This letter is to put a little more light on the traffic pileup on 39th Street east of the Deer Park Alliance Church.
Not only did the city impede traffic on 39th Street east of the Alliance Church up to Davison Drive with their protrusions of curbs out into the street, but they also erected a cement barrier fence on the north side of 39th Street.
All of this taxpayers’ money was spent to appease some noisy whiners and complainers who live in that area, about the speeding vehicles on 39th Street, especially early in the morning when these so-called “speeders” are heading to work east of the city.
I have witnessed speed traps set up in that area over the past couple of years and the amount of speeders caught in that area you could likely count on one hand. But it doesn’t take long for the driving public to realize the discomfort of the road restrictions to take another route.
So what do they do? Roar up 32nd Street east of Douglas Avenue, screeching their tires at the light and when they get to the end of 32nd Street, they rip through neighbourhoods where there are no lights to get back on track and on eastward to their destination. The city calls this “smart” traffic planning.
In the meantime, traffic that is turning off Douglas Avenue onto 39th Street going east and off Davison Drive onto 39th Street going west, have to be extra cautious for fear of crossing over the centre line. The city buses cannot negotiate these turns without impeding traffic in the oncoming lane.
There is going to be an accident sooner or later on this section of city streets because of the impediment design of this street and with my experience as former town councillor, you can be sure the city can be found at fault.
We as city taxpayers will be on the hook to spend a lot more money in this “bottomless pit” that the city administration created for us.
I have been involved with the city on traffic advisories where we desperately need freeways and faster arterial streets in specific areas of the city with a lot less traffic lights and that are co-ordinated to assist the flow of traffic. What we don’t need is more traffic lights at every intersection that is not co-ordinated with anything else, so traffic is stopped at every one. Nothing frustrates drivers more and it is the root of traffic tie-ups and accidents.
To the new City Council: tear down these impediments and barriers on 39th Street and all other ares of the city and let’s get the traffic moving!
Carmen Wallace
Red Deer