Editor:
I left the parking lot of Canadian Tire and waited for the traffic lights to turn green. They did. When I got to the old fire hall, the traffic lights turned red. The next stop was at The Drake’s intersection and the lights just turned red.
When I got to the famous Benchlands and Bow Valley Trail intersection, the lights turned red. Going up Benchlands Trail, by the time I got to the first set of lights at the turn-off to Calgary, I really got worried. They unexpectedly were green. I was concerned, do they work properly?
By the time I got to the next traffic lights at Palliser Trail, the world was in order again – the lights were red.
How I wish some elves come one night and simply swapped the red and green light bulbs. Traffic would flow smoothly. Is this why most of the signs stop idling have disappeared?
More than half a century ago, I remember a newspaper article in my hometown, Stuttgart, proudly explaining that the traffic lights on the main arteries in the city were now timed so that if you stayed within the speed limit you would meet green all along your way. It was called riding the green wave. And this was before all that sophisticated computerization. It appears the high mountain ridges on either side of the valley are not only scenic but also shield the town from what is going on in the outside world.
And as far as the hymn of praise “Infamous Canmore Intersection a positive in community” from Peter Lemieux is concerned, I don’t dispute that the design has, more or less, accomplished the objectives. What I maintain, the same, or better, could be accomplished more efficiently and more effectively.
Dieter Remppel,
Canmore
