4@ — Friday, April 25, 1997 — North Shore News

INTERESTING new
interchange we have at
Westview and the
Upper Levels Highway.

A whole slew of lights and
signs guiding us motorists this
way and that and sometimes
holding us still whilst others
do their thing. In a pecfect
world this is a good thing.

One fine afternoon 1 took
the opportunity to see if the
new system was indeed aiding
in the safe and efficient flow
of traffic. The first thing I
noticed was how similar the
Westview system is to the
older yet still youthful
Lonsdale interchange.

Finally, the turn arrow
may have been designed with
a different set of priorities —
just like the Westview Drive
north/south lights in the

sit turns out,
CN arrows
pear atier the
through traffic has cleared the
area, whic

was not for this traffic that
the interchange was built.

If you will recall, long and
frustrating waits were the
norm not so long ago.
Westview Shopping ¢ Centre
was 2 200, not Just for the
inadequate, parking and dinky
stalls, but for traffic trying to
get out of said zoo. T! rat traf-
fic is now cleared first.

Anyway, I bring this up
because I sat behind a left-
turning woman who astutely
observed oncoming traffic
and decided to vield to it. In
her astuteness, however, she
failed to notice that said
oncoming was slowing
noticeably and finally came to

orth shore news

" AUTO
’s left-turn adventure

proceed onto the on ramp
and opto the freeway.

I believe she never noticed
that our flashing vreen light
had appeared ar the end of
the tattic light evele rather
than the beginning. It flashed
afew milion times yet she sat

had gone re red.

green and was
accompanied by an arrew,
Ina perfect world, tra

bur ns if we watch them.
Folks, don’t stare at

ning traffic. Recognize
that it is there, then check
about for other information _

then go at

fic again —- it will still be
there buc with more inforrma-
tien you may understand why
it ha stopped.

The world is in motion,
folks. Every second things
change. Staring effectively
blinds vou ro all but ene

y thing. Fhat‘s no
enor is it the way to

e

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The most obvious of

> which is the peculiar traffic
light pattern — peculiar in
that the lights’ priorities are
contrary to the norm. I saw a
lot of things, some drivers did
not. Bear with me, folks, a lit-
tle info before storytime.

A left-turn arrow (a green
arrow pointing to the left)
indicates that drivers faced by
this arrow may turn left with-
out yielding to oncoming
traffic — traffic which is
invariably faced by a red light
for just such a purpose.

Ifa green feft-turm arrow
is of the flashing or blinking
variety it is a “temporary left
turn priority” arrow. Flashing
arrows almost always appear
just before or immediately
with a solid green light (the
one that gives through traffic
the right of way).

By implementing these
light systems traffic technolo-
gists have eased traffic con-
gestion by allowing left cturn-
ers to clear an intersection
with ease rather than hang
around and clog i
left turners are wont to do
since they must yield other-
wise. :

Upon occasion a left-turn
arrow, flasher or not, dogs not
come on at all, much to the

a full stop in front of her.

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chagrin of drivers who have
come to depend on then.
There are a few reasons for
this lack of green arrows.

gefirst, there may not have

been a demand for ieft turns.
That is to say, if nobody is sit-
ting on the “sensor” located
just behind the stop bar then
the traffic ight has no reason
to clear left turn traffic. The
light thinks that the demand

B® is nonexistent.

Secondly, if'a vehicle does
not arrive on the left-rurn
sensor before the lights begin
to “cycle,” then the same lack
. of demand is perceived by the
sensors and traffic must use
the solid green as their cue to
proceed after yielding to
oncoming traffic.

Sometimes left turns are
not permitted during certain
times of the day (for example,
tush hour). In such a case the
left-turn arrow/light remains
a vacant orb that refuses to
aid and abet illegal left tern-

cb Lee a eo

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