From: dwjz@bnr.ca (Doug Zolmer)
Subject: Re: sidebar re 401
Reply-To: dwjz@bnr.ca (Doug Zolmer)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Distribution: can
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 15:04:29 GMT

In article <1992Aug12.125250.19864@bcrka451.bnr.ca>, mennie@bcrki39.bnr.ca (Bill Mennie 3-4473) writes:
|> To make matters worse, every intersection in this area has its own
|> "personality".  They have flashing green lights before the normal green
|> (i.e., advanced green), after the light turns red (what is this
|> called?), turn arrows both before or after the green, misaligned lanes
|> so you can't see what is going on, lanes that end in the intersection
|> without warning, traffic sensors that seem to wait until there is no one
|> around and then force you to wait for two minutes, and so on.
|> 

Here are some of my gripes about how roads and signals are Engineered in
Ottawa-Carleton:

1) Those strange signals where the red light remains on and then a green 
   turn signal appears.  There's one at the corner of Merivale and Kirkwood.  
   Am I supposed to stop because of the red signal, or go because of the 
   green arrow?  A red AND a green signal at the same time!  What bonehead 
   thought up that one?

2) Three lane intersections where the right hand lane ends exactly 10 metres
   after you're through the intersection (without warning, of course).
   Woodroffe & Baseline is a good example.

3) Lanes that end, out of the blue (especially LEFT lanes).  Ever drive
   down Carling Avenue in the left lane?  Without warning, you suddenly
   find yourself in a left turn lane (at Maitland).  Sheeesh.

4) Synchronization?  What's that?  Ever drive down Wellington from the
   Chateau Larier Hotel to the beginning of the Ottawa River Parkway?
   No matter what speed you drive at, you'll get stopped at all 11
   lights (in less than 1.2 km distance, no less).  It's no wonder
   people in this city run yellow and red lights. "I just got stopped
   at the last 15 out of 16 lights, so I think I'll just gun through
   this next intersection."

5) Road cuts.  Ottawa is the only place I know where they cut a straight
   line across the road about a foot wide, then fill it in so that it's
   1 to 2 inches below the level of the surrounding pavement.  Drive over
   one of those, and you need a wheel balance and alignment.  It sure
   makes the CD player hesitate.

6) Poor signs.  If you're at a huge intersection (like St. Laurent and
   Ogilvie/Cummings) you can't see the tiny little signs on the corner
   poles.  Only recently have they been putting large overhead signs 
   up (20 years behind other major cities).  Similar gripe: no signs
   at all (like which lanes end, which lanes are turn lanes, what's
   the name of this street?)!

7) Lanes?  What lanes?  After the spring thaw, there aren't many lane
   markings left.  What does Ottawa do?  Wait until August before 
   repainting them so that you'll get 5 months use out of them before
   it snows again in December (when they're covered by snow and salt).
   The same goes for cross walk markings, stop lines, and those neato
   arrows to tell people they're in a turn lane.

8) Unrealistic speed limits.  Riverside Drive between the Postal Sorting
   station and Riverside Hospital has wide lanes, no pedestrian traffic,
   no driveways and very few intersections.  Why is the speed limit 60
   km/h.  It used to be 80 km/h.  Nobody, and I mean nobody, obeys the
   speed limit along that stretch.

9) Whine, bitch and complain ad infinitum.

I'd complain about the driving habits of people in Ottawa, but that's
been covered by others.  I will only add that I think people are exaggerating
about how bad they are.

|> 
|> Cheers,
|> 
|> Bill
|> 
|> William E. Mennie        | Phone:    (613) 763-4473 | BNR is in no way
|> Bell-Northern Research   | Internet: mennie@bnr.ca  | responsible for the
|> P.O. Box 3511, Station C |                          | preceding ideas or
|> Ottawa, Ont. K1Y 4H7     |                          | opinions

-- 
dwjz@bnr.ca  Voice: +1 613 763-8217  Disclaimer: my opinions only  
Xref: sparky ont.general:1552 can.general:3969 soc.culture.canada:5723 ott.general:813