Instead of screaming into the void of Twitter, I bring you a weekly highlight reel of what it’s like going places in Greater Hartford when one is gloriously car-free. These posts are on a slight time delay because nobody needs to know exactly where I am when I am there.
THE DARK NIGHT
It’s not all that late, but there are no other people out and about. Correction: There are people wearing cars, but none who have allowed themselves to be vulnerable, or for whom that is not a choice. After receiving a lifetime of warnings/scoldings about things that go bump in the night for women walking alone, I have to wonder if I’m the monster. That would be an interesting twist.
What I do see are two raccoons skittering from park to cemetery, across the road in front of me. There’s a possum. None of them bother me. I get slapped across the face by tree branches allowed to span the sidewalk though, and think of how someday, there could be giant nightmare spiders hanging out in them. I’ll take my excitement where I can get it.
RECKLESS
Peach (as your license plate says) being reckless feels like a weird thing to take pride in.
Maybe you’re being ironic. Maybe you drive cautiously, giving wide berth to pedestrians, cyclists, and other more vulnerable road users, like those on motorcycles. Maybe this is an inside joke. You carry an umbrella when there’s a 2% chance of rain. You drink exactly one (small) glass of wine, once a week, with a large meal. You pay your taxes as soon as possible.
Putting a “reckless” decal on your Jeep is basically the same as putting a marijuana leaf sticker on your bumper: begging to get pulled over.
ARCHDIOCESE OF HARTFORD, AGAIN
The snow mound blocking the sidewalk on Asylum Avenue has been replaced by about a foot of dirt. You all are being super friendly, super neighborly to those using mobility devices and strollers. Have a blessed day or whatever.
HARTFORD CARES
. . . about something, I’m sure. But signs do not equal safety.
There was a place I worked where the supervisor tacked up so many notices in the break room that nobody read anything. It was like looking at a book with all the pages highlighted.
There are signs on just about every surface.
Planner people call it street furniture.
Get out.
Furniture would be benches to sit on, which we have clustered is specific spots. Want to sit? Go to the park or to a handful of bus stops. Otherwise, lowly person, you get less consideration than all the parking meters.
Which makes me wonder as I’m out to return a library book: why do we hand over sidewalk space to cars? Why is the electric charging station on the sidewalk? Why are all the parking signs on the sidewalk? If these serve vehicles, put them in the street.
Aside from the weirdly wide sidewalk around part of Bushnell Park, our walks are not that spacious. . . and yet:
Once you begin to see the entitlement-saturated car culture, you can’t unsee it.
ALL THE TAPE
Duct and caution tape!
I’ve only seen this in some buses, which makes me think they’re leaving it up to the drivers whether or not passengers are welcome in the bizarre tall seats right up front. Personally, I’d string a roll of fly tape across there too if I were driving, just to make it clear I didn’t want anyone hanging out at the very front.
HAVE SOME PAINT AND PRAYERS
New Britain.
You were doing so well, positively kicking Hartford’s ass when it came to fixing street design.
But then I saw this entrance to Walnut Hill Park and am left wondering.
We’re all tired.
But maybe this is not the place to phone it in.
Why is the entrance to a city park this wide?
What possible reason exists?
The painted bike lane is a nice start. You meant well. But there’s nothing to slow vehicles down.
I mention that because while in the park, angling to snap pic of the sign below, I was nearly clipped by someone barreling through at about 40 MPH. THROUGH THE PARK! Other people walking were also astonished by the speed. What makes this speed possible? Wide roads without obstacles.
The road going through Hartford’s Bushnell Park has been blocked with giant flower pots. When this first happened, there was pushback. A lot of that “won’t somebody think of the children . . . OMG what will emergency vehicles do?!” nonsense. We trust that paramedics & company will save lives, but don’t think they’re smart enough to navigate around obstacles?! The park isn’t fifty miles wide. You can cross it on foot in about five minutes. There are roads around the outside.
The other day, I was able to see how first responders responded to a medical emergency happening not during an event. Let’s just say, there was no considerable time lost and at least three vehicles were in the park for this situation, whatever it was.
Back to New Britain. I look at this striped bike lane (which seems to end) and see a giant missed opportunity. Could you add large flower pots to make this a protected bike lane and give drivers the thought of slowing down? Concrete barriers? Sawhorses? Anything?
Honestly, I’m lost as to why anything wider than 1.5 lanes is needed for automobiles inside a park.
And I can’t even talk about this whole making people walk across a long entrance to get to the sidewalk when a makeshift sidewalk — add barriers to section of pavement — could’ve been created on the side where there’s nothing. Okay, guess I can talk about it.
Y’all. #ThinkBeyondYourself.
(P.S. Mayor Stewart, if you’re reading this, a synagogue is not a church. These are not interchangeable things. Much like how Chanukah is not Jewish Christmas. “Religious buildings” or “houses of worship” would be phrases to use when talking about structures representing different faiths.)
TYPICAL
It has become a joke a Transit Twitter, how the driver who is in too much of a hurry to stop at stop signs, red lights, etc., suddenly has all the time in the world when it comes to harassing cyclists and pedestrians.
If you are headed north on Park Terrace, these are the signs you see before reaching the entrance to Burns elementary school. It very clearly indicates someone should be traveling at lower speeds, though most people drive their vehicles double that through here.
Then, one sees both a road work sign and one announcing the presence of a crosswalk. If the 20 MPH speed limit and previous “construction ahead” sign did not signal to release the gas pedal and start slowing down, these signs, plus to upcoming yield, should do it.
Should.
This morning I was beginning to cross here — at the corner of the elementary school’s property — and someone chose to speed down the hill.
My response was what it generally is: some variation of “WTF asshole,” and even though I was wearing a cardinal red coat and crossing where I was supposed to, I am positive it was my language that made me suddenly visible the the driver, who magically had time to stop after the crosswalk, open his car door, and yell things at me.
This is the third time I’ve had this experience at this exact crossing — I express my displeasure with being ignored and/or nearly hit in the exact spot where I am allowed to be, and a driver yells at and/or threatens me.
I talk about the conditions around this school a lot for a reason, besides that they’re irritating and often dangerous. How are we treating one of the most vulnerable of all vulnerable road users out there, the kids? We like to say we care about children, but from what I have observed here, I am unconvinced. Between the surrounding streets that are still too wide (which means people can drive too fast), the shameful snow removal on and immediately surrounding school property, the debris that’s been in a school crosswalk for over a year, and the people who are willing to stop and get ready to brawl at 8 AM because they were signaled to slow down in a school zone. . . no, I don’t think we care what happens to kids, at least not those in a working class neighborhood.
Florida’s House just passed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. (If you’re not familiar with this, go read about it, stand on a street corner and scream, and then come back) This backwards trash harms children and adults.
Two shotgun shell casings have been in the gutter by West Middle School for the last week. Just sitting there.
There’s been a whole movement to put children at risk by removing protection measures in school, and those fuckers basically won. How many public schools have lifted their mask mandates?
So, I come at this not really believing most of society gives two shits about children. And if we aren’t showing care toward those we pride ourselves in allegedly caring for, what are the odds that anyone else is being protected? I mean, outside of the Central Business District.
As for Park Terrace. . . sure, we will (allegedly) be getting a separated bike lane (eventually) that I thought might help narrow the roundabout’s car lanes, but the diagram shows that the separated bike lane is going to be placed across a grassy area (where trees had been planted..???) and that there might be a stub of a green paint-only bike lane north on Park Terrace. I say “stub” because it seems to only begin after the Burns School driveway and not go the length of Park Terrace. In fact, looking at the diagram, it does not seem to narrow the roadway at all, and if this is the case, that’s another missed opportunity. As always, it seems like we are seeing forward motion, but until we have people in power who walk and ride, this is the treatment we’ll continue to get.
I wonder about the maintenance. It’s not looking good. Will this be another unplowed area? Will car parts sit in the cycle track for months?
In the meantime, I’m seeing cyclists using the center ring of the roundabout as their lane before cutting over to the sidewalk.
I’m not especially optimistic because I have been given no reason to be. We get lots of signs people ignore, and that’s mostly it. “Hartford Cares!”
WHAT NEXT
If you are someone who is tired of contributing to dictators and climate change, but have not managed to reduce your car dependency yet because you are confused or anxious or something about riding public transportation, contact me and if you are in Greater Hartford I will do a city bus test run with you. Why? Because I am all about stripping people of the excuses they use to not make changes when they say they want to.
Car-Free Diaries: Week 15
Instead of screaming into the void of Twitter, I bring you a weekly highlight reel of what it’s like going places in Greater Hartford when one is gloriously car-free. These posts are on a slight time delay because nobody needs to know exactly where I am when I am there.
THE DARK NIGHT
It’s not all that late, but there are no other people out and about. Correction: There are people wearing cars, but none who have allowed themselves to be vulnerable, or for whom that is not a choice. After receiving a lifetime of warnings/scoldings about things that go bump in the night for women walking alone, I have to wonder if I’m the monster. That would be an interesting twist.
What I do see are two raccoons skittering from park to cemetery, across the road in front of me. There’s a possum. None of them bother me. I get slapped across the face by tree branches allowed to span the sidewalk though, and think of how someday, there could be giant nightmare spiders hanging out in them. I’ll take my excitement where I can get it.
RECKLESS
Peach (as your license plate says) being reckless feels like a weird thing to take pride in.
Maybe you’re being ironic. Maybe you drive cautiously, giving wide berth to pedestrians, cyclists, and other more vulnerable road users, like those on motorcycles. Maybe this is an inside joke. You carry an umbrella when there’s a 2% chance of rain. You drink exactly one (small) glass of wine, once a week, with a large meal. You pay your taxes as soon as possible.
Putting a “reckless” decal on your Jeep is basically the same as putting a marijuana leaf sticker on your bumper: begging to get pulled over.
ARCHDIOCESE OF HARTFORD, AGAIN
The snow mound blocking the sidewalk on Asylum Avenue has been replaced by about a foot of dirt. You all are being super friendly, super neighborly to those using mobility devices and strollers. Have a blessed day or whatever.
HARTFORD CARES
. . . about something, I’m sure. But signs do not equal safety.
There was a place I worked where the supervisor tacked up so many notices in the break room that nobody read anything. It was like looking at a book with all the pages highlighted.
There are signs on just about every surface.
Planner people call it street furniture.
Get out.
Furniture would be benches to sit on, which we have clustered is specific spots. Want to sit? Go to the park or to a handful of bus stops. Otherwise, lowly person, you get less consideration than all the parking meters.
Which makes me wonder as I’m out to return a library book: why do we hand over sidewalk space to cars? Why is the electric charging station on the sidewalk? Why are all the parking signs on the sidewalk? If these serve vehicles, put them in the street.
Aside from the weirdly wide sidewalk around part of Bushnell Park, our walks are not that spacious. . . and yet:
Once you begin to see the entitlement-saturated car culture, you can’t unsee it.
ALL THE TAPE
Duct and caution tape!
I’ve only seen this in some buses, which makes me think they’re leaving it up to the drivers whether or not passengers are welcome in the bizarre tall seats right up front. Personally, I’d string a roll of fly tape across there too if I were driving, just to make it clear I didn’t want anyone hanging out at the very front.
HAVE SOME PAINT AND PRAYERS
New Britain.
You were doing so well, positively kicking Hartford’s ass when it came to fixing street design.
But then I saw this entrance to Walnut Hill Park and am left wondering.
We’re all tired.
But maybe this is not the place to phone it in.
Why is the entrance to a city park this wide?
What possible reason exists?
The painted bike lane is a nice start. You meant well. But there’s nothing to slow vehicles down.
I mention that because while in the park, angling to snap pic of the sign below, I was nearly clipped by someone barreling through at about 40 MPH. THROUGH THE PARK! Other people walking were also astonished by the speed. What makes this speed possible? Wide roads without obstacles.
The road going through Hartford’s Bushnell Park has been blocked with giant flower pots. When this first happened, there was pushback. A lot of that “won’t somebody think of the children . . . OMG what will emergency vehicles do?!” nonsense. We trust that paramedics & company will save lives, but don’t think they’re smart enough to navigate around obstacles?! The park isn’t fifty miles wide. You can cross it on foot in about five minutes. There are roads around the outside.
The other day, I was able to see how first responders responded to a medical emergency happening not during an event. Let’s just say, there was no considerable time lost and at least three vehicles were in the park for this situation, whatever it was.
Back to New Britain. I look at this striped bike lane (which seems to end) and see a giant missed opportunity. Could you add large flower pots to make this a protected bike lane and give drivers the thought of slowing down? Concrete barriers? Sawhorses? Anything?
Honestly, I’m lost as to why anything wider than 1.5 lanes is needed for automobiles inside a park.
And I can’t even talk about this whole making people walk across a long entrance to get to the sidewalk when a makeshift sidewalk — add barriers to section of pavement — could’ve been created on the side where there’s nothing. Okay, guess I can talk about it.
Y’all. #ThinkBeyondYourself.
(P.S. Mayor Stewart, if you’re reading this, a synagogue is not a church. These are not interchangeable things. Much like how Chanukah is not Jewish Christmas. “Religious buildings” or “houses of worship” would be phrases to use when talking about structures representing different faiths.)
TYPICAL
It has become a joke a Transit Twitter, how the driver who is in too much of a hurry to stop at stop signs, red lights, etc., suddenly has all the time in the world when it comes to harassing cyclists and pedestrians.
If you are headed north on Park Terrace, these are the signs you see before reaching the entrance to Burns elementary school. It very clearly indicates someone should be traveling at lower speeds, though most people drive their vehicles double that through here.
Then, one sees both a road work sign and one announcing the presence of a crosswalk. If the 20 MPH speed limit and previous “construction ahead” sign did not signal to release the gas pedal and start slowing down, these signs, plus to upcoming yield, should do it.
Should.
This morning I was beginning to cross here — at the corner of the elementary school’s property — and someone chose to speed down the hill.
My response was what it generally is: some variation of “WTF asshole,” and even though I was wearing a cardinal red coat and crossing where I was supposed to, I am positive it was my language that made me suddenly visible the the driver, who magically had time to stop after the crosswalk, open his car door, and yell things at me.
This is the third time I’ve had this experience at this exact crossing — I express my displeasure with being ignored and/or nearly hit in the exact spot where I am allowed to be, and a driver yells at and/or threatens me.
I talk about the conditions around this school a lot for a reason, besides that they’re irritating and often dangerous. How are we treating one of the most vulnerable of all vulnerable road users out there, the kids? We like to say we care about children, but from what I have observed here, I am unconvinced. Between the surrounding streets that are still too wide (which means people can drive too fast), the shameful snow removal on and immediately surrounding school property, the debris that’s been in a school crosswalk for over a year, and the people who are willing to stop and get ready to brawl at 8 AM because they were signaled to slow down in a school zone. . . no, I don’t think we care what happens to kids, at least not those in a working class neighborhood.
Florida’s House just passed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. (If you’re not familiar with this, go read about it, stand on a street corner and scream, and then come back) This backwards trash harms children and adults.
Two shotgun shell casings have been in the gutter by West Middle School for the last week. Just sitting there.
There’s been a whole movement to put children at risk by removing protection measures in school, and those fuckers basically won. How many public schools have lifted their mask mandates?
So, I come at this not really believing most of society gives two shits about children. And if we aren’t showing care toward those we pride ourselves in allegedly caring for, what are the odds that anyone else is being protected? I mean, outside of the Central Business District.
As for Park Terrace. . . sure, we will (allegedly) be getting a separated bike lane (eventually) that I thought might help narrow the roundabout’s car lanes, but the diagram shows that the separated bike lane is going to be placed across a grassy area (where trees had been planted..???) and that there might be a stub of a green paint-only bike lane north on Park Terrace. I say “stub” because it seems to only begin after the Burns School driveway and not go the length of Park Terrace. In fact, looking at the diagram, it does not seem to narrow the roadway at all, and if this is the case, that’s another missed opportunity. As always, it seems like we are seeing forward motion, but until we have people in power who walk and ride, this is the treatment we’ll continue to get.
I wonder about the maintenance. It’s not looking good. Will this be another unplowed area? Will car parts sit in the cycle track for months?
In the meantime, I’m seeing cyclists using the center ring of the roundabout as their lane before cutting over to the sidewalk.
I’m not especially optimistic because I have been given no reason to be. We get lots of signs people ignore, and that’s mostly it. “Hartford Cares!”
WHAT NEXT
If you are someone who is tired of contributing to dictators and climate change, but have not managed to reduce your car dependency yet because you are confused or anxious or something about riding public transportation, contact me and if you are in Greater Hartford I will do a city bus test run with you. Why? Because I am all about stripping people of the excuses they use to not make changes when they say they want to.
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