Sep 19 2009
Too many stop signs!
On September 3, my father had a letter published in the Ottawa Citizen about the proliferation of too many environmentally destructive, useless and time wasting STOP signs in the suburbs of Ottawa. Kanata to be exact. I agree with his letter, and will outline a few of his points here.
- By forcing cars to stop, carbon emissions are raised. Simple physics - an accelerating car uses far more fuel than a car moving at a constant speed. Stop signs are pro-pollution and pro-greenhouse gas.
- Nobody comes to a complete stop because they know the law is pointless. This results in a general disrespect for the law because these signs show how arbitrary and silly lawmakers can be. STOP signs are pro-crime.
- We have ignored lessons learned in Europe and elsewhere about the importance of smoothly flowing traffic. Others have learned how to ease congestion, Ottawa insists on making it worse.
- As usual, the local Government in Ottawa chooses to to follow destructive, dangerous and failed policies rather than lead.
I believe this is true. A common theme of my opinions is how much I dislike Government imposed and coercive safety policies. STOP signs definitely fall into this category, and those who demand more and more of them, and tougher police enforcement to ensure all cars come to a complete stop, are misguided in thinking it makes the streets safer. And kidding themselves if they think they care about the environment.