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.
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND TRAVELING
I took the train to New Haven to meet up with the podcast co-host and record our conversation while sitting on a park bench.
The train was actually two minutes early, which I learned when I heard its whistle as I took the first stair leading to the platform. I was uncharacteristically on time instead of early, and I was still trying to take it easy after injuring my foot earlier in the week while gardening, plus, I don’t run. I expected that by the time I climbed the stairs – this was the cool kids entrance, not the one that requires stepping foot indoors – and made it all the way down the platform, the train would have rolled out, but they waited until their scheduled time to depart. It was bizarre seeing nobody left in the waiting area and train doors open but no staff visible. There was a Twilight Zone feel to it, but I got on anyway. Surprisingly, I was not the last person to board.
And then, we arrived in New Haven early. It was a fast trip, the way it should be.
Compare this to just a week earlier when a return trip dragged because there was a problem with the crossing signal or arms, or both, that resulted in the train crawling along, then stopping so an employee in hi-vis could jump off and I couldn’t see but I’m assuming, direct traffic. Then the train slowly proceeded, stopped again, and let the worker back on board. That was annoying, but it was a case of safety before speed, and I wonder how different our roadways would be if all shared this mindset.
But, dang, I know this wasn’t the first time this fail happened because I am on the Internet and have seen others comment on it.
This doesn’t mean trains are bad and cars are good. It means that when you subsidize private transportation for so long, there are basics that slip away – like functioning street crossings.
Once in New Haven, I had time to spare because the friend meeting up with me was driving and was delayed by the highway closure on I-95 – the aftermath of one or both fatal crashes that occured earlier that day.
I was able to get breakfast (Claire’s) and coffee (Atticus), and sit outside in a seating area that was not earmarked for any specific use.
Hartford could do more of this.
Why aren’t there tables outside the Wadsworth Atheneum or across the street next to the captive outdoor art plaza? (I’m sorry, but what else do you call it when you install sculptures on a plaza, but then barricade the space?!) There are a few benches on said plaza, which you wouldn’t know unless living in the towers or looking down, or if you also scoot the barricades aside to go up there.
Something I was not so impressed with was this:
I guess someone using a wheelchair or stroller could go around this obstacle course by taking the bike lane, but that’s not really what bike lanes are for.
Give up the parking lane on the street — problem solved. It’s not like there’s nowhere else for people to store their personal property.
I should note that these pics were taken early morning, before any of the restaurants had opened for the day, in case some troll out there wants to comment on the patio seating not seeming popular.
Last weekend, every table at a taco place was taken in the early afternoon — I picked a time when I thought nobody would be there because it was somewhere between lunch and dinner. Even though a nearby table was filled with super boring and drunk people hollering about golf and Hamden’s tax rate, I would rather they have a place to sit and the place to park on the street.
They really were insufferable though. If you’re going to be drunk and loud, you’re obligated to be entertaining.
In my wandering, I came across a tempting book (above) in a vintage store, but ultimately decided to leave it behind.
Out of habit, I always aim for track 4 on my return trip, but decided to look at the electronic schedule at the station to see if the train was running on time . . . and saw it was going to be on track 1 that day. Why? Couldn’t say. But I will make sure to confirm this in the future so I don’t wind up watching my train leave from the wrong side of the tracks.
PAIN AT THE PUMP
Logic: Because greenhouse gas emissions from fuel-powered cars contribute to the depletion of human habitat, and because gas is allegedly expensive, we are driving only when necessary.
Reality: Bump that! I’m gonna idle in the drive-thru, outside my kid’s school (his lungs can deal with it), and just idle in general when it comes to changing my behavior. And, I’m gonna drive all over the place because freedom. Government meddles far too much, except when they’re subsidizing my murderous habits, like this one.
CASUALTIES
Tuesday morning, I’m shuddering at the news. Over Memorial Day weekend — which exists to honor fallen soldiers but has morphed into something else entirely — there were several fatal car crashes in Connecticut.
Several news outlets ran with the police data and actually published that 10 people were killed in weekend crashes, even though their own reporting indicates that it was more. That’s not like fucking up the number of speeding tickets issued or traffic stops. Those are actual lives forgotten
When I assert things like this, people immediately ask me how I know. Like I’m lying for shits and giggles.
Again: Connecticut’s own local reporters posted news stories over the weekend indicating the traffic violence casualties.
Instead of simply re-posting what the Connecticut State Police released, I looked at the narratives. So, either the cops are wrong — or the State Police are only releasing numbers reflecting what happened on State roads (versus roads in Connecticut), and the media have not made the distinction.
Either way, here is the breakdown:
- (1) Saturday, May 28 at 7:30 AM: Fabian Sosa-Mangual, 17 of Willimantic, was killed when he drove his pickup off Route 6 in Hampton, hitting a guardrail and trees; he was ejected from the vehicle and died on the scene.
- (4) Sunday, May 29 at 2:45 AM: Four people were killed when a motorist chose to drive north on the southbound side of I-95 in Guilford, striking another vehicle head on. The effect: two drivers and two passengers needlessly killed. The dead include Luis Fernando Garduno Cidals, 22, of Westbrook; Johnny Bookhardt, 76 of Norwalk; Caroline Bookhardt, 68, of Norwalk; and Patricia Greene-Kessler, 66, of Norwalk.
- (1) Sunday, May 29 at 7:30 AM: Aymeric Duprelatour, 49, of Niantic, rear-ended a tractor trailer on I-95 southbound in Madison. His vehicle then pinballed into a guardrail. News reports say that the truck had slowed because of impending highway closures, never giving a reason for the closure.
- (1) Sunday, May 29 at 7:12 PM: On North Main Street in Norwich, a currently unidentified motorist took a curve too fast and lost control, striking a utility pole with his/her motorcycle; he/she died on the scene.
- (2) Sunday, May 29 at 7:50 PM: On Route 32 in Franklin, two people were killed in a head-on collision. The passenger died either on the scene or after arriving at the hospital by ambulance, depending on which news outlet you believe; one driver died at the hospital after being taken there via helicopter. The victims of this crash were Jullian Raul Parrilla, 24, and Andre Shamar Wade, 25, both of Windham.
- (4) Monday, May 30 at 5 PM: On Quaddick Town Farm Road in Thompson, four people were killed in a one-vehicle wreck; the vehicle’s fifth occupant was critically injured. Johan Santana, 18, was attempting to pass another vehicle when he drove a Honda Civic off the side of the road, striking a tree. He, along with Jaslin Perez, 21, died at the scene. Two other passengers, Erika Perez and Lizandra Terrero Almonte, both 21, died from their injuries in the hospital. At least three of the four deceased are from Providence, RI.
Thirteen deaths on Connecticut’s roadways in three days. . . and let’s hope that the fifth passenger in that Thompson crash pulls through.
We are not going to “Individual Vigilance” or “personal responsibility” our way out of this. We’ve been trying that approach for a century and it hasn’t worked, and if you ask me (you’re here, you’re reading this, that counts as asking) personal responsibility should extend to that decision to get behind the wheel/handlebars in the first place . . . and not only as a question of “Am I too tired to drive? Am I too drunk to drive?” but “Should I be making this trip at all when the planet is burning?” except let’s fix that sentence, shall we: “Humans are burning this planet up. Should I make it worse by driving, or could I do something else?”
I want to see needless sober driving stigmatized as much as drunk driving. Perhaps more people would choose other modes when they consider risk and impact.
Along those lines, we need to normalize public transportation and other modes of transport.
Engineering is our biggest fail, followed by the stubborn refusal to bring in automated speed and light enforcement, but if we’re going to talk personal responsibility, we need to go beyond the thinking that crashes happen simply because someone made the wrong choice.
Did the driver make the wrong choice? Often. So did the engineers who designed most of these roads. So did the people who won’t allow automated enforcement. They also have responsibility.
Over the weekend, local news continuously posted headlines announcing that one State Park or another was filled to capacity. I’ve screamed about this before. I’ve even made a post explaining how to get to places, including state parks, by bus. I’ve detailed how to do car-free vacations.
A parking lot being full does not mean that a park is closed. You can still show up on bike. You can walk in from the bus stop. You just can’t store your car there.
So, being annoyed by lazy writing that creates confusion, I tried to get a thread going on Twitter so that the locals I know who’ve biked to the beaches and other places could chime in.
My own list includes: Air Line, Beaver Brook, Bolton Notch, Dinosaur, Hop River, Goodwin, Penwood, River Highlands, West Rock Ridge, Windsor Locks Canal, and Windsor Meadows. That’s just the State Parks and Forests. That doesn’t include town parks, natural area preserves, land trusts, nor islands in the Connecticut River.
When we talk about normalizing movement beyond cars, we need to talk about more than work commutes and more than pure recreation, because if you look at bus and train schedules, you’ll see that these don’t always accommodate people looking to go hiking on a Sunday.
Why isn’t there a bus that runs every Saturday, Sunday, and weekday holiday in warmer months connecting Hartford directly to either Hammonasset or Rocky Neck? It wouldn’t have to be hourly. Maybe two outbound — one early morning, one late morning — and two inbound — one early afternoon, one early evening.
While I’m over here dreaming, whose ass must I kiss for there to be a Connecticut Wine Trail bus? It wouldn’t have to cover the entire trail, but the bus could pick up from the New London train station and make stops at the three or four closest vineyards to it. There are two vineyards near the Madison train station. Let us have nice things. Let us do wine tasting without getting behind the wheel.
WHAT ELSE?
Last week I did something to mess up my ankle. I’ve been blaming it on gardening, which seems pathetic, but less pathetic than if I hurt it simply by stepping wrong getting out of bed. I’m refusing to believe that possibility. Regardless, my ankle area hurt, but not enough for me to think I shouldn’t walk to work. . . so I did. While there, it seemed to feel worse, and then when I took the stairs later, I could tell that something was just not right.
Did I Uber home? Did I hitch a ride? Did I take the bus part way? Did I even take the most direct walking route?
C’mon now.
A book I ordered was awaiting pickup from the Twain House, and it could’ve sat there for weeks, I imagine, but I wanted to get reading it. That would not have been much out of my way. But then I had in my head that I wanted a coffee, and not from the pink and orange chain. This would take me to Capitol Avenue. It wasn’t that far out of my way except that Flower Street is closed so I had to overshoot to Broad Street and it was when I turned that corner that my ankle began to screech at me. Mind you, as is the rule, when I most want an e-scooter, there are none around.
After getting my coffee and limping home, I spent the next 2.5 days doing the things I think are supposed to happen after an injury — begging a neighbor to deliver an ace bandage and Ibuprofren since why would I keep either? — and got a moderate case of cabin fever.
During that ordeal, I also got irritated because the Sigourney Street bridge would’ve shortened my walk home, but this is what it’s looking like these days on the safe(r) side of the bridge.
Other things?
I’ve noticed how on Park Terrace, a sign either turned or was hastily installed, so that this warning is facing nobody who needs to see it. This is for yet another construction project — something at the Burns School.
Sometimes it really does feel like the world is an obstacle course, which is especially obnoxious when there are all these problems — gun violence, traffic violence, all the things — that pose other obstacles.
I went out for a recreational (rather than commute) walk through my neighborhood on one of the sweltering days and came across someone’s beached car on the sidewalk.
That was hardly the top issue I walked by, but FFS, why do people think this is okay?!
There was this bench at Laurel and Park. Did it give up? Was it pushed? Did someone ram their vehicle into it?
On another day, I saw a whole ped head (the pedestrian crossing light posts) toppled, but didn’t get a pic as I was on the train. That was on Hamilton Street. How does this happen? A light breeze? Nah. Probably a car crash. The light still seemed to be working while it laid on the ground. The alignment of that light wasn’t ever great anyway for those walking east on Hamilton and trying to see beyond the railroad signs.
Earlier in the week, I was walking on Woodland Street when again I felt how narrow the sidewalks were, especially in comparison to the space given up for cars. Normally when I feel cramped, it’s because someone from one of the buildings is seated on the edge of the sidewalk, smoking. There’s not much space to avoid her and half the time there’s someone walking in the opposite direction.
On this day, there were several people (not all visible in pic taken with phone) walking on the sidewalk, including someone with a mobility device, plus the person riding his bicycle.
Of course the bicycle should be on the street, but Woodland Street is not safely designed for humans. This person was inching along and respectful of the others in the space. Wouldn’t it be nice, though, if the many cyclists I see on Woodland — almost all of whom use the sidewalk — had a barrier-protected lane to use? What will it take to get one east-west and one north-south protected bike route up in here?
Also seen on Woodland Street:
I appreciate the effort, though the handwritten sign seems way too small for drivers to notice.
This morning, I found $20 on the sidewalk. Then, as I crossed a bridge, the train was rolling below. It seemed like the work week was off to a fine start, until I walked by a street closed off by police. There was no smoke. There was no cracked up car. I assumed it was a murder. Not cool.
At the end of the block there were emergency vehicles parked in a lot. This made everything more confusing, and it looked like a crossing guard was possibly being treated for something. It was already hot as hell in the morning and there’s no shade on the corner where she’s posted.
One block later, and I’m smelling these gorgeous roses.
It turns out to be (at least so far) a non-fatal shooting that was reported (maybe misreported?) to have happened on a different nearby street. So maybe what I walked by was where the person was found? Unclear.
From the outside, I think people assume that crime scenes are transparent. That it’s always a lie when someone shoots or stabs another, and there are no witnesses, or people’s stories contradict. It’s easy to not know what went down. It’s been fireworks season for a few weeks now, and I think I can tell the difference between fireworks and gunshots, there are some fireworks that sound similar, and there are people who really can’t distinguish between the two. Are early weekday fireworks common? Not as much as weekend evening, but people absolutely light shit off at all times of day. There’s also the bridge construction not far at all from where it seems the shooting happened. The noise from that can drown out pretty much anything.
Anyway, a crash site is easier to read than a personal violence site.
The last car-free related thing worth mentioning this week is really just a pic of yet another contender for redevelopment:
This massive, unused State of Connecticut-owned surface parking lot on the corner of Laurel and Capitol is one more space that could be converted to housing? It covers 1.52 acres. On the other side of this lot are tennis courts and a small park with a pond.
But who would want to live next to the highway?
Well, we all know one way to fix that problem.
WHAT NEXT?
Here’s what I’d love, readers. In the comment section, please share which Connecticut State Parks & Forests you’ve visited (ever. . . not just this year) without using a car to get there. If you could, whenever you see someone post/publish/broadcast that parks are filled to capacity, correct them if what they mean is that the parking lots are full. Words shape how we understand the world.
Car-Free Diaries: Week 26
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.
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND TRAVELING
I took the train to New Haven to meet up with the podcast co-host and record our conversation while sitting on a park bench.
The train was actually two minutes early, which I learned when I heard its whistle as I took the first stair leading to the platform. I was uncharacteristically on time instead of early, and I was still trying to take it easy after injuring my foot earlier in the week while gardening, plus, I don’t run. I expected that by the time I climbed the stairs – this was the cool kids entrance, not the one that requires stepping foot indoors – and made it all the way down the platform, the train would have rolled out, but they waited until their scheduled time to depart. It was bizarre seeing nobody left in the waiting area and train doors open but no staff visible. There was a Twilight Zone feel to it, but I got on anyway. Surprisingly, I was not the last person to board.
And then, we arrived in New Haven early. It was a fast trip, the way it should be.
Compare this to just a week earlier when a return trip dragged because there was a problem with the crossing signal or arms, or both, that resulted in the train crawling along, then stopping so an employee in hi-vis could jump off and I couldn’t see but I’m assuming, direct traffic. Then the train slowly proceeded, stopped again, and let the worker back on board. That was annoying, but it was a case of safety before speed, and I wonder how different our roadways would be if all shared this mindset.
But, dang, I know this wasn’t the first time this fail happened because I am on the Internet and have seen others comment on it.
This doesn’t mean trains are bad and cars are good. It means that when you subsidize private transportation for so long, there are basics that slip away – like functioning street crossings.
Once in New Haven, I had time to spare because the friend meeting up with me was driving and was delayed by the highway closure on I-95 – the aftermath of one or both fatal crashes that occured earlier that day.
I was able to get breakfast (Claire’s) and coffee (Atticus), and sit outside in a seating area that was not earmarked for any specific use.
Hartford could do more of this.
Why aren’t there tables outside the Wadsworth Atheneum or across the street next to the captive outdoor art plaza? (I’m sorry, but what else do you call it when you install sculptures on a plaza, but then barricade the space?!) There are a few benches on said plaza, which you wouldn’t know unless living in the towers or looking down, or if you also scoot the barricades aside to go up there.
Something I was not so impressed with was this:
I guess someone using a wheelchair or stroller could go around this obstacle course by taking the bike lane, but that’s not really what bike lanes are for.
Give up the parking lane on the street — problem solved. It’s not like there’s nowhere else for people to store their personal property.
I should note that these pics were taken early morning, before any of the restaurants had opened for the day, in case some troll out there wants to comment on the patio seating not seeming popular.
Last weekend, every table at a taco place was taken in the early afternoon — I picked a time when I thought nobody would be there because it was somewhere between lunch and dinner. Even though a nearby table was filled with super boring and drunk people hollering about golf and Hamden’s tax rate, I would rather they have a place to sit and the place to park on the street.
They really were insufferable though. If you’re going to be drunk and loud, you’re obligated to be entertaining.
In my wandering, I came across a tempting book (above) in a vintage store, but ultimately decided to leave it behind.
Out of habit, I always aim for track 4 on my return trip, but decided to look at the electronic schedule at the station to see if the train was running on time . . . and saw it was going to be on track 1 that day. Why? Couldn’t say. But I will make sure to confirm this in the future so I don’t wind up watching my train leave from the wrong side of the tracks.
PAIN AT THE PUMP
Logic: Because greenhouse gas emissions from fuel-powered cars contribute to the depletion of human habitat, and because gas is allegedly expensive, we are driving only when necessary.
Reality: Bump that! I’m gonna idle in the drive-thru, outside my kid’s school (his lungs can deal with it), and just idle in general when it comes to changing my behavior. And, I’m gonna drive all over the place because freedom. Government meddles far too much, except when they’re subsidizing my murderous habits, like this one.
CASUALTIES
Tuesday morning, I’m shuddering at the news. Over Memorial Day weekend — which exists to honor fallen soldiers but has morphed into something else entirely — there were several fatal car crashes in Connecticut.
Several news outlets ran with the police data and actually published that 10 people were killed in weekend crashes, even though their own reporting indicates that it was more. That’s not like fucking up the number of speeding tickets issued or traffic stops. Those are actual lives forgotten
When I assert things like this, people immediately ask me how I know. Like I’m lying for shits and giggles.
Again: Connecticut’s own local reporters posted news stories over the weekend indicating the traffic violence casualties.
Instead of simply re-posting what the Connecticut State Police released, I looked at the narratives. So, either the cops are wrong — or the State Police are only releasing numbers reflecting what happened on State roads (versus roads in Connecticut), and the media have not made the distinction.
Either way, here is the breakdown:
Thirteen deaths on Connecticut’s roadways in three days. . . and let’s hope that the fifth passenger in that Thompson crash pulls through.
We are not going to “Individual Vigilance” or “personal responsibility” our way out of this. We’ve been trying that approach for a century and it hasn’t worked, and if you ask me (you’re here, you’re reading this, that counts as asking) personal responsibility should extend to that decision to get behind the wheel/handlebars in the first place . . . and not only as a question of “Am I too tired to drive? Am I too drunk to drive?” but “Should I be making this trip at all when the planet is burning?” except let’s fix that sentence, shall we: “Humans are burning this planet up. Should I make it worse by driving, or could I do something else?”
I want to see needless sober driving stigmatized as much as drunk driving. Perhaps more people would choose other modes when they consider risk and impact.
Along those lines, we need to normalize public transportation and other modes of transport.
Engineering is our biggest fail, followed by the stubborn refusal to bring in automated speed and light enforcement, but if we’re going to talk personal responsibility, we need to go beyond the thinking that crashes happen simply because someone made the wrong choice.
Did the driver make the wrong choice? Often. So did the engineers who designed most of these roads. So did the people who won’t allow automated enforcement. They also have responsibility.
Over the weekend, local news continuously posted headlines announcing that one State Park or another was filled to capacity. I’ve screamed about this before. I’ve even made a post explaining how to get to places, including state parks, by bus. I’ve detailed how to do car-free vacations.
A parking lot being full does not mean that a park is closed. You can still show up on bike. You can walk in from the bus stop. You just can’t store your car there.
So, being annoyed by lazy writing that creates confusion, I tried to get a thread going on Twitter so that the locals I know who’ve biked to the beaches and other places could chime in.
My own list includes: Air Line, Beaver Brook, Bolton Notch, Dinosaur, Hop River, Goodwin, Penwood, River Highlands, West Rock Ridge, Windsor Locks Canal, and Windsor Meadows. That’s just the State Parks and Forests. That doesn’t include town parks, natural area preserves, land trusts, nor islands in the Connecticut River.
When we talk about normalizing movement beyond cars, we need to talk about more than work commutes and more than pure recreation, because if you look at bus and train schedules, you’ll see that these don’t always accommodate people looking to go hiking on a Sunday.
Why isn’t there a bus that runs every Saturday, Sunday, and weekday holiday in warmer months connecting Hartford directly to either Hammonasset or Rocky Neck? It wouldn’t have to be hourly. Maybe two outbound — one early morning, one late morning — and two inbound — one early afternoon, one early evening.
While I’m over here dreaming, whose ass must I kiss for there to be a Connecticut Wine Trail bus? It wouldn’t have to cover the entire trail, but the bus could pick up from the New London train station and make stops at the three or four closest vineyards to it. There are two vineyards near the Madison train station. Let us have nice things. Let us do wine tasting without getting behind the wheel.
WHAT ELSE?
Last week I did something to mess up my ankle. I’ve been blaming it on gardening, which seems pathetic, but less pathetic than if I hurt it simply by stepping wrong getting out of bed. I’m refusing to believe that possibility. Regardless, my ankle area hurt, but not enough for me to think I shouldn’t walk to work. . . so I did. While there, it seemed to feel worse, and then when I took the stairs later, I could tell that something was just not right.
Did I Uber home? Did I hitch a ride? Did I take the bus part way? Did I even take the most direct walking route?
C’mon now.
A book I ordered was awaiting pickup from the Twain House, and it could’ve sat there for weeks, I imagine, but I wanted to get reading it. That would not have been much out of my way. But then I had in my head that I wanted a coffee, and not from the pink and orange chain. This would take me to Capitol Avenue. It wasn’t that far out of my way except that Flower Street is closed so I had to overshoot to Broad Street and it was when I turned that corner that my ankle began to screech at me. Mind you, as is the rule, when I most want an e-scooter, there are none around.
After getting my coffee and limping home, I spent the next 2.5 days doing the things I think are supposed to happen after an injury — begging a neighbor to deliver an ace bandage and Ibuprofren since why would I keep either? — and got a moderate case of cabin fever.
During that ordeal, I also got irritated because the Sigourney Street bridge would’ve shortened my walk home, but this is what it’s looking like these days on the safe(r) side of the bridge.
Other things?
I’ve noticed how on Park Terrace, a sign either turned or was hastily installed, so that this warning is facing nobody who needs to see it. This is for yet another construction project — something at the Burns School.
Sometimes it really does feel like the world is an obstacle course, which is especially obnoxious when there are all these problems — gun violence, traffic violence, all the things — that pose other obstacles.
I went out for a recreational (rather than commute) walk through my neighborhood on one of the sweltering days and came across someone’s beached car on the sidewalk.
That was hardly the top issue I walked by, but FFS, why do people think this is okay?!
There was this bench at Laurel and Park. Did it give up? Was it pushed? Did someone ram their vehicle into it?
On another day, I saw a whole ped head (the pedestrian crossing light posts) toppled, but didn’t get a pic as I was on the train. That was on Hamilton Street. How does this happen? A light breeze? Nah. Probably a car crash. The light still seemed to be working while it laid on the ground. The alignment of that light wasn’t ever great anyway for those walking east on Hamilton and trying to see beyond the railroad signs.
Earlier in the week, I was walking on Woodland Street when again I felt how narrow the sidewalks were, especially in comparison to the space given up for cars. Normally when I feel cramped, it’s because someone from one of the buildings is seated on the edge of the sidewalk, smoking. There’s not much space to avoid her and half the time there’s someone walking in the opposite direction.
On this day, there were several people (not all visible in pic taken with phone) walking on the sidewalk, including someone with a mobility device, plus the person riding his bicycle.
Of course the bicycle should be on the street, but Woodland Street is not safely designed for humans. This person was inching along and respectful of the others in the space. Wouldn’t it be nice, though, if the many cyclists I see on Woodland — almost all of whom use the sidewalk — had a barrier-protected lane to use? What will it take to get one east-west and one north-south protected bike route up in here?
Also seen on Woodland Street:
I appreciate the effort, though the handwritten sign seems way too small for drivers to notice.
This morning, I found $20 on the sidewalk. Then, as I crossed a bridge, the train was rolling below. It seemed like the work week was off to a fine start, until I walked by a street closed off by police. There was no smoke. There was no cracked up car. I assumed it was a murder. Not cool.
At the end of the block there were emergency vehicles parked in a lot. This made everything more confusing, and it looked like a crossing guard was possibly being treated for something. It was already hot as hell in the morning and there’s no shade on the corner where she’s posted.
One block later, and I’m smelling these gorgeous roses.
It turns out to be (at least so far) a non-fatal shooting that was reported (maybe misreported?) to have happened on a different nearby street. So maybe what I walked by was where the person was found? Unclear.
From the outside, I think people assume that crime scenes are transparent. That it’s always a lie when someone shoots or stabs another, and there are no witnesses, or people’s stories contradict. It’s easy to not know what went down. It’s been fireworks season for a few weeks now, and I think I can tell the difference between fireworks and gunshots, there are some fireworks that sound similar, and there are people who really can’t distinguish between the two. Are early weekday fireworks common? Not as much as weekend evening, but people absolutely light shit off at all times of day. There’s also the bridge construction not far at all from where it seems the shooting happened. The noise from that can drown out pretty much anything.
Anyway, a crash site is easier to read than a personal violence site.
The last car-free related thing worth mentioning this week is really just a pic of yet another contender for redevelopment:
This massive, unused State of Connecticut-owned surface parking lot on the corner of Laurel and Capitol is one more space that could be converted to housing? It covers 1.52 acres. On the other side of this lot are tennis courts and a small park with a pond.
But who would want to live next to the highway?
Well, we all know one way to fix that problem.
WHAT NEXT?
Here’s what I’d love, readers. In the comment section, please share which Connecticut State Parks & Forests you’ve visited (ever. . . not just this year) without using a car to get there. If you could, whenever you see someone post/publish/broadcast that parks are filled to capacity, correct them if what they mean is that the parking lots are full. Words shape how we understand the world.
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