RIVERSIDE ROUNDABOUTS DIZZY PLANNING

Circle is about 8 feet in diameter. Signs, painted hash marks. Electric flashing light.

We weren't careful and it looks like we are getting what someone wished for. It looks like the town of Tecumseh is the first out of the gates to test "traffic calming" on Riverside Drive. There is no wonder why residents of Riverside Drive have taken legal action to curb this insanity. This will definately leave the Drive aesthetically challenged. Yellow hash lines, white lines everywhere, lots and lots of signage and a flashing yellow beacon. Yeah...Everybody wants one of those in front of their home. The calming effect of this is maddening. Similar to the mazes we find in todays shopping plaza parking lots. If you are not a Type A personality going in, you will be coming out. This is a strange planning science which needs serious reconsideration.

The safety of this is highly suspect. Riverside Drive is so narrow, these circles have to be tiny as well. Will they slow traffic down? Maybe. Will Riverside be any safer? Who wants to answer that? Put this out to the local bookie and the odds will probably favour a higher incident of accidents. Salvador Dali would be pleased to see the signage all warped and bent from kissing bumpers and fenders.

What do local residents around this test bed think? They are not happy. Several said it totally ruins their neighbourhood. All agree that it will only be a matter of time before there is a first accident there. Several driveways lead into this thing, Southport Yacht Club feeds into the Drive just feet from the circle along with one other residential side street. Cars have to back out of their drives into the circle (hopefully in the right orientation) and then get on their way. Hopefully oncoming traffic will catch the play. Residents were also quick to remind that this section of Riverside Drive has been shut down to all but local traffic. It is literally barricaded at both ends until construction is completed. What will happen when the tap is opened to transient traffic? (CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

Car backing out of Driveway onto Riverside. Wait until traffic is opened up.

Too puny to be effective, too many signs, road markings and a flashing beacon.

Maintenance is also going to be a problem. Already this thing has proven to be treacherous for snow removal. Plough trucks had to be very ginger navigating around it. In the end it proved to be quite a nuisance with snow piled in the center of the street forcing traffic to actually navigate the wrong way around the circle.

This is not the proper solution for Riverside Drive. This is not the street for such measures. Riverside Drive is too small with no place else to go and these circles will only cause confusion and heartache. Imagine cars and bikes using these things for u-turns. What car has a turning radius that tight?

If the Bicycling community thinks that this is their answer then they are sadly mistaken. With cars and bikes weaving in and out of these things there can only be a higher degree of risk. The proper solution for all on Riverside Drive is probably the simplest one. It doesn't include ugly traffic lines, hashing, flashing lights, divets, traffic circles or curbs. Everybody involved in that planning was thinking so hard their heads must be turning in circles. All that needs to be done is to widen Riverside Drive by six feet. Three feet per side. This gives the bikers the room they need to run with traffic. Car and bike drivers alike have to obey the same rules of the road and Riverside Drive will be a lot safer and a nicer commute for it. As soon as we junk up Riverside Drive with obstacles and all of this visual pollution it won't be so scenic at all. Can somebody stop this dizzy spin?

Excellent! Check this out courtesy of Anonymous:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFsDjmceuDo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGPUArA4CU0

What's in Your Water?

Got Lead?

Is your house over 30 years old? Over 50 years old? Perhaps like many homes in Old Walkerville it's over 100 years old. Are you curious to know if your drinking water has any lead in it? You should be.

This past summer The Ministry of the Environment (M.O.E.) amended the 0. Reg.170/03 under the Safe Drinking Water Act. As a result of this amendment, The City of Windsor and the Windsor Utilities Commission (W.U.C.) are obligated to implement an extended sampling program for lead, which intends to provide the province with consistent lead data.

This is your opportunity. A freebie from the W.U.C. All you have to do is ask. Then, upon your agreement to participate, a Windsor Utilities Commission sample collector will visit your residence to collect two samples of water from your kitchen tap. These samples will be sent to an accredited lab for lead analysis. The results of these tests will be shared with you, the M.O.E., and The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. The whole test takes place at your kitchen tap and only takes a half hour. When the results come back you will know for sure if your home has lead free water or not. Good information and good peace of mind. If lead is detected, the W.U.C. as "the owner of the drinking water system" is responsible for the delivery system to your property and will initiate action to reduce lead levels at customer taps through corrosion control and to provide evidence of success of those actions.

Here's what you have to do:

To make an appointment, please call the W.U.C. telephone Center at: The trick is to call now because free testing is only going to take place between December 15, 2007 and April 15, 2008. To ensure participation you have to call this number now.

(519) 255-2727

Please select option 3

Know any friends or relatives who would be interested in participating? Give them the above telephone information.

For further information on the Safe Drinking Water Act please follow this link:

www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/water

then choose "Drinking Water Ontario.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the regulations, testing procedures, or sampling program just call the above number. Let's lead the way to eliminating lead.

Safe drinking everyone.