This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
Flashing Arrows
I’d like to know why flashing arrows for left hand turns on busy intersections are disabled at certain times of the day and night. I live near an intersection on upper Lacewood Dr. (near the 102) and both intersections leading to my residence have fl
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Why don’t the police enforce driving infractions more rigourously? For instance people who drive in the left hand lane and tie up traffic? In this case, they’d have a field day with the stupid who can’t figure out that there’s a line up of cars in front of them and that if they proceed to block the intersection, opposing traffic can’t make left hand turns and when the light turns green, the other traffic can’t proceed because the entire intersection is blocked by these idiots. Lay on the horn and let ’em know they’re stupid and should have their licenses revoked. Dumb asses like that should be regulated to taking cabs or the bus.
It’s Clayton Park — what do you expect? Our city counsellor doesn’t even know that Langbrae is a part of her district.The farther you get up to BLIP the worse the layout for both motorists and those on foot (ESPECIALLY those on foot in bayers lake where there are NO SIDEWALKS).I know exactly where you’re refering to, and honestly, I’m surprised there haven’t been more vehicle to vehicle accidents and more people hit. If I had a dime for every time myself or a family member were almost made road kill up there I’d be rich.
I hear you Lindy. My son was hit by a vehicle making a right turn on Lacewood from the exit ramp on 102. He was roller blading to work. The idiot hit him and knocked him off his feet, paused a second, and sped off. Aside from a badly bruised knee and some skin burn, thank goodness he was ok. Several motorists stopped to make sure he was ok, but many more were too rushed to shop to be bothered to check. Now the amazing part. As soon as he was hit and bumped into oncoming traffic, my son immediately scrambled to his feet to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. One of the motorists that stopped got the license plate number of the hit-and-run driver and gave it to my son. He also gave him a lift home. We called police to report the hit and run and their answer …. sit down, you’ve got to be ready for this one …. well the boy ran too so what do you want us to do? Mind freaking boggling stuff!!!! The 3 intersections in that area (Lacewood and the 102 ramps, Fairfax Dr. and Parkland Dr.) are just prime for a major accident or two and someone is going to get killed. We’ve gotten to the point where we won’t go near those intersections on weekends but will take Fairfax to Parkland and get on the 102 from Parkland. Maybe all of us residents in the area need to get a petition signed to put in sidewalks all the way along the road to the Bayers Lake shopping district and demand the left hand turning arrows are on 24/7. I know it won’t stop people who want to turn right from cutting off those drivers who have the right of way at the flashing arrows, but anything would be an improvement at this point. If the cops parked in Starbucks and in the parking lot at the end of Home Depot to spot infractions, they’d make their monthly fine quotas in one weekend day. It’s disgusting!
OK BJ- honestly what you say about the police’s response absolutely BURNS me. I say you should write to every local news paper – keep writing in this column – maybe in the editorial -if you haven’t already. Just keep telling this story maybe someone will hear and something can get done… Hit and Run OMFG- I think if it were my child I would try to track this car down and ask why they couldn’t take responsiblity for their crappy driving!!!
I never go to the BLIP on weekends, even though I live close. And as a frequent runner along the power line that cuts across Lacewood, I’ve learned to make eye contact with drivers before crossing, despite the fact that I always activate the crossing lights. City planners should be shot for the mess they’ve created. And ignorant, distracted, consumer-driven, SUV-driving assholes should be eviscerated for the consistent, unthinking threat they pose to pedestrians every single day. Look the fuck out!!
Jeanne You’re right of course. I should make a lot of noise about the hit-n-run. I guess I didn’t because we were new to Hfx and honestly the cop intimidated me. He said to my son … well you were roller blading so it’s not like you were a PED and were you wearing a helmet? He wasn’t. This was 2 yrs ago. Kind of late to stir it up I guess. Now my son drives and he’s acutely aware and watchful for all PEDs. Last week he was pulling into the McD’s drive-thru at Lacewood and Dunbrack. As he was rounding the corner to the pickup window some idiot in a 1999 SUV hit him head on and took out his front grill and radiator. They called the cops … sit down for this one too …. the cops said it was nobody’s fault 50/50 because it happened off the public streets and in a not so clearly marked drive-thru. In other words, the guy that hit him head on going the wrong way through the drive thru walked away scott free. WTF?!? We (the parents) called the cop twice to get his side of the report. Both calls were NOT returned! I’m calling again tomorrow. Incidentally, we took a drive thru where the accident happened and my son was clearly in the right land (only enough room for one vehicle) and the other guy was clearly in the wrong lane. We called the insurance and they basically said all we can do is contact the guy and try to get him to pay for damages for my son’s VW Golf (94). He’s fixing it himself to save a few bucks because like any 21 yr. old, he’s broke. The Insurance company said if he won’t cooperate then we can go through them and open a claim. Problem is the deductible is high and the repairs would have to go through a garage – triple or more the cost it would be if my son did his own repairs.Both incidents leave a foul taste in our mouths about HRM’s finest. If we had a chance to move out of this city tomorrow we’d jump at it.