Town Gets Rid of Traffic Lights to Improve Traffic Safety

by Catherine Bodry on

I live in a tiny no-stoplight town on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The last time I was in Anchorage, Alaska (a town with hundreds of stoplights), I actually drove right through a red light, lost in my own oblivion. Now that I’m used to no stoplights, I find that driving in cities with them makes me crabby and impatient. I want to get where I’m going — and where I live now I don’t have to drive any more than 6 miles to do that.

The people in charge in Bohmte, Germany, think it might be a good idea to try the no-stoplight life as well. On September 12, all traffic controls disappeared from the center of the town, which sees about 13,500 cars a day. The idea was developed by Dutch traffic specialist Hans Monderman to try to reduce accidents and make life easier for pedestrians. Already, Monderman’s ideas have been implemented in the town of Drachten in the Netherlands, where all stop lights, traffic signs, pavements, and street markings have gone. Accidents in Drachten have been reduced significantly.

Half of the1.2 million euro cost of removing the lights in Bohmte will be covered by the European Union, which supports the endeavor.

[via Reuters]

Top Five Destinations of Travel Writer Christopher Elliot

by Jamie Rhein on

I checked the Baby Boomer Trips website to see what is happening there these days. Last month, I mentioned the feature, Ask Nan. This time I browsed the Interviews section. Christopher Elliot is one of the interviewees. As a person who writes for National Geographic Traveler, the U.S. News & World Report and who is a columnist for the New York Times, I’d say Elliot knows a thing or two.

One of the interview questions asked him for his top 5 travel destinations. Except for Anchorage, Alaska, Elliot seems to like warm climates. Sanibel Island is listed as #1, then the Florida Keys, then Sonoma, California, and then Bermuda. Anchorage is last.

Here’s the briefest of brief rundowns of each of these places. I don’t know what Elliot likes about each, but this is what appealed to me. Each place’s website is filled with details meant to capture a wide range of interests. Sanibel Island is a shell collectors’ dream spot and there is the National Wildlife Refuge & Bird Sanctuary. The Florida Keys is as far south as you can get and still be in the U.S. Plus, it just happens to be the dive and sports fishing capital of the world. (At least that’s what the website says.) One of my friends is in love with the Key West Literary Seminar held there every January.

Sonoma trades the tropical paradise for wine country. Instead of driving yourself from winery to winery, you can take a wine country tour. Good idea since wine tours can make a person tipsy in no time. Bermuda is a place I’d go to see the architecture. There are 785 historic houses that are listed on the National Register. Anchorage is a place to go if seeing a wildlife abundance is your fancy. Within a short distance of the city you can see bears, whales, moose and more–a lot more.

If you want more travel thoughts from Christopher Elliot, check out his own travel blog called “Ellipses.”