Find your Zen at the lights

“What’s wrong with our town? Why are there so many empty shops?” she asked, busy on her device, shopping on-line.

I have finally worked out the reasoning behind Whanganui’s traffic lights and interesting configuration of marked lanes. It is an exercise in patience.

Someone at the Whanganui District Council is testing us, waiting to see who will snap first. They are probably watching via cameras at every intersection, seeing who can remain calm through tooshort traffic light phases and the new pedestrian and cycle lights.

Let’s take a typical intersection — Ridgway and St Hill streets. From whichever direction you are travelling, turning left or going straight ahead requires patience, especially if a pedestrian has just triggered the signals.

The left-turn and straightahead lanes are shared, so if the front car wants to turn left, they have to wait for the pedestrian to cross, watching for the left-turn red arrow to disappear. Behind that car are all those wanting to go straight through the intersection, normally a simple operation, but they can’t, not until the lead car has turned. Of course, by the time that happens, the lights are red again and only one car has gone through. The only other lane is for right-turning traffic. They also have to wait for pedestrians to cross, often for the entire light phase.

Drivers are given no option but to meditate and think calming thoughts. It’s all very Zen, with the future an unknown quantity and the now a time to wait, reflect and find a happy place within.

There are lots of intersections designed the same way, so patience and forbearance is required at points all over the city.

I think it’s wonderful our council is so concerned with our mental well-being, providing us with meditation practice points around town.

Topping it off are the unsynchronised light phases, causing traffic to back up through intersections. Chaos is avoided, of course, because we have learned to breathe deeply, think tranquil thoughts and cast mental good wishes to council planners.

The new lights at the T-intersection of Taupo¯ Quay and St Hill St are a case in point. Taupo¯ Quay traffic — from a Castlecliff direction — heads toward the City Bridge and its traffic lights. The traffic backs up toward St Hill St and the lights at the bridge are still red. Traffic backs up across the intersection, blocking it off completely and preventing access to traffic from St Hill St, even if the lights have finally changed. But all is well, because every driver is by now in the Lotus Position, feet on the steering wheel and Tibetan mantras coursing through the car stereo. All is peace and calm.

So thank you to the intelligent person who designed our traffic flow inhibitors, giving us all a long moment to pause and count our blessings. Perhaps we should use it as a reason to get out of our cars and make friends with all the other motorists in the same predicament. What a joyful social occasion it would be, and so close to Christmas.

Across the Tasman there is a world in flames. With 57 wildfires burning in Queensland and 68 in New South Wales, it must seem like Hell on Earth for the thousands of people affected. Homes destroyed, people dead, wildlife killed and huge areas of bush devastated, in what has been described as the worst fires ever. Australia has experienced a lot of fires in its arid interior, but the latest fires are close to the coast and concentrated areas of population, leaving cities gasping in heavily polluted air and raising temperatures as far afield as New Zealand.

Recent reports suggest koalas in some areas are a threatened species due to the destruction of their habitat and the ensuing koala deaths.

Through it all is a huge team of fire fighting professionals, risking health and life to bring the fires under control and protect what’s left to save. It’s too late for some, but these men and women from Australia and other parts of world are bravely taking on nature’s worst destructive force.

They don’t get swags of money like chief executives and politicians, but their work is more valuable than all of them put together.

The fires may be still burning but they would be a darn sight worse if firefighters weren’t on the ground or in the sky dealing to the problem. Yes, it’s their job, and that applies no matter how bad it gets. Whatever the risk, however serious the danger, those people are there to protect life, limb and property, whatever it takes.

Cities may be choking on smoke and ash, but I hope their citizens are grateful that the fires are not worse than they are, and for all the talk from Canberra, the only people to thank are the firefighters, professionals and volunteers.

‘Chaos is avoided, of course, because we have learned to breathe deeply, think tranquil thoughts and cast mental good wishes to planners.’ council