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| CANADA'S SOURCE FOR TRAFFIC HUMOUR, PARODY, AND SATIRE
FLAGSTAFF, AZ-- After eleven years of perching, city engineer Burt Leonard will probably be dreading his first few days behind a desk, as the city's experimental signal trafficking system is to be discontinued this Friday, leaving Burt in the cold, or rather, out of it.
Burt, 43, was the first of Flagstaff city's "smart" signal light operators, a traffic efficiency program that was introduced in 1990. During that period, seventeen of the city's engineers, including Burt, operated the city's intersections manually, determining when the lights should change. The smart trafficking system is being replaced with a new laser electronic system. "What I'm really going to miss, are all the people...and the cars," said a somber Burt. "Definitely the cars, though." He might be being replaced, but Burt is still supportive of the new laser trafficking system. "I know those laser eyes will do their job. If they don't, I'll be back up there faster than than a flash from amber to red." Another Flagstaff city engineer, Jim "Red Light" Redding, is not so optimistic. "They might be able to save a few bucks with their fancy new electronic system, but where's the judgment? Hmm? Where's the decision-making process when you know there's three cars waiting to travel north on Beaver St., and three wanting to go west on Aspen? Only a human would know when to change that light." While Jim and a few others are skeptical about being replaced by machines, city of Flagstaff mayor Joseph "Joe" C. Donaldson is full of appraisal. Donaldson, chairman of of the Arizona Department Of Transportation (ADOT) Policy Advisory Council, and the Arizona representative on the Transportation Infrastructure and Services Policy Committee of the National League of Cities, expects other cities will follow Flagstaff's example and automate their cities' traffic signal lights. "I guess you could say I 'green lighted' the project," said a boisterous Donaldson. Meanwhile,
Burt expects the city and its people will adapt. "Flagstaffers are
flexible folk. Sure they'll have to get used to not waving and nodding
at the traffic lights now, but they're figure it out."
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