Stoplight Karma

After spending an enjoyable evening discussing the Victorian Era classic Jane Eyre, I looked forward to a leisurely drive home from the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri.  Fortune smiled upon the Firebird and I as we moved northward on Broadway through a dozen or so stoplights, all green, with little traffic to impede our progress.  Not surprising, since the sun had set over an hour prior and most folks were home enjoying after dinner entertainment or a walk outside on this mild early spring evening.

The interstates (I-35, I-670 and I-70) proved nearly empty, at least until I approached the Legends and the I-435 intersection in western Wyandotte County, Kansas.  I-70 narrows from three to two lanes between I-435 and the last free exit for K-7/US-73/US-40/US-24.  I slowed to second gear for the right turn acceleration lane onto northbound K-7, barely making fourth gear before stopping at the first stoplight next to Quik Trip near the Sandstone Amphitheater.

Fortune frowned another three times upon me, forcing me to stop at Parrellel, Leavenworth Road and the new stoplight halfway between Leavenworth Road and 4-H Road in Lansing.  I skirted past the final stoplight (at the aforesaid 4-H Road intersection) and zig-zagged home a couple of blocks.

New Stoplight on K7 Midway Between Lansing and Bonner Springs
New Stoplight on K7 Midway Between Lansing and Bonner Springs

Explain to me how it is that I can travel through mid-town Kansas City, Missouri on a major street with nary a single stoplight and a 35 mph speed zone, but when I get within ten minutes of home, on a four-lane highway with a 65 mph speed zone, I get stopped four times!  How does this help us (drivers) conserve gasoline and improve our MPG?

Thank goodness I’m riding in the van tomorrow!  So much less stressful to snooze in the backseat or read a book for an hour and not pay any attention whatsoever to the latest ‘improvements’ made by KDOT.