Jun
29
VDOT: Making Slow Traffic Slower
Filed under traffic, signs at 4:07 pm | 2 Comments
I left work around 2:00 pm on Friday afternoon, which unfortunately is well after the start of rush hour on Fridays during the summer in Northern Virginia. One particular stretch of the drive home that’s always particularly enjoyable is the backup where the highway “merges” 2 car pool lanes and 1 on-ramp into an already full 3 lanes of traffic. There’s nothing quite like inching along in a 2 mile backup on hot asphalt in 98 degree weather.
Occasionally traffic will ease up a bit after that merge, but on Friday the congestion remained and we plodded along. I wasn’t too surprised, as anything can cause traffic to slow down around here (e.g., a parked car on the side of the road, a new sign, rain, sun, clouds). This day, however, the additional slowdown was caused by our beloved VDOT. On one of the electronic overhead signs, usually reserved for useless and out-dated traffic information, they had a flashing message alerting us that we were under an Ozone warning, and encouraging us to reduce traffic by carpooling. As soon as I passed under the sign, traffic sped up and cleared out all the way to my exit.
VDOT claims to have “numerous initiatives to preserve the environment while keeping Virginia moving.” And yet they caused tens-of-thousands of cars to idle on the highway for 30 minutes longer than usual because of a pointless sign. How is that helping the environment or keeping traffic moving? It seems to me it’s doing quite the opposite. Nice work, VDOT.
May
24
a non-post about playoffs
Filed under Detroit at 2:23 pm | Leave a Comment
I love the start of baseball season, because it means the NHL and NBA playoffs are right around the corner.
I’ve noticed that anytime I post about sports, bad things tend to ensue for the team of mention. As such, this is not a post about how well the Wings and Pistons are doing. This time of year is far too serious to risk jinxing either team with a post here on MI Accent.
May
16
time to learn about Venus
Filed under parenting, family at 9:03 pm | 4 Comments
We’re expecting again. The number of kids in our household is about to double.
They tell us we’re having a girl. That’s pretty much the same thing as a boy, right? Right?!
