Wednesday May 30 will surely go down in the annals of Yellowknife folk lore as the GREAT TRAFFIC JAM OF 2018. I expect in the fullness of time there will be songs, books and movies all based on the event and the chaos and confusion it caused.
Now, to be fair, the city and the news outlets had been warning people for weeks that construction would start on Franklin Avenue on that date. They even gave instructions as to where the detours would be. However, alas and alack, people are creatures of habit and few people seem to have paid attention to the dire warnings or even heard about the detours.
So, when that fateful day arrived, it seems most people were surprised and shocked to be confronted by this sudden and unexpected change to their daily routine. It seems that a significant portion of the population doesn’t read the newspaper, listen to the local news or pay any attention to the city's newsletter. That is a little worrying and troublesome.
People were late for work, school and appointments. They were angry and frustrated. There was chaos and confusion everywhere one went. It was truly amazing. On the Taylor Road detour there were four bylaw officers bravely and valiantly but somewhat ineffectively trying to direct traffic. Many of the motorists weren’t helping the situation because they failed to use their turn signals and neither they or nor the officers knew where they were going.
People were pulling U-turns or taking side streets to avoid the traffic, only to discover, in due course, that there was really no way to avoid it. On Franklin we watched one white van whose driver decided not to take the detour by driving around the barricade and flag person and roaring off down the street, only to discover that the road was indeed blocked by construction equipment. Surprise, surprise, the detour was there for a reason. So, he pulled a U-turn and headed back but was blocked by the traffic and was probably worried the flag person might get his licence number, so he went over the curb, down the sidewalk and avoided the second barricade blocking Gitzel Street, which he drove around and tore off down Gitzel. I have no idea how many traffic laws he had broken, but it was several, including speeding.
In a stroke of sheer brilliance, the next day Ollie Williams and Cabin Radio with the help of Acasta Helicopters and the city, did an “Eye in the Sky” traffic report. They posted the report live on Facebook. Not only was this a historic first for Yellowknife and the NWT, it was entertaining, informative and I found it hilarious. It certainly put things into perspective.
Hello. This is Yellowknife. The traffic may be backed up for twenty, forty or even sixty cars but in a big city, traffic jams can extend for many kilometres. We might face an extra ten or twenty-minute delay in getting to the other side of town, which is an inconvenience but not a disaster or crisis. Traffic jams in big cities can take hours to get through.
Having said that, I do think the city could do a better job of managing these things and they might want to invest in a few temporary, portable traffic lights. That would certainly speed things up at the three and four way stops. Also, they might want to give the bylaw officers a little training in how to direct traffic and teach a few motorists how not to panic when faced with a novel situation.
Now onto another topic. A family of beavers took up residence in Frame Lake and are now being evicted and their newly built home is slated to be destroyed. To quote an article by CBC, one of the reasons they have to go is because, “There have also been complaints from people walking along the trail that the rodents have been slapping their tails aggressively in the water.”
Hello. They are beavers and that is what beavers do. Also, I am not sure the people complaining could distinguish between a friendly slap or an aggressive one. Tourists love to watch the beavers and see one of our national symbols, alive and well. Not to mention that historically, they have as much right to be here, as we do.
Ponder this for a moment. When did Northerners become such a delicate bunch that they can’t handle a simple road detour or a friendly beaver slap?