The Walter O. Bigby Monument: A Towering Question of Safety and Oversight...

Story by Wes Merriott

The Walter O. Bigby Carriageway roundabout, located on East Texas Street, is once again a focal point of controversy. At the heart of the debate is a towering three-story monument dedicated to the late Louisiana legislator, Walter O. Bigby. While the intention to honor a respected figure in Bossier Parish politics is on its face commendable, the execution raises critical questions about safety, oversight, and the potential liability the city faces.

Ignoring Federal Guidelines

The Federal Highway Administration (FHA) provides clear guidelines for roundabout design in its "Roundabouts: An Informational Guide." According to the guide, "Pedestrian access is allowed only across the legs of the roundabout, behind the yield line. Some traffic circles allow pedestrian access to the central island, but this is not the case for roundabouts." Yet, the monument's design, with its small dedication bricks honoring figures of varying and questionable merit, and with fonts that require close viewing, seems to invite pedestrians to the central island, despite the lack of crosswalks.

Furthermore, the FHA emphasizes the importance of visibility and sight distance, stating that "...material should be chosen so that sight distance is maintained." The towering statue of the Bigby monument, even without its current planned lighting and additional landscaping, obscures pedestrian and vehicular sight lines, posing a risk to drivers.

A Monument or a Liability?

Councilman Chris Smith rightly asked, "Where did this statue come from?" and Councilman Brian Hammons pointed out the misleading nature of the project, noting that "beautification in my eyes are shrubbery, trees, plants, stuff like that, not a $400,000 statue." Their concerns about the costs also seemingly highlight complete inattentiveness by the designers of this monument to the city's potential liability.

If the monument's design encourages unsafe pedestrian movements or obstructs drivers' views, who will be responsible for any resulting accidents? In the rush to surreptitiously design and erect the monument without public oversight, and without council awareness of the design, the City appears to have agreed to build an unsafe monument design without any regard for the threat such a monument poses to the public.

Councilman Darby admitted in the October 17th Bossier City Council Meeting that he had not seen or approved the plans for the monument that he approved, stating, "I failed to give my full attention to the landscape bid, which included the monument. Had I known that this monument was really in those proposals that we read, I think I would not have supported it.”

As previously reported, a source close to David Montgomery revealed that was the lone voice of approval for the monument and it's design, incensing his fellow council members Darby and Don Williams.

The "Attractive Danger"

The monument's bricks, engraved with the names of 20 past political entities, present an "attractive danger." The FHA guidelines caution against placing items in the central island that might tempt people to take a closer look. Yet, the monument seems to do just that, especially with the inclusion of names that require close inspection.

Crosswalks to the center island are prohibited in roundabout designs, as they would impede the design's constant flow of traffic along the circle, leaving pedestrians to play a dangerous game of "Frogger" to approach the monument.

Worse still, the monument at the center of the center island is less than 300 feet from the nearest apartment complex, putting the statue front and center in the attention of nearby curious children who will undoubtedly be enticed to cross multiple lanes of highway traffic to check out the new structure.

A Shrine to the Political Elite

Beyond the safety concerns, the monument raises questions about transparency and oversight. As this author previously opined, the monument is "more than just a shrine to a local politician, it is a monument to the City’s Political Elite." With over $300,000 spent on this project, it's alarming how little effort appears to have gone into design or safety considerations. Perhaps if Mr. Montgomery sought the advice of the rest of the Council before greenlighting the project solo as alleged, some critical questions could have been asked about the project's necessity and safety.

Conclusion

The Walter O. Bigby monument stands as a testament to a lack of citizen oversight, a disregard for existing regulations, and potential safety hazards. While honoring our past leaders is a noble endeavor, it should not come at the expense of public safety or transparency. The citizens of Bossier City deserve better, but it's likely they will be stuck footing yet another bill on behalf of Mr. Montgomery - only this time, a hospital bill - or worse.