Does everyone know what a “chicane” is? Essentially, it’s a curvy bit of sidewalk they put on a road to force traffic to slow down. See the below image:
So those round bits of pavement with the yellow caution signs are chicanes.
In my hometown of Aurora, the local government went absolutely crazy with chicanes. They were tired of people cutting through a quiet neighborhood to get from one major road to the other, so they ripped up the streets and infested them with literally dozens of chicanes. It’s practically a go-kart track if you try to drive through there now.
Naturally, no one actually slows down — they just zoom down the middle of the road. But the chicanes were irritating enough — and enough of a waste of taxpayer money — to prompt my mother, back in 2008, to write an ultra sassy version of the Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll and send it in to The Auroran (the local newspaper). I found it quite amusing, and hopefully you will too!
Without further ado …
Michelle Proulx - Author 
Bravo! So, what was the reaction to the poem?
Well, they printed it … I don’t think anyone ever contacted her about it though. Except her friends, who were highly amused. My understanding is that everyone in Aurora thinks the chicanes are ridiculous.
Looking at them, I can’t see what the use is. Not unless you plan on doing a live Mario Kart race.
Fantastic! I love this. 🙂
Woo! I’ll tell her 🙂
Ask the emergency services (especially the fire brigade) what they think of them… and prepare for a long and angry rant!
I can only imagine! It just seemed like such a waste of money to put in something that doesn’t even slow down traffic. At least fire trucks and so on can just drive straight down the center of the road — otherwise, yeah, major safety hazard.
That was the problem here in Aus. Slightly different design. Large vehicles like fire trucks were slowed down the most. Totally opposite to the intention. Hoons in hotted up small sports cars saw them as a challenge.
Jeez. You have to wonder what local politicians are thinking sometimes.
Your mother is quite the character. I can see where you got it from 😉
Hahaha yes there are slight similarities between us. One of my favorite things to say to her is “Thank you for creating me.” It always baffles her, because she’s never sure how to respond. “You’re welcome” just doesn’t have the right punch, y’know?