And so it begins.
New strip of pavement, potholes in the rearview mirror.
Fast cars.
Drivers thinking with their feet and their ego, instead of that biological miracle between their ears.
Street racers don't waste their time on bumpy, pothole-infested roadways because, heaven forbid, they might blow out a tire or knock the suspension out of alignment.
No, these folks look for fresh patches of repaired pavement. Thanks to work done this summer and last, most of Ospika Boulevard is relatively new blacktop. Once Peden Hill is finished, it's going to be smooth, pothole-hole free sailing all the way to Fifth Avenue. With four lanes and a divided meridian, Ospika's transformation into a perfect illegal raceway will be complete.
Street racing had virtually disappeared from city streets in recent years, thanks to the declining condition of major arteries like Ospika, 15th Avenue and Massey Drive. With all of them getting overdue repairs, expect incidents like the one that happened on Ospika this past weekend to happen more frequently again.
So many residents complain about the state of local streets but potholes come with several significant benefits, besides the elimination of dangerous street racing.
Most other drivers lower their speed on a road with potholes to avoid those jarring, potentially damaging, bumps.
Most drivers don't just drive slower, they drive with more attention, especially on streets they don't frequently drive, because they haven't memorized where the problem potholes are. The focus is on the road, because attention elsewhere could lead to a frightening jolt.
Alert drivers aren't just more aware of potholes, they're more aware of other drivers, too.
There are so many reasons for road rage but the cursing that accompanies hitting a pothole is different. It's easy to swear at other drivers for changing lanes erratically, not turning on their signal lights, merging badly (or not at all), and a host of other real and/or perceived infractions.
On the other hand, it's nobody's fault but the person behind the wheel for hitting a pothole.
Of course, road maintenance crews and city councils can be easily blamed in the heat of the moment but potholes, despite popular belief, do not dive into the path of oncoming vehicles.
Defending potholes and their benefits doesn't mean that the roads shouldn't be repaired.
What it does mean, however, is that potholes encourage drivers to behave better. Consciously and unconsciously, drivers combine less attention with greater speed when driving on city streets with new pavement.
Never mind the street racers because there are fortunately few of them.
The bigger problem on the repaved road will be regular drivers, who will exploit the situation, not to race other cars but because they're late and now they can speed with less risk.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist or a traffic engineer to predict more traffic infraction tickets and more accidents caused by speed and/or undue care and attention along Ospika Boulevard, 15th Avenue and Massey Drive/Winnipeg Street in the coming months.
The worst part is that many drivers won't even be aware they're driving faster and paying less attention.
They'll be too busy saying it's about time the city did something about the road and directing their complaining to a new target.
-- Managing editor, Neil Godbout
