Category Archives: Journal

Makes you Smile While Driving

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We often think of ourselves as being alone when we are driving but that is rarely the case even if we ARE in the car by ourselves.  The cars around us are our fellow travelers or road warriors and from time-to-time another driver will do something to remind you that we are all in this together.

Here’s my list of things that other drivers do that put a smile on my face.

  1. The left turn move over.  This is when  a drivers notices you are behind them and before turning left they change into the outside or even on-coming lane (if safe to do so).  You see this mainly on country roads.
  2. Right turn advance.  You pull up to a stop light and you want to turn right.  There isn’t enough space between you and the curb so the car in front of you pulls ahead to give you enough room to get past. This is a major bonus for some with my level of patience.
  3. Left turn stay back.  A car approaches an intersection and realizes that a vehicle turning in front of them will need some extra space so they stay a car length or two behind the white line.
  4. Chess piece lane change.  You know you are in sync with your fellow road warriors when this happens.   You might be cruising down a major highway and there is a car in front of you blocking your progress.  Before you have to put your brakes on the car one lane over changes lanes giving you room to get around the slowpoke.  This is called being aware of your surroundings.
  5. The shared “what an idiot” look.  You are at an intersection and some clown does something stupid like runs a red.  You look over at another driver and you give each other that what an idiot look.

If you’ve experienced any of the above then you too have realized that we are not alone on the road.  Just like the boy in the plastic bubble, we might be in our own moving isolation chamber but we are not alone.

Lest We Forget

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poppies grow row on row

By _Skender_

I’m not sure why it is but November 11th is an important day for me.  Maybe it is because my brother served in the Navy for 25 years or maybe it is because I admire rituals that honour the memory of those that gave the ultimate sacrifice.  I’m not really sure what it is.  Here is a list of five rituals that can choke me up quite easily on this day of remembrance.

  1. The wearing of poppies especially by teenagers or young adults.  It is often said that the youth of today doesn’t care about the past.  I find it very encouraging when I see a young person wearing poppy, especially if I see them at a remembrance service.
  2. The flying of a flag at half-staff.  I sometimes feel this symbol is over-used but I find it very meaningful when it is done out of genuine respect and not because it is the right thing to do. It means even more when you learn the reason for the lowering of the flag.
  3. The use of the caparisoned horse during a funeral service.  It is the empty boots in the stirrups that gets me.  That’s the symbol that reminds me of why the horse is riderless in the first place.
  4. The sight of aged veterans saluting at a service.  There is something about seeing 80 or 90 year old veterans stand tall and stand straight as they salute the colours that evokes a sense of strength and dignity.  It is a sign that their spirit will never be bowed.
  5. When my father passed away recently we had a piper play at his funeral.  The only condition was that he couldn’t play Amazing Grace.  It almost doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing, if I hear that song on the pipes the tears start to flow.
On this eleventh day of the eleventh month I will remember.  I remember so I can honour the fallen and to those that stand in their place.  They knew they may have to give the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.  I will never forget that.

 

For My Father

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An honest man here lies at rest,
As e’er God with his Image blest:
A friend of man, the friend of truth,
The friend of age and guide of youth;
Few hearts like his-with virtue warm’d,
Few heads with knowledge so informed:
If there’s another world, he lives in bliss;
If there is none, he made the best of this.

-Robert Burns

Dad

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My father passed away on Tuesday, October 4th at 1802hrs. He died of liver cancer, a complication of hemochromatosis.  In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society.

There is an Online Memorial and details below for the service.

Friday October 7th

Visitation – 10 – 11am
Service – 11am

Andrew’s Community Funeral Centre
8190 Dixie Rd
Brampton, ON

Reception – to follow service

Glasgow Ranger’s Supporter Club
185 Advance Blvd.
Brampton, ON

Myth: Stop Signs Reduce Accidents

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Burnett Country Club Stop SignBack in March I read an article in the local paper that mentioned that the stop sign on Burnett Ave. at Country Club Dr.  would not be removed against the recommendation of City Staff.   City Council overruled staff based on feedback from local residents.  The residents felt the removal of the stop sign would decrease safety in the area.  Feelings are not facts.  It may seem counter intuitive that removing a stop sign will make an intersection safer but the statistics bear this out.  Unlike the neighbourhood residents I took the time and paid the cost to learn the facts.

According to the Waterloo Regional Police from 2008 through 2010 there were 31 accidents on Burnett Avenue between Can-Amera Parkway and Saginaw Parkway.  This stretch of road includes eight intersections where four are all-way stops, one has a set of lights and the remaining three are partial-stops (Burnett traffic does not stop).   Of the 31 accidents that happened in that two year period not one accident happened at the partial-stop intersections.   The accidents either happened where a driveway meets Burnett or at an all way stop (including the traffic light).   The presence of an all way stop does not inherently make an intersection safer, it could be said that it has the opposite effect.  There is  a town in Holland that has taken this idea to the extreme and removed ALL road signs.

At a City Council meeting neighbourhood residents told council things like “signage was implemented in 2001 and that the number of vehicles and children using that intersection has only increased since that time.” (Complete Council Meeting Minutes 32meg)  Based on the development of other Cambridge roads traffic on Burnett has actually gone down since 2005. According to numbers provided by City Staff 3798 vehicles used Burnett in 2005 had dropped to 2928 in 2010.  The numbers quoted are for cars counted about halfway between Saginaw Parkway and Can-Amera Parkway.   The closure of Townline has produced a temporary increase of traffic on Burnett.

This incident is an example of how emotions sway politicians.  The people that are trained in public works are the City Staff.  They are the experts.  As a taxpayer of Cambridge I like to think that the employees of the City are doing a good job and their opinion is valued.  Every day between 16:30hrs and 18:30hrs there are many residents of Cambridge that have to wait as much as 20 minutes because of a knee jerk reaction of City Council.  None of the statistics I looked at either in this specific case or in the research I reviewed on stop signs in general indicate that City Council made a factual decision.  I won’t say they made a wrong decision because wrong is subjective.   It’s the right decision if they don’t want to receive angry phone calls from ill-informed residents who think they know better than the City Staff.  Is It the best decision for the residents of Cambridge?  I don’t think so!