Only a sale could lure me to Merivale Road

My mission: buying a sand and water table for half the price at Toys R Us.

The challenge: drive to Merivale Road to get it.

Argh!

Anyone who lives in the west end of Ottawa likely has experienced the pleasure of driving on Merivale Road. And when I write pleasure, I mean it sarcastically. Merivale Road, once known as Nepean's Golden Mile, is a road that stretches from Barrhaven in the south to Carling Avenue in the north. Driving the Barrhaven end of Merivale Road isn't too bad, and the same goes for the Carling Avenue end, but the stretch between West Hunt Club to Clyde Avenue is horrendous. It seems like it doesn't matter what time of the day it is, traffic is heavy. In rush hour, it may take five to 10 minutes before you reach the next intersection as traffic crawls at a snail's pace.

I spent a year and a half working in the Merivale Road area. Being caught in traffic is no fun, but it gives you time to ponder. During my time pondering as I waited in traffic, I concluded that for my own sanity I need to avoid this road like the plague. But only thing that can lure me to the Merivale Road area is a good sale, specifically a good sale at Toys R Us.

Big box stores are a fixture in the Merivale Road area. Toys R Us has a stand alone store here. While there is a Toys R Us store at a mall in the east end, I was in the Merivale Road vicinity this morning. I decided to suck it up and battle traffic to Toys R Us as it was too good of a sale to pass up.

I found that fighting traffic was fairly easy from Carling Avenue, but that soon changed when I approached Clyde Avenue. Feeling myself tense up, I gripped the steering wheel in anticipation of what was to come. As usual, motorists and pedestrians never cease to amaze. At one intersection, a motorist positioned in the left hand turning lane changed his mind at the last moment and decided to turn right. He cut across two lanes of traffic as well as cutting off drivers in the opposing lane who were turning left.

Soon after watching that feat of pure idiocy, I spotted a woman pushing a stroller on the roadway, towards opposing traffic. Luckily traffic was stopped and she quickly made a right turn, heading to the sidewalk. And when I made it to the Toys R Us intersection, I was cut off by a motorist who was oblivious to the fact I had the right-of-way.

Just a typical drive on Merivale Road.

With the sand and water table in my car, my mission was accomplished and I got out of the area relatively unscathed. But this latest experience reaffirms my vow that unless there is a really big sale, I won't be heading to Merivale Road any time soon.