Travelling the roads on the outer edges of the Border City? I hope you put your patient pants on.
I didn’t realize the kind of headache the road work currently going on throughout the city can cause until I recently took a trip to Best Buy.
They say patience is a virtue. Well, mine was sure tested on that errand.
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I’m a creature of habit. I take the same route to and from work most days. If I’m going to the west side of the city, I take 12th St. as Chels and I live off 18th St. on the southeast end of town.
It’s the most direct route, and checking on the progress of the “large warehouse with an automotive facility” being built on 75 Ave can be exhilarating. Even the semi-recent speed limit reduction to 30 km/h on 12 St and 75 Ave wasn’t stopping me from taking my normal route. That option, however, is now out of the question as the road is closed due to the widening of lanes and the installation of traffic lights.
Once you make your way to the west side of the city, however, things get even more interesting if you’re attempting to get to Sobeys, Tim Hortons, or any business in the vicinity of Highway 16 and 75 Ave.
Need to get from the Sobeys’ parking lot to Best Buy or Winners? Good luck accomplishing that task without seeing an increase in your blood pressure.
Remember, Taylor, patience is a virtue.
As a creature of habit, my route to get to the office has been the same for quite some time. East of 12 St., north on 40 Ave. past the casino and the soon-to-open Cenovus Hub, west on 52 St. before heading north on 49 Ave.
That option is also a no-go with the 40 Ave. closure at 36 St.
Routes to the office are something Christian and I recently talked about. When I told him I’ve been taking a straight shot north on Highway 17, his response was something along the lines of, “You poor man.”
From trains to traffic to lights, there’s rarely a dull moment on my short daily commute.
I’ve lived in Lloydminster since 2014 and am very aware that summer road maintenance is nothing new. Remember when Highway 16 on the city’s west side was redone? What a nightmare that was! Even the mayor jokes about Lloyd having two seasons: winter and construction season.
When that stretch of highway reopened, I found myself going back and forth blasting Joni Mitchell. You really don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.
Of course, work will eventually be done, and I can get back to avoiding traffic and lights on the east side of Lloyd, but it can’t come soon enough.
Change is inevitable, as is growth, and a lot of both seems to be happening in Lloydminster.
At the end of the day, we have places to be, and we all have to get there safely. I ask Lloydminster motorists to exercise the same caution and patience I’ve been utilizing lately. It is your time, but it isn’t more valuable than those you’re sharing the roads with. Stay safe out there.
MORE TWEAKS TO ONLINE NEWS
As I’ve mentioned in recent columns, the Meridian Source now has a subscription to The Canadian Press and Associated Press wire feeds.
We’ve really beefed up our online content, but I’d love to hear your feedback as well as what you’d like to see more of.
The CP and AP wire posts dozens of stories on various topics every hour. From news on the Middle East and the United States to Prime Minister Carney’s current trip throughout Europe. We have access to it all.
A lot of stories come out of Quebec, but you haven’t seen them on our site because we figure news from French Canada isn’t of much interest out here. Are we wrong?
Let me know what you’d like to read more of and we’ll do our best to tailor the content we share to those interests.
News travels fast these days, and we want to do our best to make sure you, the reader, get it first at meridiansource.ca
In other news, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift recently got engaged. Now, I don’t care much for celebrity news but it was a hot topic for some around the office.
Congrats to the happy couple. My biggest takeaway, however, is the fact Kelce allegedly spent more on the ring than I’ll make in a lifetime. The funny part is, Swift allegedly made upwards of $14-million each night of her recent tour.
I’m in the wrong business!
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