To the Editor:
This article was written to express my admiration for the Carrollton Fairness Policy. The essence of this policy is to treat strangers and travelers to Carrollton with the same fairness and courtesy as you would treat your friends and neighbors. It’s a Carrollton tradition.
I was reminded of this policy on my last visit in April. I lived in Carrollton from 1938-1958 and thoroughly enjoyed my younger days in the town. One of the scenic sights of Carrollton was the central square with its bandstand, trees, park benches, flagpole and its cannon. As a teenager, one of the favorite past times was to “cruise the square,” which brings me to the actual layout of our public square. As a resident of Carrollton, I understood the square, as did all the other residents of the town. It is a one-way counter clockwise pattern around the square and everyone yielded to square traffic on the south end. At the north end, everyone followed the traffic light. Simple… until someone wanted to make a left turn or someone backed out of the angle parking at the Cummings Bank. On these latter occasions, the Carrollton residents knew the rules of the square and all went well. Even resident pedestrians could cross the square without getting run down.
But, bring in a stranger or an out-of-town tourist and the square became chaotic. Strangers went the wrong way, yielded when they shouldn’t have, didn’t yield when they should have and simply didn’t know how to make a left turn.
I remember when my wife, a Cleveland suburb native, first came to Carrollton. Her comment about the square was, “It’s pretty, but how does it work?” I tried to explain it to her. And she tried driving around it. After several attempts I told her to just do the best she could with the square and blow her horn as she traveled around it.
“Carrollton people will hear the noise, see the strange license plate and make room for you.” But it was plain to see that unless you lived in Carrollton, you were not going to understand the square. And this hardly seemed fair if you were a visitor, guest or an outsider spouse.
Well, this is where the fairness policy came into practice. The good people of Carrollton could see this situation was not fair to the outsiders. So those same people had large meetings and small meetings at the Virginia, Heartland Restaurant, Municipal Building and maybe even at Bluebird Farm. They decided the town should do something to make the square traffic fair for all.
It took a lot of planning by many people. It took some uprooting of curbs and lawns. It required some extra internal lanes to be formed and paved. The existing lanes were separated, given lane markers and painted with arrows. A new traffic light system with pedestrian light replaced the old traffic light. It must have taken a fair amount of money and time to re-do the square into its present configuration.
However, it has proven to be a worthwhile effort. The Carrollton square is not a beacon of fairness to all. On my recent visit to the town, I observed the traffic around the square and, sure enough, no one understands it! It doesn’t matter if you were born and raised in Carrollton, you don’t understand the arrows or the different lanes. Even the town residents don’t know what the lanes are for. Traffic still comes to a stop when someone pulls out of the angle parking; only now there are several lanes blocked with traffic. And no one can make a left turn. Now Carrollton people are just as baffled by their own square as the visitors are. It is a matter of pride for the community and everyone is treated equally. It’s a shining example of the Carrollton Fairness Policy.
Donald Butler
Warren, OH
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