Divisadero, the large street near my apartment, is being completely revamped. I heard a rumor the new set up is supposed to look like Octavia Street, which I have mixed feelings about. As it is, Divisadero is pocked and scabbed and it feels like you are off-roading when you drive down it – so repairs are definitely in need. The Octavia Street model is confusing and flawed, so hopefully they have edited it for a better pedestrian/bicycle/car experience.
Currently
Proposed
Of course, all the money for these repairs is coming from the Federal stimulus, as CA is broke as a joke and all city based street repairs have been stalled.
The work goes on, for about a month, from what I’ve heard. The street I live on has been closed all week. There are major construction vehicles, barriers and men in orange vests everywhere. In fact, for the past few days, I have had major street crossing anxiety. All the sidewalks and crosswalks are closed off, meaning you can only get across the street if you walk in the middle of the road, and even then you could end up knee deep in concrete. It would make sense to me to walk down the next block to cross, but, those intersections are barriered off as well. The other day I ended up just sort of pacing between a parked dump truck and a back hoe, until I was noticed by one of the workers. He was kind enough to escort me to the middle of the intersection, where I promptly leapt over a cement stream and ran through three lanes of pissed off drivers to the safety of a coned off corner.
Normally, I am not like this. In fact, in the past I have discussed authoring a book called “How to Walk in a City,” in which I would disclose tips to city dwellers about how to properly walk around. These tips would include: walk on the right side of the side-walk, similar to when you drive and just because it says “Don’t Walk,” as long as there are no cars coming, you can cross the street. This book would also, perhaps, have an addendum called “How to Ride your Bike in a City.” The only thing I would say in that section is: Don’t be an asshole.
Maybe it’s just the fumes from the construction vehicles, but I really feel this project has thrown me through a loop.
. I got White Fang and Jailbird. They all look different, but here’s the basic idea:
