Not extra lane
Learning to read curbs.
Have you ever wondered why they make the lane so wide northbound on Race Street between Eighth and First streets, as just one example?
It is remarkably wide, isn’t it?
Gosh, there is room for two lanes there.
It seems like there are so many options for vehicle placement within the super-wide lane: near the center line, near the curb, partway in between.
Maybe the city leaders just wanted us all to have a lot of extra room for some unknown reason… NOT!
It turns out that some drivers never learned how to read curbs.
If the curb is not painted, red, yellow or otherwise, it means you can park there.
It is a parking strip.
If you are driving down the right side of that big wide lane, or down the middle of it, you are driving in the parking strip.
Luckily for us all, if there are no cars parked in the parking lane, you will be able to foolishly drive down it and never even find out that you do not know how to read curbs.
However, other drivers who can read curbs might not know you are illegally driving down the parking strip, so please let them drive properly in peace.
Stay out of their way.
Paul C. Daley
Port Angeles