This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
The Traffic Bitch
Twice this week I had the pleasure of being stuck on the Magazine Hill and ended up being late for work. Twice!I refuse to leave home any earlier to get work based on the chance that there may be an accident. It is getting ridiculous. Why, why, why is
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So you refuse to leave a bit early? If you’re late, then that’s your problem. Don’t blame it on the city. If people lived closer to their place of employment or used public transportation more, then this would cut down on the amount of traffic and uncontrolled sprawl that’s affecting Halifax. Don’t worry, your commute will only get worse once they finish up that big box shopping complex.Perhaps you should spend more time lobbying the government to toughen up the licensing of drivers who don’t know what “keep right except to pass” means on the Magazine Hill when exiting Burnside. Remember, driver inattenion is the number cause of crashes, not speed. Better driver education would help.
Let me set a few things straight. First of all, I leave every day at 6:30 AM so that I can ensure that I am at work for 8:00. I think that this is plenty early.I am not an idiot I plan for unforseen circumstances as best as I can. Second, I take the bus and have every single day for the last 18 years, so I am not one of those people that drives alone to work and does not car pool. I am constantly encouraging other to take mass transit.I do agree that many drivers are inattentive and in many cases are the cause of accidents, but in my 18 years of bus travel I have seen speed as a factor too. Perhaps if I get a big raise from my boss I can live closer to my work…..NOT!
It’s time for you to take the Link. It’ll get you to work in under 30 minutes. You’ll have to make some sacrifices if you want to live closer to work. Choose a shorter commute & higher rent or long commute & cheap rent (or no job if you’re afraid of being late). Btw, nowhere in your original post did you mention that you took public transportation. You’ll either have to get up earlier and leave earlier or run the risk of being late.