Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-first day of the month is "Safety."
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Thanks to some state funding, our town has recently embarked on a construction project to redo some of the sidewalks and intersections in our town. What this means is that for the last month or so, Hannah and I have been dealing with a crazy number of orange signs and barrels.
Earlier this week, I heard brakes squeal on our morning walk as I saw a red pickup truck slam on its brakes as it nearly hit two children trying to get to the middle school. The combination of school zone plus construction barrel didn't convince the driver to slow down, so I guess I don't really know what would.
For my part, this has been a good experience in letting Hannah explore strange things on the side of the road that she finds scary at first, like the above barrel. It's been good for training her to be extra patient at intersections when we're waiting to cross because sometimes corners are closed and we can't go the way we normally would. It's been good for her to see construction workers working and not freak out at them.
But boy was I glad to see this on our morning walk yesterday.
What's the latest in your neighborhood?
The newest development in our neighbourhood is blossoms everywhere! Cherry trees and our own gorgeous apple tree!!! Spring is here, summer is coming <3
ReplyDeleteYay! I am so happy things have turned around for you season-wise. You can officially say you're out of winter!
DeleteI hope that when they are done, things will be great! Our roads were so horrible, and we recently started a three year paving project in Oakland. Let me tell you, it looks nice but no matter where you go, they are paving something. The other sad thing is that I think by the time the three years ends, the streets that they paved first will need to be paved again! Sigh. This was the case in Boston when they did the Big Dig; I feel like they were doing it forEVER! I just Googled it and it says that it took eight years but I swear for about a 10 year + stretch every time I went there, it was messy construction everywhere!
ReplyDeleteIn this case, it's really just redoing sidewalk intersections, so the main roadways aren't under construction. Unfortunately for me, since I'm more of a sidewalk user than a road user, this has been inconvenient. I don't think they're actually doing a BIG sidewalk job, which is too bad because the sidewalks in our town are terrible, but I think mostly concerned about some of the intersections being ADA compliant.
DeleteHowever, they're redoing the surface of the main drag between our town and the next town and it's super inconvenient and adds tons of time to my husband's commute. I sort of agree with you that as soon as it's done, they'll start it all over again!
Summer is Road Work time, for sure, and it's taking place on every main thoroughfare out of our side of town. It's almost impossible to get out of our neighborhood right now. Every single main street out is under construction, and it's a colossal pain, adding significant time to every trip. So many detours! I have to take three of them just to get to the grocery store! I understand that it's all about when funding comes through and it has to be done in good weather, but it's all but gridlocked the city.
ReplyDeleteI hate the detour on top of detour on top of detour. That sounds terrible! I hope it turns out well in the end and it's worth all the inconvenience.
DeleteNothing new in our neighborhood, although there was a time several years ago when they redid some of the sidewalks and intersections. SO annoying while it's happening, but then so nice in the end. Where my son goes to school (Waco, Texas) there has been construction EVERYWHERE and it makes it so hard to get around- but I guess it's a sign of progress. I hope they finish it before he graduates!
ReplyDeleteThe construction does make it hard to get around. I console myself with the thought that people have jobs and the end result will be worth it. In your son's case, though, he won't be able to use those end results!
DeleteI live next to a University, so the sounds of "the kids" moving out for the summer is a bit of a celebration for me and my little family. Less traffic, shorter lines at our coffee shops, safer sidewalks to walk on - it's the best part of May!
ReplyDeleteWe lived in a college town before we moved here and I loved the different seasons of students. It was great to have students there since they really provided a life to the town. It was also so lovely in the summer to have more ample parking. And winter break was the BEST. Just so quiet and beautiful.
DeleteThe streets in our neighborhood are being repaved, so there has been a lot of noise and construction. Our main roadways are also being repaved. It's a pain, but it has to be done, and I can't wait to see the end result.
ReplyDeleteThat's the spirit! The end will be worth it!
DeleteConstruction is always good and bad, right? We need it to keep things "in good shape", but it can be annoying at times.
ReplyDeleteI think I mentioned that we have finches in our yard now. I know they are native, but I haven't seen them before and I am so thrilled to become a "bird watcher"... even bought a feeder :)
Yay! We have a nyjer seed feeder that exclusively gets goldfinches. It's such a lovely spot in our yard.
DeleteAi-yi-yi, the "almost hitting small children" thing. Around the schools here traffic is an absolute nightmare at dropoff. I used to think it was terrible when my kids went to elementary - people would be jaywalking with their kids on busy streets, doing u-turns in the middle of the street, speeding through crosswalks WHILE PEOPLE WERE IN THEM. Both boys were school patrols so I was always a bit worried they would get hit while trying to get younger kids safely across the street. Then they went to junior high and things were just as terrible traffic wise. Now for high school, it's a complete disaster. People block intersections, park in bus zones, try to cut people off and again, speed through intersections. It's unbelievable that no one has been run over.
ReplyDeleteYES! Apparently the school zones are nearly impossible to get through for the 20 minutes on each side of the school day. I always wonder why people are in such a rush. Why can't dismissal (at the very least) be staggered? Bus riders get out at 2:55, classes 1-5 get out at 3, classes 6-10 at 3:05, and classes 10-15 at 3:10? That would ameliorate the rush of all a billion people trying to leave at once. I think it's not even that people are driving carelessly (look at me being a Pollyanna), but the sheer volume of people and cars makes it impossible for people to see everything, including/especially small humans!
DeleteYes, the almost hitting a small child thing is terrifying! We have seen the WORST driving on the way to work. Since you lived here, you maybe remember Portland and Park Ave. Those are one ways that go north/south. We take Park to work after dropping the kids off at school and will get passed by people going FAST and then they will weave in between cars like they are in a race. It's nuts. I mean are you in such a rush to get to work or wherever you are going that you'll risk the welfare of others? Luckily we don't see that kind of driving in our neighborhood for the most part. The street in front of us dead ends by our house. Although it is kind of interesting/entertaining to sit outside with the boys and see how few people stop at the stop sign of the street that intersects with our streets.
ReplyDeleteAs a cyclist, Park and Portland were my jam! I do remember that sometimes motorists were not on their best behavior on those streets, though.
DeleteOur neighborhood is really hard to navigate (lots of one one-ways going in the same direction, abruptly ending streets), so there's frequently confused people driving recklessly, including going the wrong way, but I never read it as malicious, just confused. I think I'd be a lot more nervous about it if we had small humans playing in our yard/neighborhood.
In the end, it will be a lovely thing to have all that work done! Sounds like a good experience for Hannah too; she gets to sniff more stuff. ;)
ReplyDeleteIn my hood? The house across the street sold a few weeks ago, but I've yet to see the new people coming in. When will they move in, is what I want to know.
New neighbors! Keep us posted. I definitely need to know.
DeleteYou are kind of like us. There are two seasons — winter and road work.
ReplyDeleteYep. So it is. They can't do this work when it's cold, so it's all compressed into just a few months.
DeleteMadison rips up all major roads without preamble as soon as students clear out **whomp whomp**
DeleteDo not get me started on our construction this summer. University is a complete disaster. I haven't even ventured downtown and braved the construction there. I think I'll just stay put, thanks.
DeleteIt's even worse when pedestrians/bikers are around, as I get completely terrified at the very prospect of them entering the (under construction) roads. Visibility stinks, with all of the construction equipment, and it makes it even harder.
Ha! We were in Madison on Friday and to get to the Capitol, we had to do a lot of fiddling because of the construction on Broom. It's tough out there!
DeleteEven more fun.. they're starting construction on my parking ramp next week... which means 200 spaces will be lost at a time. Sigh. Another reason to not want to go in in the summer (if it weren't for that teaching thing...)
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