commentary

Slower Driving, Slower Growth?

By Dana Green, 4-04-06

Last February, I got a traffic ticket in town. The kind judge took pity on me and gave me a reprieve: if I didn’t get another ticket within a six-month period, it wouldn’t go on my driving record.

So around Missoula, I am now driving very, very slowly. In fact, if you don’t look closely, you can barely tell the car is actually moving. I ease slowly around corners. I stop for pedestrians, waiting patiently for them to dial their cell phone and then cross the street, happily chattering away. When the light turns yellow, I screech to a halt a full football field away, sending the cars behind me careening in every direction. I am like the patron saint of small-town drivers, a poster child for responsible car use.

Even my mother, a family legend for her glacial driving speeds, would probably, at this point, commit ritual Japanese suicide before getting in the car with me.

But what I’ve discovered by accident, during my vehicular house arrest, is this: driving the speed limit makes out-of-state drivers insane with rage.

So I came up with an idea – if we want to slow growth in our town, maybe we should just try setting the speed limit at 25 miles per hour. That would probably send the out-of-towners – at least the impatient ones – fleeing like angry locusts.

Of course, I’m joking. But if you think about it, what could be more revolutionary? It would be a return to the Montana we all moved to decades ago. I can remember a time (I’m sure the rose-colored glasses have come out at this juncture) when everyone here drove at a slower, friendlier pace. Coming from the big city, I noted in amazement how drivers near Missoula’s university neighborhood would wait for each student walking home from campus. On each block, they would slow to a dead stop, wave cheerfully, and then drive on. Only to be stopped again at the next block. And again.

It’s not to say my AARP-approved driving only infuriates those from other states. I’m sure a few of the people who have graced me with creative hand gestures grew up right here in Montana.

But the drivers with out-of-state license plates, I’ve noticed, do tend to take their road rage to a new, unique level. Swerving around me, they then careen back into my lane, nearly grazing my front bumper. They are either auditioning for the next Mad Max movie, or they are sending me a dire warning, or possibly both at once. Or they just drive within centimeters of my car's back wheels, somehow hoping that will spur me to greater speeds.

People have tried to come up with all kinds of solutions to address spiraling growth in our western Montana communities. From affordable housing initiatives to zoning, the fixes all seem pretty complicated and hard to implement. As I suggested, just drastically lower the speed limit. We might lose a few locals in the process, but it would be worth it. And it would be a great reason to ride a bike to work.

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