I read a Facebook post the other day that said that Guadalajara is no longer going to allow cars to park on sidewalks.

As someone who often has to walk around a car and out into the street with a two-year-old and a four-year-old, while carrying a dinosaur lunch bag and a spiderman backpack, and pushing a bulky stroller with a wonky wheel, I say this is a good thing.

But I also say, “Why stop there?”

If, indeed, there’s some sort of traffic patrol out there giving tickets and controlling traffic (which I have to admit I’ve not seen much evidence of), I have a few other things I’d like them to look into.

Those no left turn signs, for instance. I think they’d be well advised to add a little something to the signs. Maybe something like, “WE REALLY MEAN THIS!” Because as it is, no one’s taking the signs very seriously.

Which doesn’t even address the problem of the streets where left turns are allowed. Maybe it’s just me, but those buses and cars that do left turns across my lane when I had intended to go straight surprise me every day and rarely let me get to the grocery store without backtracking from unintended left turns.  

Something probably needs to be done about red lights too, because way too many people don’t seem to be seeing them. Perhaps shocking pink would work better.

And then there’s the whole problem with speed bumps. A good idea for sure. They’re the only reason that I’m able to get across the street and home before my ice cream melts. Or at least, I used to be able to – until everyone figured out that they didn’t really need to slow down for the bumps in front of my entrance.

Therein lies the problem. Even as a proponent, I have to say that there’s a certain lack of consistency. Some bumps can be driven over with no slowing down, while others have you checking your muffler to see if it’s still there even after you’ve come to a complete stop. At the very least, I’d like to have the muffler ones in front of my entrance since I’m getting really tired of throwing out ice cream. 

Finally, as long as there are going to be people out there ticketing all those parked cars on sidewalks, perhaps they could stay a little longer and do something about the motorcycles that seem to think that sidewalks are an available option.

Because, trust me, once those parked cars are gone, things are going to get worse. They’re going to think the sidewalks are express lanes.