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Opinion: Sorry, bozo, you can’t turn left at this New West intersection

When it comes to New Westminster roads, 10 th Avenue seems to be at the back of the pack when it comes to complaints by commuters. Columbia, Brunette and others seem to get the focus of drivers’ attention.
tenth avenue intersection
The intersection of 10th Avenue and 6th Street is bad precisely because drivers do not pay attention to – or flat-out ignore – the traffic sign that says you CAN’T TURN LEFT. Chris Campbell photo

When it comes to New Westminster roads, 10th Avenue seems to be at the back of the pack when it comes to complaints by commuters.

Columbia, Brunette and others seem to get the focus of drivers’ attention.

This despite 10th Avenue on the Burnaby-New Westminster border being a gong show during rush hours.

I could write 10,000 words on all of the problems with this road – the soul-sucking experience of afternoon lineups heading east towards East Columbia Street alone could fill a blog.

I’ll leave that epic blog for another time.

For now, I want to focus on one particular intersection on 10th Avenue that is messed up solely because of the behaviour of a few scummy drivers.

The intersection of 10th Avenue and 6th Street is bad precisely because drivers do not pay attention to – or flat-out ignore – the traffic sign that says you CAN’T TURN LEFT when travelling east or west.

tenth avenue intersection
The intersection of 10th Avenue and 6th Street is bad precisely because drivers do not pay attention to – or flat-out ignore – the traffic sign that says you CAN’T TURN LEFT. Chris Campbell photo

Some intersections limit left turns for certain hours of the day. Not this one. You can’t turn left there at all.

And yet, some drivers decide – right in the middle of rush hour – to turn on their blinkers and stop, waiting for traffic to clear so they can turn left.

It’s ludicrous. It’s sociopathic behaviour that works to back up huge volumes of traffic that are already struggling to keep moving because 10th Avenue can’t handle the daily volume.

I’ve seen it happen before, with other drivers losing their minds and banging on their horns.

Look, I’m sorry if you get to this spot and you didn’t know you couldn’t turn there. Too bad, just keep on driving and suck up the extra time it takes to turn around.

It’s not worth becoming a commuting pariah and making other people’s lives miserable.

Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.