In 1912, Lester Wire invented the first American traffic signal in Salt Lake City, Utah, and driving hasn’t been the same since. In the 1950s, they even invented the interstate highway system just to get away from the cursed devices.
Traffic signals are a large part of why I hate driving. And now that Peoria has them posted just about every 100 feet all over the city, I’m starting to think I could travel faster by bicycle.
Stop. Wait. Wait. Arrow. Wait. Go. Stop. Repeat at every intersection.
Now I know why Chevy came out with the “Sprint” back in the ’80s. No vehicle has been more aptly named for city driving, where sprinting is all you can accomplish between stop lights that are apparently timed to keep traffic travelling an average of 20 mph.
The worst lights of all are the ones that change for no reason. For instance, the light at Knoxville and McDonalds, south of McClure. There may not be anyone there at the light either direction in the middle of the night, but it will change just for the heck of it as a lone car approaches from the north. And there you sit, idling, burning precious fossil fuel while trying to convince yourself it would be wrong to run it, even though there’s no one around to see you.
Stop lights add frustration to an experience that is already maddening because you have to (a) suffer interminable road construction and (b) share the road with other drivers. Ever seen car commercials from the ’50s, where having a fine automobile on the open road meant freedom, relaxation, and exploration? Ha! Maybe when there was only one car per family and all the highways were new that was possible. Today, it’s not uncommon for a family to have more vehicles than licensed drivers, and of course all the nation’s highways are in a state of perpetual disrepair. The 1950s’ dream has become the 2000s’ nightmare.
Driving has lost its allure for me. I would be happy riding the bus to work every day, if I didn’t need my car to run job-related errands all week, and if it didn’t take three times as long as driving.  Occasionally, when my car has been in the shop, I’ve taken the bus to and from work, and despite the extra time it took, I found it very relaxing. I could read the paper, plan out my day, and not once be concerned about traffic lights or other drivers.
Hmmm…Â Read the paper, plan the day, be unconcerned about lights or other drivers — that pretty much sums up what the driver in front of me was doing on my way to work today….
Photo credit: UDOT
Sounds like my morning. Beyond the Kellar Rail Branch, what about improving bus service? I’m going to expand my group idea to include all public transportation. Our first fundraiser will be a showing of The Inconvenient Truth. Let’s get out of our cars. Light rail? More bus service? Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.
I’m all for better bus service — although, given Peoria’s size and ridership, I think our bus service is actually pretty good. One thing that would help, though, is if there were more opportunities to switch buses other than just downtown. I was thinking of the “L” in Chicago, and they have several places where you can transfer from one line to another because they intersect. When I tried to do that on CityLink, the scheduling was such that you arrived after the other bus had left, so if you wanted to transfer (other than downtown), you had to wait a half-hour to an hour for the next bus. That’s not going to happen.
Let’s face it, for public transportation to really take off, it’s going to have to rival or exceed the convenience/cost of cars. That’s why it does so well in, say, Chicago — it’s actually faster and cheaper to travel by train than highway/tollway in the city. We’re not going to achieve the convenience aspect here in Peoria any time soon, other than big events where Park n Ride is popular, but cost is beginning to be a factor. Just recently, the PJS had an article on how CityLink ridership has been increasing due to higher gas prices.
With that in mind, on purely utilitarian grounds, I wouldn’t use Al Gore’s movie in an effort to promote public transportation. I don’t think it’s going to persuade anyone who isn’t already persuaded, and it has the potential to turn off a lot of people who don’t agree with his politics.
You could car-pool with BJ Stone… ‘-)
If everyone followed the speed limit, it would be no big deal. But without traffic lights (and a lot of them), every street would be an interstate. We have some of the worst drivers in the country here. Some of the most notorious speeders, too. Everyone wants to get from Point A to Point B in record time. Slow down everyone. Leave 5 minutes earlier. You can afford it, really.
Very good post CJ.
Part of the problem other than too many drivers and cars, is the poor planning the city has done. It seems the entire town is catered to a suburban lifestyle. Therefore, one needs a car to do *anything*.
In addition, these “supercenters” that developers promote compound the problem. Case in point: try getting in and out of Glen Hollow some Saturday afternoon. Then you have to park in the back 40 which takes you another hour just walking from your car and back.
It doesn’t matter where you are going in this town, it still seems to take about 30-40 minutes to get there.
Excellent points all. I moved here from Tallahassee, and their bus svc sucked too.
There is still something to be said for improving bus service in the way CJ mentions. Intersections of lines. Email Citylink, CJ. They could really increase ridership with a big new ad campaign about the super linking lines and multiple intersections. And get some “greener” fuel buses – everyone would like them and possibly use them, from the hippie environmentalists to the conservative, govt should spend less folks.
Bus service is a non-starter for most people. Buses have to use the same crowded, poorly-maintained streets that cars use. Nobody wants to walk to and wait on a street corner, especially in the rain, snow, etc. Light rail vehicles are the way to go. It is cleaner, faster, has its own right of way, and you can create park-and-ride stations with adjacent commercial developments.