h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I feel that I must disagree with you.
I find that calgary drivers are generally too courtious
i.e. to the extent that they are endangering others.
My biggest beef with calgary traffic is the general lack of
sincronized traffic lights. Sitting at red lights at
2 AM drives me nuts.

kgb

If you're waiting for syncronized traffic lights at 2am, that explains two things:
First, why you've never experienced bad driving behavior (try any day at rush hour). It's a dog eat dog world out there.
Second, drunk drivers are usually pretty cautious (for obvious reasons) and that's what you'll find a lot of on the roads at that time of the morning!

All joking aside, yes, I think there's a few courtious drivers out there. That being said, I've lived here for over twenty years and I can honestly tell you there's been a big change in driving behavior in general... I don't think it has as much to do with the limited infrastructure as it does with life in general becoming more hectic and no-one having time to spare.

P.S. Do try a drive down 6th ave. at 06:30 or 07:00... the lights work so well you can catch a wave and often go over eight blocks without having to stop. Not too bad for a downtown core during rush hour.

Best wishes, and happy cruisin'.

CDP

I am afriad that i must agree with the above comments. I have lived in Calgary my entire life, and find that the more that things change in life, the worse the divers around here get. Merging is impossible in this city. If it isn't someone ahead of you stopping at the start of the merge lane, or simply that the right lane is full and the left one is empty (and you happen to be on the right side.) Furthermore: The city keeps building these damnable double-diamond interchanges, and does not seem to get that the only safe way to make an interchange is to make a cloverleef, which is:
A) More convinient
B) Faster
C) Safer
D) Has less lights
In the end, it all comes down to how lazy the city is in actually researching these things in the first place. Anyways, that's my 0.000002 cents american, 0.02$ Canadian for the day.

I can't believe that I've run into so many Calgarians on the internet! I've been living in Calgary all my life as well and although I've had my share of close encounters (sp?) with a strerotypical Calgarian 'merger', I still say that the only big change in drivers here is the use of horns. I remember when I would seldom hear a honk while driveng around. It seems that recently I've heard several angry drivers laying on thier horn at the slightest provocation. Yup, so anyway... it's been peachy chattin' with ya'.

The problem now is getting to be roadrage.... Its truely running insane in this city. I don't know whats going to be done, but it should be done NOW...

I've gone up Macleod at 10 pm from Southland to 34th no problems with red lights!

They can't build clover leaves because they require merges, and calgarians can't do merges.

kgb

Unless their told to by way of a sign posted to do so "during times of congestion"!