December 4 2009 - Christmas on Salem

2009 Christmas on Salem
Historic Downtown Apex

Fall in Apex

Fall 2009
at Baucom Elementary,
Apex, NC

Center Street School bus Accident in Apex

A Wake County school bus was hit by an auto on November 16, 2009, around 7:15 AM. Apex Police and Fire personnel quickly arrived to manage the incident and take care of the injured but the event didn't get any coverage by area news media.

An EMS team carried the auto driver away and the bus passengers were offloaded onto another school bus. It appeared the auto driver was the only person injured.

These State DOT provided traffic lights were replaced in 2009 but the intersection has only one left turn light (seen in photo) to control traffic turning left (east) from Mason Street onto Center Street. There are no turn lights for traffic turning onto Mason Street in either direction on Center Street or from South Mason Street turning west onto Center Street. This school bus accident could likely have been prevented had the Town of Apex and State of NC installed the missing turn lights to make the intersection safer. It's likely this was another cost saving plan implemented at the expense of driver's safety when the lights were upgraded this year. It is unfortunate the Town of Apex always responds that Center Street (and others like Salem Street) is owned by NC DOT and that Apex is not responsible for maintenance or concerns along the road.

There are many Apex intersections like this where short cuts have been taken at the expense of driver safety by omitting some of the turn light signals. To name a few intersections - Center and Mason, Hughes and NC55, Hunter and Peakway.

As always, you can make a difference by asking your Apex Town Manager and Town Council Members to address these issues.

It's always interesting when events like school bus accidents get wide coverage on TV news and in the paper except when they happen in Apex.

Apex has its own "bridge to nowhere"

You would think the folks on the Town of Apex planning staff think all town residents are blind as a proverbial bat or are a bunch of dumb clucks.

Building a "bridge to nowhere" used a lot of dollars that could have been spent on a useful project like sidewalks in the older parts of town or the unfinished Villages of Apex park by the tracks on Hughes Street at Town Hall.

The new $207,000 pedestrian CSX track crossing between the Town's office complex and the Duncan Commons office building on Salem Street is so cluttered with signs that it distracts walkers from looking at what they are doing. There are even more signs not visible in this photo warning walkers to not trespass, stay off the tracks, etc.

This crossing in theory allows folks to park at the Town office complex and walk to downtown events and have a more direct path to the historic downtown area. Never mind that there is not a way to get to and from the Town office complex parking area after you cross the tracks. The $207,000 was spent on an impressive array of iron fencing, concrete and lots and lots of signs. And it includes a fenced in observation area that gives a great view of the CSX dumping grounds between the Town office complex and the CSX depot downtown.