Dear Editor:
OK. Time to fess up. Who are the geniuses that came up with the idea of back-in angle
parking in downtown Moab, which is destined to go down as the Edsel of traffic control plans?
A quick and true example will suffice. A line of cars faces the impossibility of turning left off Main Street onto 100 West. When the light turns red on Main Street, three or four vehicles rush through, hoping to avoid being flattened by a semi, and, miracle of miracles — there is an open parking spot in front of Zax restaurant. Lead car hits the brakes and signals right. But wait, lead car has to back in, which causes a near crash and ensuing log jam, and then here comes the traffic crossing Main Street from 100 North, resulting in a colossal cluster-ef.
Across the street, someone else is trying to back-in to a spot across from the supply shop, only to be overwhelmed by a swarm of those obnoxious stupid vehicles that I refer to as “skeeters.” They’re swerving to avoid the back-in parker, and join the maelstrom that now covers both sides of the road.
There will be collisions.
Great idea! And besides, let’s face it, most people suck at backing up. I guess it could have been worse though, the city could have issued a “parallel parking only” mandate on Main Street.
Admit it was a mistake and undo it. With regular forward parking, the car just pulls in without causing a sudden traffic jam, and when backing out, oncoming traffic sees the back-up lights or movement and can pause in an orderly fashion to let the vehicle out.
Oh, and while you’re at it, how about changing the traffic lights to include a 30-second left turn window on Main Street intersections. That will ease congestion, and eliminate the dangerous driving behavior described above. Just a thought.
Steve Russell
Moab
