|
|
 |
|
ROTARY, ROUND ABOUT AND RIDICULOUS |
|
|
|
Written by Alex J. Walling
|
|
Thursday, 29 June 2006 |
(Confusion, chaos and collisions)
 Let’s go back, way back.
It’s 1955 and Bill Haley gets his first big hit. Elvis is on the verge of exploding, he does that in the next year. 1955 and the Brooklyn Dodgers win their first and only World Series.
Heck, John (the Chief) Diefenbaker isn’t prime minister yet but Halifax gets the Rotary. Yes, the Armdale Rotary came into being sometime in 1955 and has served us well, very well for over 50 years.
And all of a sudden on Wednesday June 28th, at the stroke of midnight, it disappeared.
Puff, just like that it went from Rotary to Round About or is that Roundabout? Maybe it’s a Roundtoit. (Round to it).
It went without the public knowing from, for decades a working Rotary to a troublesome Roundabout. What’s the difference you ask? How about confusion, chaos and I’m sure collisions, many of them to come?
I don’t like calling anyone names but I have some for those who made this decision.
Haven’t those who have surprised us, have foisted this new and dramatic driving change got it backwards.
The province, for they are guilty ones, as I see it, did things backwards. Instead of providing the public with plenty of notice, instead of educating the motorist, instead of some warning, they pulled a gas company deal (who hike prices without warning) and changed the rules. Rules that have been around for some 50 years without a bit for warning.
Within hours of the announcement on Tuesday I got into my trusty car (a beaten up 6 year old station wagon) and went down to the Rotary via Joseph Howe (or is it Dutch Village Rd) drive and hit the Rotary, er, Roundabout or Round and Round (like that Perry Como song). I still have good eyes and I can spot things especially when I am looking for something.
My visual antenna was looking for the big signs that were going to explain or try to explain to the motoring public the new change. Or, at least some signs saying that we are entering a roundabout now, not a Rotary. I visualized something like ten of those ‘election candidate signs’ in a row coming down Joseph Howe Drive.
In fact they could have probably got some signs from the recent election candidates, cheap.
But I didn’t see one. None, zero, zip, zilch, nada, nothing, nary a one.
What in the world is going on?
Why would an apparently intelligent person or persons try to change a major traffic patterns overnight without a word of warning, advertisement, or education.
Why, why and why again?
This is not changing a stop sign, or putting up a yield poster, this is changing the patterns of the busiest part of the city.
Please, whoever you are that made this decision or gave it the official go ahead, to change the rotary to roundabout without blasting this major radical move on radio stations (all of them), newspaper and TV. And add billboards to that tell us why and where your logic comes from.
What would have been wrong with educating the public all summer long and then a big push, a ten day countdown and it comes in during the Labour Day weekend.
Why not?
What were these people who made the decision thinking about? It doesn’t make sense. Why not even go further and ask why, why in the world would someone even change the system that no one is complaining about? Have your heard any complaints, lately or in the last few years about the ‘Rotary”.
Since 1972 I’ve navigated through this ‘interesting traffic item’ without an accident. It works, people slow down, move to the side, or even cut in front of you without causing problems.
What ever happened to the expression…if it isn’t broke don’t fix it?
Those in charge, be it the city or province or both should have held a press conference to announce the change, or tentative change. Tell us, show us and inform us now and set a big day, like Labour Day weekend to implement it. Someone was not thinking.
Maybe there could have been some ‘test days’ let’s say at low traffic times once a week. Then lots of promotion and publicity and big, and I mean big signs telling us that we are now approaching a Roundabout and a bigger sign showing how a Roundabout works.
And then following Labour Day, it becomes in effect, the helpful police are there to ‘aid and assist’ and we are all up to snuff on this matter.
Why, didn’t this happen?
And why can’t we go back and do it.
Coke went back some 25 years ago when people didn’t like the ‘New” coke. Nothing, other than time is irreversible.
Bring it back to the Rotary and do it the right way.
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
