Round Robineer

Both the Advocate and the Times-Pic report on the new hurricane evaucation plan with a new map available. The new plan, I'm sure is good, but I don't think the plan, or lack of one, during Hurricane Ivan was the problem. Everybody knows you've got to get people out of the saucer cup of New Orleans by opening all lanes of traffic to flow out, not into the city. For Hurricane Ivan, N.O. area officials begged state police to start the contraflow plan, but state police waited and waited to make the call, then had to play catch up in getting troopers in position. The plan was not the problem, it was the execution. Sort of like the Saints for most of the past 39 years. It was the small problems that made the plan worse. Red lights were turned green up and down Highway 90, but small town cops along the way gave tickets to people trying to get out of town. Then once people were on the highway, there was no place to go, except the parking lot of Wal-Marts along the way.
In the Advocate article, officials lay blame on the people getting out of town for slow traffic: "Problems that slowed traffic during Ivan included breakdowns and signs that were too hard to read, forcing drivers to slow excessively" The solution: Put tow trucks on the highways to drag people's cars away. Give me a break.
Fine, you have a new map, a new plan. Now execute the darn thing state police.
Go to the Times-Pic Web site to find out where to get the map and plan: http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1119076097174710.xml