Why do some (but not all) of your traffic lights feature flashing green lights? How are they different from solid green lights? (Is this just a Vancouver thing? a British Columbia thing?)
Your money is pretty. The iridescent stripe along the left side of your cash bills easily captures the eye. American money is boring in comparison, with its uniform green hue, lack of female figures, and absence of French text. How do you all deal with your change, though? Those one- and two-dollar coins are neat, but the change purse gathers mass quickly.
Does the rest of Canada poke fun at Vancouver for all the rain it receives, just as Seattle receives grief from the rest of America for its wet clime (although, truth be told, New York City gets more rain than Seattle…)?
30 Apr 2007 |
the flashing green light means you can safely make a left turn without having to watch out for oncoming traffic from the opposite side (they still have a red). it’s switched on only during some times of the day at certain stops, while at others they’re on all the time, and some just don’t have the feature at all (for less busy intersections). the change, well, i still haven’t gotten used to it after ten years…
Comment by yaser | 30 Apr 2007 @ 10:59am
When I visit America, I have difficulty with the money…I take ages trying to find the notes I want cos they all look the same! Meanwhile, the cashier repeats herself again and again in a Loud Slow Voice.
Comment by tscd | 30 Apr 2007 @ 12:23pm
I live in Vancouver, BC, and am originally from Ontario. A clarification to the first reader’s comment: in Ontario, the flashing green light is an ‘advance green’ permitting traffic turning left to do so freely (in the absence of a left green arrow). In Vancouver (BC), it indicates a ‘pedestrian controlled intersection,’ NOT an ‘advance green’. This basically makes drivers aware of higher pedestrian traffic, and informs them that the light may change to red quicker than usual if a pedestrian chooses to activate the crosswalk button. I have a driver’s license but cycle and use public transit (Vancouver is the most wonderful city to bike in!).
Yes, we get poked fun of: my response is to remind everyone that it basically ‘mists’ in Vancouver. Back east in Ontario, when it rained…it poured.
Comment by Pawel | 30 Apr 2007 @ 6:58pm
We met and hung out with some Canadians while in Paris several years back, and one of their questions was, “How do you tell your money apart? It’s all the same size and color.”
I guess they’re tuned into those features, we’re looking at the numbers on the corners.
Comment by Greg P | 1 May 2007 @ 5:45pm
Flashing green is an advanced green, like the other commenters noted. They are usually timed for rush hour, for the most part, to get traffic known to be heavier through first, like knowing all the eastbound traffic between 3 pm and 7 pm on ABC St is heavy and is heavy westbound between 7 am and 9 am. The flashing greens can be synchronised to mesh with those peaks.
I always have trouble with US money. You’re right - most of us I think key on colour here. A blue one is $5, purple is $10. The old $2 bills were reddish/orange and a really old $1 was almost the same colour green as your money.
Comment by bp_hockey_chick | 4 May 2007 @ 12:14pm