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
[hidden by author request]
Web Junkie
Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »
Pass the Ketchup
This heavily rehearsed Go »Apparently, Some Visuals are Best Left Undescribed
Recent conversation with Brenda: me: I was thinking about Star Wars stuff the other day and I can't help but see this mental image of the Empire State Building wielding a light sabre and waving it at King Kong. You know, The Empire Strikes Back. Brenda: Have you taken your meds today? Go »Things Remembered
When I was in kindergarten, a girl brought a doll to class. It was so pretty that even the boys liked it. Everyone played with it but I was the one who broke it. Go »Out of the Closet and into the Stratosphere
So Tom Cruise wants to go into outer space and meet aliens. I think I can scrounge together a few bucks for a one-way ticket. Any other takers? Go »Christmas Post #12: Sorry About That Chief
I've always been a fan of Get Smart! and the funniest running gag for me was the use of the "cone of silence". This thing called a "pentaphone isolation space" brought that immediately to mind. 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.