This is just my latest piece for the Standard. I’m sneaking it in as a blog post because I’ve not been posting much lately (and by “much,” or course, I mean “at all”).
They changed my original title. I understand why, but I decided to sneak it back in here as the title of the post. Here’s what actually appeared.
No sense to city’s traffic signals.
It’s been a year now, and I’m still trying to figure out the St. Catharines’ traffic signals.
Most sources credit J.P. Knight with inventing the traffic signal in 1868. Personally, I’d push it back to 1775 and give the honour to Paul Revere ( “One if by land; two if by sea”).
Admittedly, Paul’s signal didn’t so much direct traffic as describe it. Still. There was “traffic” (British troops), and there were “signals” (lanterns). So, “traffic signals.”
What? That’s fair.
Anyhow, the purpose of traffic signals (as with time) is to prevent everything from happening at once.
To this end, a certain consistency is required. [Cont.]
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I don't give a damn 
00dozo
January 21, 2011
So, what was Revere’s signal if the Brits were advancing from the left??
;-)
I can appreciate the frustrations with traffic signals: years ago while vacationing in Anaheim with a girlfriend, we had to cross an eight lane boulevard. Yes, eight lanes and it wasn’t even a highway. Being from Toronto, we automatically assumed the “walk” signal would light up, but it didn’t and thought it was broken. We balked through two light changes, not realizing that you had to push a button for the walk signal. Still ignorant of this requirement, we tried to book it across the street. We barely made it to the median when the lights changed. We finally crossed the remaining four lanes – barely.
Frank Lee MeiDere
January 21, 2011
Light turns green — walk sign goes on. Why can’t it be that simple?
But eight lanes? What are they doing in Anaheim?
tanner24
January 22, 2011
Yes, we have to push a button to get across the street here in California. Even with the ‘WALK’ sign illuminated, getting to the other side of an eight lane road is a crap shoot at best. Luckily, in my small town, we have nothing larger than a four lane road. And there’s only one of those. Most drivers pay little heed to the letters W, A, L, K. The light may grant me permission to attempt my crossing (the law says pedestrians have the right of way), but the guy in the BMW who is determined to make his right turn on red has his own set of rules. In the interest of my personal longevity, I defer to him.
Overlapping green lights? I pity the pedestrian that attempts to cross during that cycle!
Frank Lee MeiDere
January 22, 2011
In a fight between a couple of hundred pounds of human being and a couple of tons of metal, I always bet on the metal.
MikeWJ
January 27, 2011
I almost always ignore traffic signals when I’m on foot, and do it surprisingly often when I’m driving. I really ought to be a Libertarian, I suppose, but I’m not that dedicated to flaunting—or perhaps I should say dismantling—the law. I just like going when I want to.
Frank Lee MeiDere
January 30, 2011
I’ve just started driving again after a 30 year hiatus, and one of the things I found most difficult was stop signs. As a pedestrian, I read stop signs as saying, “Go right ahead.” As a motorist, however, I am supposed to read them as saying, “Stop, you idiot!”