Bottleneck to the North

Once known as the Gateway to the North, North Bay and its traffic flow problems is becoming known as the Bottleneck to the North. And West, East and South. Laughingly called a by-pass, highways 11 and 17 are as much local traffic corridors as a through-traffic route. Squeezed between two lakes and the escarpment, there appears to be no inexpensive solution for a new by-pass to North Bay.

Truckers trying to pass through the Gateway to the North must face seven stop lights and a railway crossing before climbing Thibeault Hill and continuing their trip to the forestry and mining centres of Ontario. Strategically placed Tim’s and restaurants further impede their passage.

Much is being made about the four-laning to the south of the city, but the slower passages through South River and Sundridge are a mere diversions for truckers compared to the clogged arteries in North Bay. As those towns are by-passed, North Bay continues to add development along the highways that will further increase local traffic on the trans-provincial highways. The strategically located new Health Centre (coming soon) will no doubt add another set of lights on the bypass.

Perhaps the crawling traffic along these routes in the summer will entice passenger vehicles to divert to the downtown and visit our waterfront, but out-of-town drivers will soon be as discouraged at the traffic flow here as on the main highways. Plagued by false economies of buying traffic signals without the sensors, North Bay has numerous lights where drivers must stop for no apparent reason other than a red light. Throw in four-way stops on busy streets that bring traffic to halt at empty intersections further disrupting traffic flow, and you can see why visitors must wonder at our backward ways.

The word synchronize must have been stricken from the traffic manuals at Public Works, as on any given day one tries to navigate through the downtown core. Rumours of a traffic circle or round-about will bring tears of joy to the eyes of the body repair shop owners and insurance adjusters alike.

Thank heavens that council saw fit to leave the bicycles on the sidewalks downtown or the cobbled street would only be suitable for deliveries in the summer month. At least those cobble stones present a smoother surface than can be found on most paved streets in town. The art of dodging potholes and poorly resurfaced water and sewer repairs must be a training requirement for Bottleneck City student drivers.

Added to the frustration of slow traffic is the nagging thought that we pay more for our gasoline than most other drivers do in the province. Idling at stoplights while your vehicle gulps that expensive fuel not only depletes your pocketbook, but also pollutes the atmosphere. The annual cost of that extra fuel would more than cover the tax levy to give Public Works modern traffic signals. But then the fuel companies may not like the more efficient flow of traffic and raise our prices even more. One wonders why some enterprising vendor in Powassan, Sturgeon Falls or Corbeil has not yet put up signs advertising cheaper gas than in North Bay – fill up here!

The old motto of the Gateway to the North has long passed into memory. Replaced by the Just South Enough to be Perfect, that motto too is due for the dustbin. Perhaps we ought to take advantage of our bottleneck traffic reputation, and become Bottleneck City. After all, many good things come in bottles.