The Temptation to Skip a Run Due to Traffic Rather Than Rain

Yesterday I noticed that very heavy rain was forecast to peak at the time when we were supposed to do a social run so I questioned whether to do the run. In the end my demotivation came from the traffic nightmare at rush hour in a canton where they have decided to redo all the roads at once making driving a nightmare.

The canton is simultaneously re.classifying roads, and that process takes two entire years per segment of road so there are deviations that divert main roads via secondary roads.

As if that wasn’t bad enough they also destroyed a cycling and walking route, to re-do the same thing, but instead of taking a few weeks, to ensure that cycling and walking could return to normal they take the Leonardo Da Vinci La Joconde approach.

In a well run project you work on part A and you finish it, and then you work on part B and finish that, and then you work on part C and finish that. You take a modular approach so that as soon as part A is done, things are back to normal.

Recently they closed a main road for two weeks, but couldn’t complete anything fully, and then they closed the roundabout that is critical for that main road for the entire weekend. On Monday I thought, ah finally, things will be back to normal.

Not a chance. The Da Vinci road workers, in their infinite wisdom, haven’t restored two way traffic on that main road. In a more advanced country these road works would be done within weeks, or months, not season.

On Monday, when I drove to the shops, just two kilometres away I noticed traffic lights put on the road, creating a dangerous situation due to the collision risk with these lights. Yesterday I noticed that they had heavy machinery to dig up the side of the road to bring it in line to provide modern drainage. In the process they destroyed part of the walking path that connects two villages to each other.

When I say walking path, I mean a path worn by people walking over the grass, ensuring that it never grows back. When those works are done, in several weeks, knowing the Swiss habit of long protracted road works, the disruption will make getting around even more problematic.

The problem, yesterday, is that rush hour sees hundreds, if not thousands of cars funneled through villages that were narrowed and limited to 30. This means that if you’re walking, or cycling, you’re dealing with trains of cars that put us at risk when walking and cycling.

It also means that we hit the traffic leaving town as we exit the village, and then we hit the traffic trying to get into town. If we want to head to village B to avoid the primary congestion, we can’t. Where there was a quiet walk to get to and from Nyon you now have heavy traffic along every walking route.

The result is that walking in and out of Nyon is toxic. If it wasn’t for the toxic road environment impacting walking routes, then I could walk to the train, and take the train to Gland, and walk from the train to the meeting place for the run.

It is not an accident that I went from driving two days a week to driving back up to seven days a week. It is ironic that road works are the reason I considered skipping being social yesterday, rather than heavy rain. This was noo ordinary rain. This was high speed windscreen wiper weather.

It is worth ending this post by writing that I am for what the road works aim to achieve. I am for pollutants from cars, bikes, and other vehicles being captured and filtered before running off into rivers and lakes. I am for an increase in cycling and walking infrastructure. I am for the widening of roads for an increase in the number of buses that can circulate with ease.

What I am against is the mindless proliferation of road works that make getting around without hitting traffic, whether you’re walking, cycling, running or driving impossible. For me, road works, like alcohol, should be in moderation.

When it becomes emotionally toxic to walk, to drive, and to cycle, because of the proliferation of road works, the time has come to say “enough”.

Up until last Autumn I didn’t think twice about walking into Nyon. Now I am almost at the stage where I automatically take the car. By taking the car I am part of the problem, but I am part of the problem because walking is no longer a pleasure. Neither is driving, but I feel less vulnerable driving, than walking and cycling.