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Perhaps drivers get confused because both start with the letter “E.”
I’m referring to “Exit” and “Entrance.”
How else to explain the puzzled, misdirected motorists circling around in our parking lots? I came upon one the other day at a Toronto drugstore. I was preparing to turn left into the parking lot entrance; however, the “entrance” was blocked by a man in a Nissan Rogue. I could see the “In” arrow painted on the asphalt underneath his SUV, which sat beneath a sign that read “Entrance” with another arrow pointing to the lot. I waited on Danforth Avenue holding up traffic until he managed to drive away. Meanwhile, the “exit” sat empty.
“Mr. Rogue” is emblematic of the legion of drivers for whom the concept of a way out of an enclosed place or space (exit) and the means or place of entry (entrance) are interchangeable. That’s not how the traffic engineers who designed parking lots with designated exits and entrances see them. Traffic engineers use assigned exits and entrances to create traffic flow and make the parking lots more accessible, safe and efficient.
In a parking lot with only one access, that access space acts as both exit and entrance. In parking lots with separated and designated exits and entrances there is (normally) one-way traffic. The traffic runs one way (in) to the entrance and one way (out) of the exit. Somehow these two-headed monsters cause mass confusion. Drivers treat designated exits and entrances as “Choose Your Own Adventures.”
While easy to mistake – exits and entrances look similar – there are subtle nuances that drivers should recognize. For instance, the separated spaces are often differentiated by signs with giant arrows pointing in the direction that traffic is meant to flow. There are also often large arrows painted on the pavement to illustrate the correct opening they should take. Frequently, there are signs bearing the word “exit” or “entrance.” To keen-eyed motorists these are dead giveaways.
“Anger” and “remorse.”
These are two emotions I experience when I encounter a driver who is using the parking exit as an entrance or vice versa. I first feel anger. How can a human being be so clueless or careless? How can you get these things confused? Everyone knows what an arrow means. How stupid do you have to be?
Then remorse creeps in. After I was irked by Mr. Rogue, I regretted getting angry. I sat in my Mini and stewed. Remorse. Why did I care if drivers misuse parking lot entrances and exits? What was the point? Why be angry? It was a waste of energy and life. For as long as there are exits and entrances there would be drivers using both incorrectly, either through ignorance, carelessness or obliviousness.
I recalled Sartre’s contention in his 1946 essay “Existentialism and Humanism” that “Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself.” Sartre maintained “existence precedes essence” and that “we are left alone, without excuse. That is what I mean when I say that man is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, yet is nevertheless at liberty, and from the moment that he is thrown in this world he is responsible for everything he does.”
What did that have to do with the man driving a Nissan Rogue? Perhaps he and others like him exercised their existential liberty by failing to understand the complexities of exits and entrances.
To my left, a guy in a white minivan drove into the parking lot via the exit. Shoppers walked by. A homeless man sat dejected in front of the drugstore. Someday we’d all be dead. No one would mistake those entrances and exits.
Geeze, I thought, driving in this city really is stressful.
FIFA Fine
Many, me included, wondered if Toronto and Vancouver could host the FIFA 2026 World Cup without experiencing gridlock horror. “Given their histories when it comes to traffic nightmares and large events,” I wrote. “The execution could leave a little to be desired.” Well, the world-class soccer came and went and there was no “Carmageddon.” Sure, there was traffic and congestion but you’re going to have these when you host big events. Punters picked public transit. What’s important is that both Toronto and Vancouver city and transit officials executed their contingency plans with aplomb. So, credit where credit is due.
It all goes to show that we can have nice things. In fact, it goes to show that if we want traffic to move, we should have nice things all the time. I suggest that both cities host the FIFA 2026 World Cup in perpetuity. Maybe we can host the Super Bowl every weekend, too.