Normally, we source and fact-check the claims, references, and implications of what makes it onto these pages. One exception is in the editorial. We can freewheel it a bit in this section.

If there鈥檚 something I鈥檓 not sure can be backed up with a quote or some other reference, that鈥檚 material for the editorial. So the current width of the highway through town is a perfect topic.

You might think it easy to answer the question, 鈥淚s the highway as wide as it was before the construction?鈥� but it isn鈥檛 so. The thing is, the road through town wasn鈥檛 ever a model of mathematical precision. There never was a straight answer to the question, 鈥淗ow wide is the highway through 亚洲天堂 Lake?鈥�

And it鈥檚 less precise now, with the addition of curb bulbs and medians.  Does a 鈥榤ountable鈥� median take away from available road space, or does it just make that space slightly less convenient?

I鈥檓 going to go out on a limb and say that the highway is as wide as it  ever was, for all practical effect. The parking curbs that jut out into the roadway - curb bulbs as they鈥檙e termed - don鈥檛 extend out past where a parked car would be, much less a parked flat-deck, cube van or planter鈥檚 crummy out front of the laundromat.

You can confirm this by taking a walk through downtown. You鈥檒l notice that for the most part, all curbs are exactly where they were before the construction, except for the new ones. And the new ones don鈥檛 protrude out beyond the space that a parked vehicle would take up. So it鈥檚 like having a car permanently parked every so often.

This may not be much of a selling point to many people, but this isn鈥檛 a sales pitch.

Speaking of walking through town, have you noticed the new pedestrian crosswalks along the way? Do you know what to do when you approach a signed crosswalk and there鈥檚 a pedestrian waiting to cross?

For that matter, do you know what to do if a pedestrian is trying to cross the road anywhere, marked crosswalk or not?

I鈥檓 no expert, but after doing some cursory research online, it appears drivers are not allowed to run over pedestrians - even if they鈥檙e crossing the road where they鈥檙e not supposed to - and pedestrians are not allowed to jump out into the street without some due diligence before hand.

If a motorist doesn鈥檛 have time to react to your lurch into traffic, whether at a crosswalk or in the middle of the street, you鈥檙e on your own. You may be run over and become a victim without a legally culpable perp.

On the other hand, drivers need to anticipate that a person might be waiting to cross at a crosswalk, and if there is such a person, then the driver needs to stop.

Having had my driver鈥檚 license for much longer than I ever didn鈥檛 have a driver鈥檚 license, I freely admit that I鈥檝e forgotten all but the most basic aspects of traffic law.

Stop on red, go on green. Don鈥檛 run anybody over. Observe posted speed limits. Wear your seat belt. Share the road with cyclists. And finally, pay attention to the extra crosswalks in 亚洲天堂 Lake.