Far too often, the first casualty of bureaucracy is logic. In a sight that would seem alien in too many municipalities, District of North Vancouver councillors were recently seized by an uncontrollable attack of reason that elicited a rash of clarity.
When it was over, they came to the conclusion every frustrated driver reached 100 traffic jams ago: somebody ought to just move those stalled cars off the road.
Every time two sedans trade paint or a compact car suffers a crisis of confidence and ceases its forward progress, we all stop. And wait.
Sometimes fire trucks zoom by. Sometimes a tow truck. And they wait. Because only the police – who we’re fairly certain have more important protecting and serving to tend to – can move a damaged car. Of course, that’s after they investigate and fill out the MV6020 form.
Meanwhile, drivers face exhaust and exhaustion as more cars join the jam and the odds of another collision or mechanical failure increase exponentially. And when it does, the waiting resumes.
We often argue for more transit and reduced reliance on cars, and we’ll continue to make that case. But it is in no one’s interests to allow traffic to pile up while a quagmire of regulation serves an illusory master.
The DNV is set to argue for quicker traffic clearing to the convention of B.C. municipalities this September.
We should all pay close attention to the reception this motion receives from our provincial government (whoever that might be).
Only two kinds of people could consider supporting this particular status quo: bureaucrats and fools. Neither deserve your vote.
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