A plea from the ‘gridlocked generation’ After...
A plea from the ‘gridlocked generation’
After graduating from the prestigious Tijuana Border Crossing
School of Traffic Management and doing such a bang-up job with the
five-points reconfiguration project, it appears that the Burbank
Traffic Control Department has moved its quest for achieving total
gridlock over to Buena Vista Street.
I’ve lived a few doors away from the intersection of Buena Vista
and Burbank Boulevard for the past 12 years, and seeing no need
whatsoever for a stoplight with a left-turn arrow, I was overjoyed to
see one installed in the last couple of months. Burbank is now backed
up much further than it ever was before in both directions. Buena
Vista also backs up a good block or so in the mornings. As an added
bonus, it takes twice as long to walk from Conroy’s to 7-Eleven,
thereby even gridlocking foot, scooter and bicycle traffic.
What a magnificent achievement, and in these times of inflated gas
prices, it must feel so wonderful to be sitting safe and snug in your
cozy little SUV going nowhere for five minutes at a stretch. These oh
so clever traffic management solutions have broadened many a Burbank
driver’s horizons. I know myself that in the last couple of years I
have spent quite a bit of time driving down alleys, side streets and
across parking lots I never would have driven before, all thanks to
their efforts. The five-points reconfiguration alone stands as the
pinnacle of their art. I’m sure many a Burbanker has gone through the
new intersection, looked to the heavens and exclaimed, “What a piece
of work!”
And let’s not forget that other jewel of traffic planning -- the
Empire Center. Forget NASCAR, if you really want to experience the
sheer thrill and ultimate danger of driving on the razor’s edge, try
the Empire Center some Saturday afternoon with a light rain falling
and all those free weekend cell phone minutes just begging to be used
up.
Gridlock is good for Burbank in so many wonderful ways. It allows
local residents the opportunity to be exposed to exciting new styles
of music they normally would never listen to when cars with expensive
stereo systems are stopped in front of their homes, waiting for the
lights to change. Why, just the other day I heard this little gem of
wisdom come wafting into my home from one such vehicle -- “Smoke or
be smoked, [expletive.]” Truly words to live by. I might have it
embroidered on a pillow.
Additionally, vast employment opportunities will soon be available
in the field of street vending. Just think, you won’t ever have to
leave your car and delicious fruits, nuts, flowers, illegal
substances and even balloon action figures will be just an arm’s
length away.
And finally, economic and cultural benefits aside, the true beauty
of gridlock in Burbank is the brotherhood (or sisterhood, if you
prefer) that is being created by this noble endeavor. No longer will
we be nameless, faceless commuters zooming around madly from place to
place. We will become “the locked generation.” Thank you Burbank for
bringing our community together in such a unique and clever fashion
and for making us stop, and stop, and stop, and stop, and stop and
smell the roses.
RICHARD J. TAFILAW
Burbank
Lighten up on the left-turn lights
Has anyone else noticed the new stoplights put up at some of our
major intersections in Burbank lately? The ones that feature
left-hand turning arrows at Buena Vista Street and Burbank Boulevard,
as well as Magnolia Boulevard and Buena Vista Street, are not
servicing the city very well. Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind
-- traffic in Burbank has slowed down to a crawl.
I’m not sure why our traffic engineers think that the installation
of longer lights will help traffic move smoother through Burbank. It
does just the opposite by backing traffic up so that one sometimes
has to wait two or three cycles of a stoplight in order to get
through. And we have a lot of traffic to move in Burbank, with all
the new shopping centers added in the last few years.
Seven years ago, one could drive in almost any direction in
Burbank and find synchronized stoplights that kept traffic moving in
an efficient manner. Now, however, most of those synchronized lights
are long gone, replaced with much longer lights that keep cars idling
needlessly while polluting our city and wasting expensive gasoline.
May I propose a solution? We can eliminate stagnant traffic by
synchronizing our stoplights again like they used to be. We can also
shorten up the timing of lights on minor cross streets that
needlessly hold up traffic on major ones when there are no cars or
pedestrians needing to cross. Let’s put sensors there so that the
major thoroughfares can stay moving.
I am not against safety. On the contrary, I am for the safety of
breathing cleaner air. It is a known fact that cars pollute less when
they are moving efficiently, as opposed to when stop-and-go patterns
are imposed. Besides, we get enough pollution from the jets at the
airport. As for the left-hand turn arrows, do we really need them? I
believe Burbank residents can safely turn left without them. We’ve
been doing it for years.
WILL RAY
Burbank