The latest proposal to screw up downtown Fort Wayne

There is a proposal to slow down traffic in downtown Fort Wayne. Here is the primary reason cited by the mayor:

....will improve visibility and access to businesses, provide traffic calming and encourage economic development

Downtown is already a safer place to walk than other commercial areas, such as Coliseum Boulevard, West Jefferson and Illinois Road, and DuPont. And Fort Wayne as a whole typical has less than 5 pedestrian fatalities per year. It always has been and likely always will be safer to walk than to drive in any city. I like being able to park my car, get what I need from one place, get what I want from another place, and get something to eat from a third place without having to move my car three times.
But when I am in my car, my goal is to safely minimize my travel time. Sometimes I adjust my route when there is construction, and I avoid traveling during rush hour when I can help it. So if the city intentionally slows down traffic downtown, that will only serve to discourage motorists from visiting that area.

Why the economy is improving

1. Here's a new concept for you all: regression towards the norm. It's something that can observed in almost anything that involves statistics. Unusually low numbers can be expected to go up, unusually high numbers can be expected to go down. You can expect that the 2-14 Indianapolis Colts will have a better season this fall even without Peyton Manning, and the Superbowl champion New York Giants might not do as hot. Everything goes through peaks and valleys, the economy is no different.

2. From time to time, a "new normal" arises and it takes time for businesses and individuals alike to adjust to the new normal. The economy can show growth under any POTUS.

Economics is nothing more than applied psychology. It's billions of human decisions on what to buy and sell. If these decisions were always made on a rational basis, forming economic models would be easy. So before you ask Congress or the President to fix the economy, remember that they're human too. Democracy works better than monarchy for the same reason capitalism works better than socialism: more people are involved in the decision making process.