for piping plovers. But today was di£ ferent. Nothing really had changed drastically. Maybe it was the humidity in the air, but the sounds were different — more intense, more noticeable. Or maybe it was just that I took the time to listen. From in the dune tangle came 'the sounds of birds. Familiar sounds. It was like being greeted by your neighbor. First the cardinal sang what my grandmother used to call the rain song. Next, the lovely Call of the song sparrow admonishing "Madge to put the tea kettle on!” The yellowthroat, who loves the tangles best, called from the depths, "Wichity, wichity, wichy.” I do so enjoy these pert / little bandits. Robins are even present here and added to the chorus. P.S. It did rain today - just as predicted!

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