The Similkameen News Leader
Editorial
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO....HMMM
EDITORIAL - April 17, 2007
One of these days there's going to be a traffic light in Princeton.
We're not talking about the lonely old blinking red light that used to watch over downtown at the intersection of Bridge and Vermilion before some wise guy came up with idea of changing the flow of traffic there with the 'tourist slingshot' - you know, you drive down Vermilion in your 50-foot house on wheels only to discover you've entered a horseshoe corner that should you manage to negotiate properly, will send you right back out on the highway you started from.
And we're not talking about Kevin Falcon's poor excuse at traffic control on Highway 3 and Burton Avenue. You know, the pedestrian controlled crossing not many people stop for as they're already doing 90 kmh+ on their way downhill from the West.
Nope, we are talking an honest to goodness three light (that would be red, amber and green for those of you who haven't been out of town lately) traffic stopping, intersection controlling light.
We can hardly wait for the day it comes to town. If we plan it right we can have the day declared an annual Princeton-only holiday forever more. Call it Traffic Light Day or Slow Down Day or whatever. Since we believe the first traffic light to be erected in Princeton will be at the intersection of Bridge Street and Billiter Avenue we can see the whole street shut down for the day. There will be a huge festival with a sidewalk sale, street vendors, street dancers and lots of food. Maybe there would be a reenactment of the Pony Express ride down Bridge Street and an antique car parade as we celebrate the progress made in the past one hundred and some years.
Long-time residents could speak from a stage set up with a sound system on what kinds of things have happened over the years to bring a full-blown, three-light traffic signal to Princeton in 2008, 9 or 10.
Business owners would be sold on the fact that we needed something downtown to stop traffic either going to or running away from the Olympics. We could ask our friends downstream to help with a blockade on Highway 3 at Bridge Street to ensure traffic would have no choice but to be re-routed down Bridge Street.
Souvenir hawkers could sell t-shirts that proudly announced, "All I Got In Princeton, BC Was Held Up In Their Downtown Traffic Light."
Princeton would go down in history as one of the last incorporated communities in BC to receive a traffic light. Yes, we know, Keremeos has a 'flasher' but traffic stops at it so we're counting it as a traffic light.
What better way to milk some extra PR out of the Olympic frenzy that will eventually float over the entire Southern Interior?
We should start a letter writing campaign. Someone should get SOS on the phone to help develop the 'green' argument in favour of stopping traffic in downtown Princeton helping the economy which would in turn build a better community.
On second thought, maybe we just haven't progressed far enough to warrant a traffic light in the downtown core...yet.
