Dear Editor:
I write regarding the District of North Vancouver proposal to charge residents for "traffic calming." That's a slam in the face, and pocketbook, for the residents!
The reason we need "traffic calming" in the first place is due to non-residents using our streets as shortcuts to and from Pemberton, to bypass the traffic lights on Marine Drive, or all the construction they've had this past year on that road, or as a testing ground for the Mercedes and other dealerships that still exist in this area.
Why should we pay to slow down the non-residents?
I propose a machine like they have on the toll bridges, where the machine "sees" your licence plate and sends a bill out monthly. Then we would soon know who really needs to use this road.
The district put in speed-humps on our street that do not slow the traffic down, except for low-slung cars such as my own Camaro that can safely drive over the humps at 40 kilometres per hour. Everyone else just speeds up, so they coast over the humps.
Over the weekend, I visited my son in Burnaby/New Westminster and their speed humps/bumps are killers. The only way I could safely manoeuvre them was to come to a complete stop, change to first gear, and s-l-o-w-l-y go over them. In one area there were two of them close together, in another area, I barely got out of second because I think there were about six of them on the full length of the street that I had to drive.
So, council, we re-elected you because we trusted you. Don't let us down now.
Arlene S. King North Vancouver
