On my route home there is this terrible four way stop that gets really backed up when heading west. But like myself and several other cars have found out you can turn left a block before the stop (no stop sign just a left into a neighborhood), take a quick right through a residential neighborhood for a block, then turn right and be at the four way stop coming from south.

I admittedly do this almost everyday. It honestly saves 10 minutes on a 45 minute drive. I know it’s only “10 mins” but from being 45 mins to almost an hour it’s enough. Sometimes I leave for home late and so it is less backed up and doesn’t make sense to do the side maneuver.

The residents of this street clearly do not appreciate cars driving down their street (not sure why… it’s a road for cars). They have placed those neon green “kids at play” standups in the middle of the street. I appreciate that, I don’t want kids to get hurt.

Then they got a speedometer put in (complaint to city maybe?). Let it be known I DO NOT speed down this road nor have I seen anyone speed. You don’t have to. It’s easy to beat the traffic even if you walked.

They have also tried to block the way with garbage cans. They can’t block it all because people who live on the street still need to get by so it’s easy to go around them. Last week they put a sign out on a garbage can in the middle of the road telling drivers to stay off their street. And yesterday as I made the maneuver a woman walked down her drive way and filmed me.

I don’t think they have any legal recourse to come after any of the drivers going down the street. There is no sign saying “No thru traffic” so they can’t say we are disobeying a traffic sign.

Am I jerk for continuing to do this maneuver? I don’t see how this affects them in any way. There is never traffic on their road and so it wouldn’t affect their ability to drive.