What is it with these traffic lights on the island (especially in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest) that have no apparent usefulness during the winter months?
The environmentalists scream about the amount of gasoline Americans use, and we on the island spend so much of our precious time sitting at traffic lights, with our engines burning gas and spewing out exhaust!
It wouldn’t be so bad if there were a chance an actual vehicle might come through the light in the opposite direction, but the odds of that happening are just slightly better than hitting the lottery.
The timing sequence of the lights are little more than someone’s bad joke. None of this could have occurred by happenstance. After stopping at one red light, the one at the next intersection will turn red before you can negotiate your vehicle over the rugged terrain! Back in the 60’s the lights on New Jersey Avenue were sequentially timed for a certain speed, but only in one direction. Many of those signals were removed, and now the timing is spotty at best.
That however, brings us to another winter island phenomenon: the magically appearing ghost car. Pretty much whenever you pull up to a stop sign during the winter, a car will be coming, usually a half block away, but no other vehicles will be in sight in either direction! The roads here are very straight and flat, so it’s easy to see for at least a mile in each direction. Go to the next stop sign, and another ghost car will appear. I sometimes wonder if some people have the job of sitting in their cars near intersections and waiting for a vehicle to appear at the cross road. . . Yes, I might be a bit paranoid, except that the ghost cars never appear at intersections that have traffic signals.
I think the last Christmas snowflake may have finally melted. A few days ago some were still shining brightly, sort of like the mayor and commissioner who were governing when the decorations were put up.
It will be interesting to see what the new regime does about the streets. Will the sponsors of the Baja 500 start a five-mile version on the island? Will someone in the road department finally figure out that when an opening in a street is patched, it should be made level with the rest of the street? The latter seems highly unlikely.
Besides the deplorable condition of the streets and roads on the island, and the unnecessary traffic signals, I also commend the designers of the traffic lanes. I’m particularly fond of how lanes suddenly run out, sort of Surekill Expressway style. Park Boulevard at 26th Avenue is a great example. Suddenly a driver finds that two lanes suddenly became one! The same thing occurs at New Jersey and 26th , but without the left turning lane. On New Jersey, nothing warns the driver about the change – he or she just has to figure it out.
For some reason, several of the main drag streets in North Wildwood never aligned with those in Wildwood, for the most part. The aforementioned Park Boulevard in Wildwood misaligns with Delaware Avenue in North Wildwood. Central, 26th, and Pacific Avenues form a shining example of disaster planning. If you can figure out who has the right-of-way after stopping, please let me know. And what’s that four-way stop on Pacific all about? Is that for the parade of traffic coming from the water park on Schellenger Avenue? Or maybe from the steady stream of diners fleeing Schellenger’s Landing?
Neither attraction is even open during the winter months.
Another misalignment occurs at Ocean Avenue in Wildwood where it doesn’t meet Surf Avenue in North Wildwood. Last year the powers that be exacerbated the situation with the new design for Surf. Ocean Avenue in North Wildwood bears no resemblance (or alignment) with Ocean Avenue in Wildwood. Go figure.
I suppose we’re all waiting with bated breath for the LED lights that will crisscross Pacific Avenue after the next phase of bright ideas. If the ones strung up haphazardly during the holidays were intended as a sampling, thanks, but no thanks. . .
Google Earth Street View now covers a lot of territory, including the Wildwoods and other places in South Jersey. Check it out – you just might see yourself, or at least your humble abode.