An Open Letter To The Traffic Lights in WNY

I’m tired of you, on Niagara Falls Blvd, Transit Rd, Sheridan Dr, the Five Corners on Southwestern Blvd, and really all across Western New York. You’re just annoying, and it’s time we have this talk.

I know patience is a virtue, but I can’t keep waiting for you. If I do, I’ll be waiting for the rest of my life, and it’s just not fair.

You may want to say, “Well, life isn’t fair,” and I get that; however, I request that you hold all responses until you are finished with my letter.

I didn’t mean to reach you through the internet with this, but can you blame me? I was running out of options, and you don’t exactly have a mailbox.

I’m tired of waiting for my day to begin and to take the world by storm, and the only thing in my way, quite literally, is you.

When I am the only one on the road, I shouldn’t have to wait seven minutes (yes, I timed it) for you to allow me to pass through the intersection. Like I said, nobody else is on the road.

Any early morning or late night commuter can vouch for me, and we are frustrated. Because even though nobody is on the road, we all know that there is a police officer somewhere in the vicinity, who -- should we choose to be rebellious -- would pull us over and ticket us on the first run of a red...well, you.

So I ask you to look inside yourself, and think of the quote from Neil Barrington: “The grass is green where you water it.” You don’t have to be red anymore, oh sweet traffic light. Water yourself so you can grow and be a happy, preferably GREEN, traffic light.

The thing is -- you have to know that everyone is waiting on you. I know you have a 3-5 minute rule because you prefer to be cautious, but I ask you, on behalf of all of Western New York, to use your senses. When you see us waiting, let us in. You know we’re there.

It would be similar to you visiting an old friend, like you do at the same time each and every day, except one day, your friend decides “hey, I’m not going to open the door for this punk today.” So you sit there and you wait.

And wait.

Yet your friend does not answer their door.

It’s frustrating, right? You know that they are home, yet they make you sit outside on their porch for five minutes.

Now imagine if you are meeting up to watch the Bills game, and your friend doesn’t open the door until about five minutes into the game. That’s a valuable five minutes, is it not? Maybe a little more valuable than five minutes of my work commute in the morning.

The point is, it’s not too late to change. And we ask you to change for the better -- go green.