Road to a Brighter Future

“A different, more efficient traffic pattern” – Rod McDaniels

Road to a Brighter Future

The snow had melted in my south field, yet I could still see a trail.  It was just a little different in its appearance.  Rather than an indentation in the snow, leaving a packed base of ice, I could see a mix of pressed grass and mud meandering the length of the field from the heated water tank to the hay barn and bull feeders.  This multi-colored winding-way, viewed in warmer temperatures, highlighted its visual form.

“I guess, for steers, the path between two points is not a straight line!”  I said to myself as I leaned on the white fence looking in a southerly direction.

I’d been following that path for most of the winter and hadn’t noticed just how curvilinear it was!  So, I thought about it, how I walked carefully, with my head down, so I wouldn’t slip and fall on the packed, slippery ice while caring for and feeding my furry, Black Angus.  And, I continued to think about it in a different way as I was feeding on another day.

When I scheduled time to catch up with my friend Rod McDaniels, I didn’t know that he had changed his role with the Utah Department of Transportation.

“I’m in the Innovation Development Group now.”  Rod said as we sat in a burger bar for lunch.

Then he went on to describe how he goes about his job of looking for ways to save more lives, while saving tax payers money and improving road quality. I listened intently and with great interest as he talked about how this work has changed his vision of the future.  And, I couldn’t help but draw some parallels between Rod’s task of innovation for our essential-roadway-system and that narrow trail across Salty Shores Ranch.

First, for most of us, the path between two points is not a straight line!  There are lots of reasons for this, but for simplicity, in my trail illustration, as soon as I took the time to look up and see where I’d been, it became clear that I hadn’t been following the most efficient route to my desired destination.

Second, life changes.  I happen to know where the snow drifts across my fields because of the prevailing winds.  That means there are times when my path to the hay barn and bull feeders is changed for efficiency or convenience.  No!  I don’t like to walk through three or four feet of drifted snow when I can simply change my route slightly so I can walk through six inches of snow instead.

Third, a worn path often feels comfortable.  Once I’ve gotten into a trail grove, I begin to think “that’s just the way the world is.”  Sometimes it’s hard to make a diversion from the familiar.  Yet, sometimes there are benefits to be found from doing common things in an uncommon way.

“When we changed the traffic pattern on overpasses and underpasses to facilitate traffic flow and make it more efficient, it confused drivers at first.” Rod explained to me.  “Yet, we’d spent a lot of time and work evaluating traffic models and even going to other states to see how it was working firsthand in much larger traffic markets.  So, we knew the benefits of change would be worth it.  We also knew that it wouldn’t take drivers very long to get used to it and have their ah-ha moment.”

As Rod was talking, the “snow” began to melt in the south side of my mind, as I began to visualize my own experience with what he was describing.  I could see the old “trail” on the over and underpasses in my mind, recalling my reaction to the changed route on my first couple to times through.  It was just a little different in its appearance.  Rather than the same indentation, the well-worn history of driving normality, I remembered seeing a new mix of dashed and solid lines meandering the length of the over and underpasses toward the usual, familiar path of the roadway.  This multi-lined, winding-way, viewed in warm memory, highlighted its new and more efficient current, visual form for me.

“I think I get what Rod does!”  I whispered to myself as we followed our individual paths toward the rest of our workday.

Rod has shown you and me that if we will simply lift our eyes from what has become comfortable, familiar, and look at the way that others are doing the same thing, we might find a better way, a brighter future.  It will likely take a little thinking and observation-generated-warmth to highlight a new way within our minds.  And luckily, my experience with recognizing and embracing positive, life changing innovation has proven its worth!

“Why didn’t we always do it this way?”  I wondered as I finally saw the benefits of the different, more efficient traffic pattern and how it allowed me to go where I wanted to go more quickly.