The Colossus Of Roads
by Steve West on October 9, 2009
I am getting so sick of commuter traffic. Forbes magazine has Washington, DC listed as #3 on the Texas Transportation Institute's Worst Cities for Traffic list and I can't disagree. The bulk of that rating comes from the deteriorating infrastructure within the city which doesn't affect me much. But the part that does affect me is the traffic in the surrounding streets like the Beltway and major arteries that are clogged with the traffic unable to penetrate the DC Star Wars traffic defense system. My commute which could previously be measured in small fractions of hours (45 minutes on a really bad day) is now routinely that, and on bad days now is well over an hour.
How much construction is required on the same two mile stretch of road? Why is lane widening and expansion happening on the outbound roads instead of inbound? Why is that pothole with the car sticking out of it ignored for so long? I'm exaggerating a little, of course. But not by much. A recent commute truly took me two hours and we're talking a distance of only 13 miles. Scott's CD of the 500 greatest songs in rock history has saved my sanity on more than one occasion. I'm actually starting to like Dylan. Go figure. Telecommuting is sure looking more and more attractive after breathing exhaust fumes for an hour, daily. That must be why I voted for Bush. I was loopy on carbon monoxide.
Two Replies to The Colossus Of Roads
Jackie Mason | October 11, 2009
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Web Junkie
Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »
Redneck ROFL
I've been to this site a few dozen times without considering linking to it. But a picture they posted really cracked me up because it, once again, reminded me of my Carolina cousins, rednecks all. Anyway the picture I'm referring to is called redneck Barbies and they remind me of a favorite pair of cousins of mine, Rodney and Looler. Go »Cartoon Nostalgia
Anybody else remember The Mighty Heroes? How about The Wacky Races or Hong Kong Phooey? Alright, how about Super Chicken or Go Go Gophers? Go »We Were That Close
Brenda and I looked at a house a few days ago and were very charmed by it. It was a ranch style home with four bedrooms, a large fenced yard and was selling at a reasonable price. Brenda was a little unsure of the size of the bedrooms but agreed to go back and specifically measure them with a tape measure and if they met her minimum standards, she would agree to make an offer for the house. Go »Rock Block Parallel #1: Animal Farm
Starting a theme parallel. Best new Barbie since "I'm Breaking Our Date" Ken - Hitchcock Barbie. Happy moments captured. Go »Toilets R Us
I got a thing for cool looking toilets. What can I say? I'd like most of these to be in Barbie's Dream House except for that face-to-face absurdity. Go »
Steve West | October 9, 2009
In re-reading this post, I can see how this can be interpreted as a desire to compare traffic horror stories. That wasn't the intent. We all have traffic issues in some capacity. This was a need of mine to vent on my peccadillo of the day. Friggin' traffic.