It’s summer. That means the road work season is beginning in earnest. That means detours, lane closures, well-tanned flag persons and blinking light boards warning drivers to “expect lengthy delays.”

Let the rat running begin.

Except in New Westminster, of course, where council has, in recent years, made it its single-minded mission to confine all drivers entering, exiting or just passing through the city to a handful of major arterial roads.  Which is all well and good, until the diggers move in.

So when drivers heading up 12th Street into Burnaby are confronted with yet another series of orange pylons twisting them narrowly past backhoes and dump trucks, they have little alternative but to just grin and bear it as any possible escape is cut off by curb bulges, speed bumps, a dizzying array of turn restrictions, or another backup of rush hour traffic on the other already overloaded main roads.

While the theory of traffic calming is laudable, the domino effect on the daily effort of just trying to get around the city is greater driver frustration, increased energy consumption, more pollution and longer rush hours.

It’s classic Newtonian physics; for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Calm the neighbourhoods; enrage the commuters.

And while New Westminster’s neighbourhoods may be oases amidst the traffic chaos, even the people who live there often have to resort to extraordinary routes just to get home. How absurd is it to have to take a six block detour to try to get to your home in Queen’s Park if you happen to be driving westbound along Royal Avenue in the early morning?

New Westminster’s location in the heart of the Lower Mainland is one of its great allures. It’s also its greatest burden. Perpetually trying to deny that reality is an exercise in frustration, for residents seeking a tranquil suburban lifestyle in a busy urban environment, for city councillors trying to keep their votes, and for drivers just trying to make it home before dark.

Living in New West comes with a price. It’s like moving to Niagara Falls and then complaining about all the tourists. As long as the benefits outweigh that toll, it’s a price we have to be willing to pay.

Works in Barcelona, why not NW?

I have to admit, I’ve always had a hard time envisioning Mayor Wayne Wright’s dream to reclaim the city’s waterfront by encapsulating Front Street and the neighbouring railroad tracks. It’s a project that’s long overdue, but what would it look like? A giant hump? A grassy knoll? A tunnel with stairs up and down each side?

But the light bulb finally blinked on during a recent holiday in Barcelona. Like New West, that city had been cut off from its waterfront by a busy highway. The industrial land along the Mediterranean was decrepit, polluted.

The 1992 Olympics changed all that. As Barcelona prepared to party with the world, the city embarked on an ambitious plan to reclaim its waterfront by encapsulating the highway and developing the beaches, parks and other amenities to attract private investment in residential and commercial development.

Despite many walks through the Porta Vell, Barcelonetta and along the promenade above the beaches, I didn’t even notice the sunken highway until one of our last days, when a passing siren caught my attention. There, beneath a busy pedestrian plaza lined with benches, ice cream stands and the occasional busker, were trucks and cars and scooters zipping along a busy four-lane road.

The waterfront has become one of Barcelona’s jewels, for residents and tourists. The same could happen for New West.

In fact, it should happen.

photo@newwestnewsleader.com