City of Guelph Installs Pinch-Point Traffic Zones

It's well known that being nice is part of Canadian culture. The most common words you'll hear in public are “thank you” and “I'm sorry”. These sayings are so ingrained in everyday life that there exits a law in Ontario where the words “I'm sorry” cannot be taken as an admission of guilt. Guelph is particularity known for being a nice city. But what makes it nicer than other Canadian cities?

Some people believe Guelph's greatness comes from the town's hippy culture as it consistently ranks in the top hippy towns in Canada. I think the greatness is more evident at the street level where Guelphites interact everyday. Guelphites are known for thanking the bus driver, holding doors for strangers, pass-it-along drive through purchases, returning lost items, and random acts of kindness. In particular, driving in Guelph is more enjoyable than other cities due to it's unique traffic policies. Most traffic lights in Guelph have advanced left turn signals and visual countdowns to help everyone cross safely. These policies allow for the most dangerous actions to proceed in a timed manner to minimize car accidents and road rage.

Recently Guelph City Hall changed some of the traffic policies with detrimental results. A month ago City Hall had the “great” idea of changing all the pedestrian signals to automatic so people didn't have to touch the buttons. This ultimately backfired as cars would stop for no reason from the signal's rotation and hindered traffic flow. The City eventually returned to the previous system after the Mayor got overloaded with emails and calls from the road rage with the new system. He stated in a social media video that he received “1,367,302 emails” about the lights when announcing the return to the regular pedestrian signals.

Now we are seeing another “great” idea coming from City Hall announcing that seven traffic pinch-points will get temporary sidewalk and road changes to help people stay two metres apart. This involves one-way sidewalks in five locations and closing one lane of traffic at the Speedvale bridge over the Speed River and the Eramosa bridge going into downtown after Delhi Street. These two bridges are main roadways into the Guelph core and are near the Riverside Fire Station and Guelph General Hospital. The new lane reductions will likely result in large traffic delays and difficult navigation for emergency vehicles. Will the new pinch-point policy cause more road rage and make Guelphites meaner? Stay tuned on June 8^th...

What do you think?
What makes Guelph a nice city?
Do good driving policies impact the overall feel of the city?
Will we see more road rage and meaner Guelphites starting June 8^th?
Will Mayor Guthrie get another million emails?