2 days ago
Confusing construction signs
North End
Well, here I go again with another street construction story. It seems to get worse every year.
One day recently, on my way to Garden City, which is usually about a 10 minute drive on a good day, I seemed to enter a maze which took me on a long roundabout where I ended up driving way out of the way before I could get back on track. The reason being that the detour signs — remember that song in the '70s called Signs by Ottawa's Five Man Electrical Band 'sign, sign , everywhere a sign, blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind…' — led me in the opposite direction of my destination. I passed street after street where I wasn't allowed to turn ('do this, don't do that, can't you read the siiiiign…').
After arriving at Garden City some 20 minutes later and doing my business there, I decided to take a different, quicker route. Well, it turned out that route was also a diversionary route with those darn barriers and SIGNS, SIGNS everywhere a sign…
Photo by Doug Kretchmer
Signs which say 'Road Closed' and 'No Exit' are part of the fun of construction season.
Aaaaargh!!!
I almost should have packed a lunch for the journey.
Is it just me or do they seem to tear up some of the same streets year after year after? You know what I mean. But this construction season has added a new twist to keep us on our toes — and brake pedals — signs which say 'Road Closed' and 'No Exit' only to find out as we get into these inescapable mazes and drive by the so called closed roads with no exit that they indeed are not closed and indeed there is an exit.
What the….?
As a writer and poet, for years I have written poetry as a form of therapy when things bug me or get under my skin — or wheels in this case. Why get angry when you can put it down on paper, or computer in this case. It's a Zen Buddhist thing where they say if there is a problem in your head put it down on paper where it becomes this tangible thing which you can analyze and try to figure out.
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Anyways, I digress. When I went to Jarvis and McKenzie to take a photo of this so-called closed road with no exit, the signs that have been there for about a month were still there. As I was snapping the photo, a woman who was on her way to work at the CP yards was at the stop sign coming off of the closed road with no exit waiting at the stop sign. I explained to her that I was writing a story on these confusing and frustrating signs. She shared a story about coming across similar signs in her neighbourhood as well. So it's not only my imagination.
Isn't the daily commute enough of a headache for people as it is in the non construction season as it is without this confusion? Come on street construction and city planning people; you can do better.
Doug KretchmerNorth End community correspondent
Doug Kretchmer is a freelance writer, artist and community correspondent for The Times. Email him at
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