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News & ArtsTuesday, December 23, 2008
City Myopia, Thy Name is Joel Connelly
Posted by Erica C. Barnett on Tue, Dec 23, 2008 at 6:48 PM
P-I columnist Joel Connelly, whining about his bus that never came:
The No. 3 was nowhere to be seen, at least by those of us who gave it a 45-minute wait. [...] The non-appearance of the No. 3 puzzles me.
Metro's web site:
Routes temporarily suspended:2, 3, 4...
But go ahead, Joel—blame the "social engineers" for your failure to go online and see that your bus had been canceled. After all, if it wasn't for that plastic bag fee, we'd have a million billion snow plows and buses that go straight from the P-I to your front door!
2
Solipsism, thy name is ECB.
When ECB is inconvenience by a handicapped person, her questions about public transit policy are reasonable dialogue.
When others are inconvenienced, it is whining, in the universe which revolves around ECB's head.
When ECB is inconvenience by a handicapped person, her questions about public transit policy are reasonable dialogue.
When others are inconvenienced, it is whining, in the universe which revolves around ECB's head.
3
He forgot to mention how Light Rail (MAX) in Portland went tits up and how Sounder fell apart this morning.
4
The nastiness level in the comments is definitely rising. I diagnose cabin fever.
But really, ECB has a point. Mr. Connelly seems to have proved that he is incapable of using the web, or the telephone either. This is not journalism.
But really, ECB has a point. Mr. Connelly seems to have proved that he is incapable of using the web, or the telephone either. This is not journalism.
5
The political blowback that will occur as a result of the civic incompetence we're seeing now will resonate for a long time to come. Picking apart one little side point doesn't change that.
On the larger point the column is making, Connelly is right (um, wow), and ECB is wrong.
By the way, Erica - have you been going in to work or telecommuting? I'd say the cavalier tenor of your coverage regarding the fact that a whole lot of people can't get around would indicate that it's the latter.
(That said, my apologies if you are just as inconvenienced by the failure to clear the roads as the rest of us, and you've bravely put your self interest in an occasional road salting -if only to get some buses back on the road - aside out of pure altruism and concern for the environment).
On the larger point the column is making, Connelly is right (um, wow), and ECB is wrong.
By the way, Erica - have you been going in to work or telecommuting? I'd say the cavalier tenor of your coverage regarding the fact that a whole lot of people can't get around would indicate that it's the latter.
(That said, my apologies if you are just as inconvenienced by the failure to clear the roads as the rest of us, and you've bravely put your self interest in an occasional road salting -if only to get some buses back on the road - aside out of pure altruism and concern for the environment).
6
Joe Conneley said
Fucking thousandaires and their thousand dollar possessions. And their... their... children. Who, like, love them. Who needs love, anyway? Thousandiare yuppies you make me sick.
...Parents are towing little kids, the enchanted and the uncomfortable, around in sleds.Aieeeee! Die Joe Connell! Die! How DARE you? How DARE they!
Fucking thousandaires and their thousand dollar possessions. And their... their... children. Who, like, love them. Who needs love, anyway? Thousandiare yuppies you make me sick.
7
Connelly is a hack. Of course New Hampshire has snow plows. Duh. Why on earth would we buy millions of dollars of snow plows to use once every 20 years? Get a fucking grip.
8
...on second thought, the example ECB chooses to grind her axe against Connelly and his larger point is telling in and of itself.
Joel represents the old folks who are a big part of the population reliant on transit, and they have dial-up internet connections if any at all. Not spending their every waking moment online, those folks show up at the bus stop (on a route Connelly takes pains to mention historically is functional in the snow, and heaven knows he's probably qualified to know) in good faith and have NO information at the bus stop that the route's been cancelled, or where they should catch the bus if the route has changed.
Believe it or not, this is the kind of stuff people think government should spend their time doing.
Joel represents the old folks who are a big part of the population reliant on transit, and they have dial-up internet connections if any at all. Not spending their every waking moment online, those folks show up at the bus stop (on a route Connelly takes pains to mention historically is functional in the snow, and heaven knows he's probably qualified to know) in good faith and have NO information at the bus stop that the route's been cancelled, or where they should catch the bus if the route has changed.
Believe it or not, this is the kind of stuff people think government should spend their time doing.
10
What? Not everyone has an iPhone or Blackberry that they can pull out at the bus stop to check status? Shocking!
The really funny thing about all this is that my bus--the 36--is NEVER on time and frequently leaves people waiting because it's too full. Hot, cold, wet, dry, windy--the 36 runs when it is able, which isn't often.
We're used to 45 minute waits. We mock your 45 minute wait. In fact, the best part about the snow is that we haven't had to pay for the privilege.
Back to the point at hand, Joel Connelly might not represent Slog readers, but ECB almost certainly doesn't represent Seattle Times readers. We need to learn bridge this communication gap.
The really funny thing about all this is that my bus--the 36--is NEVER on time and frequently leaves people waiting because it's too full. Hot, cold, wet, dry, windy--the 36 runs when it is able, which isn't often.
We're used to 45 minute waits. We mock your 45 minute wait. In fact, the best part about the snow is that we haven't had to pay for the privilege.
Back to the point at hand, Joel Connelly might not represent Slog readers, but ECB almost certainly doesn't represent Seattle Times readers. We need to learn bridge this communication gap.
11
and of COURSE - the ten posts at Slog from Stranger posters, and several hundred comments --- all aobut -- what ? Metro and its no functioning in any rspect.
Can't keep the site updated, can't put the chains on right, can't keep shuttles going on good routes ... they have utterly failed.
BUT, wait, Joe complains with a reasoned effort --- attack, attack, go for blood like a good jackal would ....
Erica you have no shame.
Can't keep the site updated, can't put the chains on right, can't keep shuttles going on good routes ... they have utterly failed.
BUT, wait, Joe complains with a reasoned effort --- attack, attack, go for blood like a good jackal would ....
Erica you have no shame.
12
So it's no inconvenience for Alaska to cancel all its flights, as long as they say so on the web?
The thrust of Joel's piece is that Seattle isn't doing much to improve road conditions (including the conditions for busses), as compared with surrounding cities facing similiar conditions. That much is probably indisputable. You may think that Seattle is right to de-prioritize road coniditions as compared to other goals, but that's a difference of opinion on the proper role of government, not myopia or misreporting on Joel's part.
The thrust of Joel's piece is that Seattle isn't doing much to improve road conditions (including the conditions for busses), as compared with surrounding cities facing similiar conditions. That much is probably indisputable. You may think that Seattle is right to de-prioritize road coniditions as compared to other goals, but that's a difference of opinion on the proper role of government, not myopia or misreporting on Joel's part.
13
Yeah! The P-I sucks!
They need to hire people like Erica Barnett. Or Emily White. Emily White would be GREAT at the P-I. She's such a pro.
I bet Erica Barnett would just as great.
They need to hire people like Erica Barnett. Or Emily White. Emily White would be GREAT at the P-I. She's such a pro.
I bet Erica Barnett would just as great.
14
Wasn't Joel the guy who ridiculed the monorail saying that people wouldn't walk a half-mile to a monorail station? When did he turn into Mr. Mass Transit? Is there a bus stop within stone's-throw of where he lives or something?
15
@5: "The political blowback that will occur as a result of the civic incompetence we're seeing now will resonate for a long time to come."
I've heard that at least 3 times over the the last 30 years. Most notably, as Mr. X well knows, from Charlie Chong.
And it never really comes to pass. We just don't get snow of this level often enough for it to really make a political difference.
In Chicago or other areas where snow actually happens, political careers live and die by snow removal. But here? Not so much.
Few people think less of mayor lardass than I do, but on this one? Whatever.
Metro, on the other hand, seriously needs to come up with some better contingency planning.
I've heard that at least 3 times over the the last 30 years. Most notably, as Mr. X well knows, from Charlie Chong.
And it never really comes to pass. We just don't get snow of this level often enough for it to really make a political difference.
In Chicago or other areas where snow actually happens, political careers live and die by snow removal. But here? Not so much.
Few people think less of mayor lardass than I do, but on this one? Whatever.
Metro, on the other hand, seriously needs to come up with some better contingency planning.
16
Metro could also produce next month's passes, they're currently unavailable with the dubious caveat that December's will be valid until they can manage to get January's out sometime in January.
17
The Metro web site hasn't been particularly helpful. My bus has been on again, off again the suspended list for the past couple days, but not actually running. It's like they take it off the list, try to run one, it doesn't work, and they put it back on. In the meantime I stood outside for an hour this morning for nothing. So he kind of has a point.
My neighborhood is on day FIVE of zero bus service. Nothing. Nada. I don't have a car, taxis won't come and the sidewalks are slick as fuck. It's getting a little ridiculous.
My neighborhood is on day FIVE of zero bus service. Nothing. Nada. I don't have a car, taxis won't come and the sidewalks are slick as fuck. It's getting a little ridiculous.
18
If climate zones really are changing, sayyy, moving southward from what used to be normal a few hundred miles north, then won't Seattle be looking in the future at weather that is currently normal in British Columbia? Maybe investing in some snow removal equipment might not be so insane...
BTW, some people have to show up at work or they don't get paid. Those tend to be people who can't afford cars, car insurance, tabs, snow tires, chains, internet service to check bus availability, etc.
BTW, some people have to show up at work or they don't get paid. Those tend to be people who can't afford cars, car insurance, tabs, snow tires, chains, internet service to check bus availability, etc.
19
I work for the city in what is considered an essential position and the city constantly encourages me to use public transport to get to work. My street, 1 block off a major arterial and on a major bus line, has yet to be plowed, sanded, or anything. My "eco-friendly" vehicle has been stuck in the driveway since last weekend. The only way I've been able to get to my essential position is by driving my 4x4 which is shared with my partner who works in Redmond. This has meant that I have been only available to work on different hours AND even those hours have been nearly impossible due to Metro and SDOT's bumbling.
ECB can support the 'salt ban' all she wants but the reason I5, I90, I520, and I405 are operating smoothly is because the state IS using salt. That we can operate transit lines from rural Sno county to downtown but not from the CD and Capitol Hill to downtown is pure testimony that the 'no salt' rule does not work.
The 'low-sodium' crowd also seems to think that other chemicals are being spared from Puget Sound but, in reality, the city is even more reliant on chemical de-icers with an unproven environmental track record to compensate for not having salt in their arsenal.
WSDOT uses SALT on Snoqualmie and Stevens passes but there still seem to be plenty of healthy trees up there. What we reasonable Seattle residents are requesting is that the city take a REASONABLE and MEASURED response using salt when appropriate.
While walking up Denny tonight the guy behind me was on his cell. He was requesting a transfer because after this long Denny was still closed to traffic. I won't digress into the fact that he then lost his mind when some Seattle Dipshit drove her Subaru around the signs only to get stuck at the next intersection.
I've paid all the same taxes as ECB....
PLUS
Property Tax
MV Excise Tax (x2... currently)
MV Sales Tax (x2)
Gas Tax (x2)
Higher Fed Income Tax
--and probably more
I am having a difficult time getting to my ESSENTIAL public employment. At my job I have been limited to working from a desk as opposed to providing the expected 'field work' because of the city's unwillingness to salt.
The city needs to step up on sanding/plowing/salting or I will be adding another gas-guzzling 4x4 to the mix. Tell me how this benefits the environmental profile of the region... If ECB were any manner of journalist at all I would probably be livid. Thank Geebus nobody takes The Stranger seriously.
More...
ECB can support the 'salt ban' all she wants but the reason I5, I90, I520, and I405 are operating smoothly is because the state IS using salt. That we can operate transit lines from rural Sno county to downtown but not from the CD and Capitol Hill to downtown is pure testimony that the 'no salt' rule does not work.
The 'low-sodium' crowd also seems to think that other chemicals are being spared from Puget Sound but, in reality, the city is even more reliant on chemical de-icers with an unproven environmental track record to compensate for not having salt in their arsenal.
WSDOT uses SALT on Snoqualmie and Stevens passes but there still seem to be plenty of healthy trees up there. What we reasonable Seattle residents are requesting is that the city take a REASONABLE and MEASURED response using salt when appropriate.
While walking up Denny tonight the guy behind me was on his cell. He was requesting a transfer because after this long Denny was still closed to traffic. I won't digress into the fact that he then lost his mind when some Seattle Dipshit drove her Subaru around the signs only to get stuck at the next intersection.
I've paid all the same taxes as ECB....
PLUS
Property Tax
MV Excise Tax (x2... currently)
MV Sales Tax (x2)
Gas Tax (x2)
Higher Fed Income Tax
--and probably more
I am having a difficult time getting to my ESSENTIAL public employment. At my job I have been limited to working from a desk as opposed to providing the expected 'field work' because of the city's unwillingness to salt.
The city needs to step up on sanding/plowing/salting or I will be adding another gas-guzzling 4x4 to the mix. Tell me how this benefits the environmental profile of the region... If ECB were any manner of journalist at all I would probably be livid. Thank Geebus nobody takes The Stranger seriously.
21
why are you always overreacting about how exasperating everyone else is
you are desperate for failure, and coddle/kill like a munchausen mom
it's really annoying
you are desperate for failure, and coddle/kill like a munchausen mom
it's really annoying
22
@15,
Point well taken - I would have done better to specify that it will have a serious effect on the 2009 election cycle (which it will) rather than imply the longer term (which, sadly, it probably won't).
Point well taken - I would have done better to specify that it will have a serious effect on the 2009 election cycle (which it will) rather than imply the longer term (which, sadly, it probably won't).
24
@15,
Metro could certainly do better with regard to contingency planning (see my post about the need to list cancellations and re-routes at bus stops), but it's not their job to clear the streets.
Metro could certainly do better with regard to contingency planning (see my post about the need to list cancellations and re-routes at bus stops), but it's not their job to clear the streets.
26
Erica, you are wrong. Metro's web site is completely, inexcusably, irrevocably fucked. It has absolutely no relation to what is actually happening on the streets. I waited for about two hours in the bus tunnel today. The 71, 72, and 73 northbound were not even running. The 41 came by in groups of two once every hour, each full to capacity so nobody else could get on. The 301 came exactly once, and when it did the driver said he wasn't stopping anywhere before Shoreline. As much as I don't want to admit it, Joel Connelly is completely correct - Metro has failed at its two tasks of 1) making the buses run and 2) informing the public about how the buses will run.
27
@23 What it will take is to get a viable candidate into the race which, unfortunately, Seattle folks are incapable of doing. (sigh)
30
Why can't Metro put immediate real-time info (via GPS locators) about exactly where the buses are on their website? We would see a map with moving dots to represent the wayward buses. I'd get a Blackberry just for that reason. This is my second day walking to and from my job, about 4 miles each way.
32
@19 said:
"The city needs to step up on sanding/plowing/salting or I will be adding another gas-guzzling 4x4 to the mix."
Sure, buy a SUV, there are still some really good deals out there from when the market crashed after gas went to $4 something a gallon. But gas is cheap now, so go for it, it probably won't go up again.
Pay no attention to the fact we have this kind of snow accumulation---what, every 5-9 years on average? I mean for those four or six long days once every 5 to 9 years when all wheel drive might come in handy, you definitely should have an SUV at your disposal. Makes sense to me.
"The city needs to step up on sanding/plowing/salting or I will be adding another gas-guzzling 4x4 to the mix."
Sure, buy a SUV, there are still some really good deals out there from when the market crashed after gas went to $4 something a gallon. But gas is cheap now, so go for it, it probably won't go up again.
Pay no attention to the fact we have this kind of snow accumulation---what, every 5-9 years on average? I mean for those four or six long days once every 5 to 9 years when all wheel drive might come in handy, you definitely should have an SUV at your disposal. Makes sense to me.
33
All this whining about how "Seattle needs to invest in salting/sanding/plowing" will come to a screeching halt as soon as the tax/fee to pay for said services is presented.
Okay, it won't come to a halt, but it will become pure screeching. And then the NBA will suggest they might be lured back here if we build them a shiny new stadium, and the city will be distracted until the next time this happens. Has everyone forgotten the gigantic fucking deficit we're facing?
Okay, it won't come to a halt, but it will become pure screeching. And then the NBA will suggest they might be lured back here if we build them a shiny new stadium, and the city will be distracted until the next time this happens. Has everyone forgotten the gigantic fucking deficit we're facing?
34
Assuming a $4 million per year budget for salting/sanding/plowing, the fee would come to what, about $20 a household. And $4 million is probably way high---Chicago's snow removal budget is about $20 million a year.
35
JHoel Connelly can actually board a bus? A man that large and OLD, I would bare expect to be able t ostand.
It's almost a miracle he can.
It's almost a miracle he can.
36
More Bad News from the World of Rail!!
Horrified passengers forced to wait TWENTY FOUR HOURS for service!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local…
Horrified passengers forced to wait TWENTY FOUR HOURS for service!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local…
37
Sounder Snowed In During Snowstorm.
Stays at home, watches cartoons as harried customers forced to tried and true bus service:
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seatt…
Stays at home, watches cartoons as harried customers forced to tried and true bus service:
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seatt…
38
Hope all the pagans (i celebrate as well) had a good Solstice - bonfires, snowstorms. Excellent year for a godly sacrifice.
40
from the Chicago Tribune this morning:
"By about 5 a.m. today, after working on side streets all night, many drivers of the city's 298 snow trucks switched to garbage truck duty, Streets and Sanitation spokesman Matt Smith said. But a number of snow trucks were being kept available until after a snow front was expected to pass about 10 a.m. today, Smith said in a release. Warm temperatures were expected to help with the cleanup."
WOW, what a difference a strong mayor makes... (well, ok, and maybe a political machine that knows how to run a city and do things citizens really want done)
"By about 5 a.m. today, after working on side streets all night, many drivers of the city's 298 snow trucks switched to garbage truck duty, Streets and Sanitation spokesman Matt Smith said. But a number of snow trucks were being kept available until after a snow front was expected to pass about 10 a.m. today, Smith said in a release. Warm temperatures were expected to help with the cleanup."
WOW, what a difference a strong mayor makes... (well, ok, and maybe a political machine that knows how to run a city and do things citizens really want done)
41
What the buses-no-rail set fails to realize is the fact that a large portion of the Metro fleet is wrecked beyond recognition, and they will be running in a diminished capacity until at least the 6th, if not longer.
Get a work train out there and the Sounder runs again. Or, if you're in Portland, run a main line train and a train to the airport. Which is what's going on. The Yellow Line doesn't have the proper heating and clearing equipment.
Anyone enjoy the walk to work this morning, by the way? Snowflakes can sting the eyes, but they sure are pretty! Especially when illuminated by the headlights of some wrecked suburbanite's Subaru.
Get a work train out there and the Sounder runs again. Or, if you're in Portland, run a main line train and a train to the airport. Which is what's going on. The Yellow Line doesn't have the proper heating and clearing equipment.
Anyone enjoy the walk to work this morning, by the way? Snowflakes can sting the eyes, but they sure are pretty! Especially when illuminated by the headlights of some wrecked suburbanite's Subaru.
42
@30, because metro busses do not have GPS locators on them. They have locators, yeah, but older generation, which depend on the bus being on its route to begin with. Good luck going to bat for GPS in this budget cycle.
If every linear foot of residential sidewalk was shoveled clear first, then I'd have a little more time for the whiners pointing fingers at Metro.
If every linear foot of residential sidewalk was shoveled clear first, then I'd have a little more time for the whiners pointing fingers at Metro.
43
@39, you're working under the delusion that the condo, townhouse and apartment dwellers own shovels! As far as I can tell, most of my Ballard/Fremont/Wallingford neighbors don't have any garden tools larger than a trowel. In fact, it doesn't appear as if many of them own windshield scrapers -- although I did help a couple who had broken two credit cards trying to scrape ice. (Tire chains? I'm surprised at how many have"traction devices," but a lot of them have never tried putting them on their cars until they need them.)
Besides, the city does so little to clear the streets that it inspires most people to say "fuck it" when it comes to shoveling the sidewalks.
The only time I miss living in Boston is when it snows in Seattle ...
Besides, the city does so little to clear the streets that it inspires most people to say "fuck it" when it comes to shoveling the sidewalks.
The only time I miss living in Boston is when it snows in Seattle ...
45
...and just when you thought the City Government couldn't be any more stupid or incompetent.
(poster @44 excepted, natch!)
(poster @44 excepted, natch!)
46
@44/45:
The POINT being that, if you shovel off all the compacted SNOW down to the bare concrete and DON'T apply de-icer after doing so, the water run-off will freeze over it, creating a big sheet of ICE!
Fuctards.
The POINT being that, if you shovel off all the compacted SNOW down to the bare concrete and DON'T apply de-icer after doing so, the water run-off will freeze over it, creating a big sheet of ICE!
Fuctards.
47
Um, it's pretty frozen out there anyway, and for the times between snow, it's that much less likely that someone will fall in front of your house and break their arm.
Trust me - your insurer would prefer that you shovel even if you don't de-ice.
Trust me - your insurer would prefer that you shovel even if you don't de-ice.
48
...oh, and the real irony of the City's recommendation is that the vast majority of private property owners would use salt as the de-icing agent.
You can't make this stuff up....
You can't make this stuff up....
50
How's your reading comprehension there, Red? LH said the City's recommendation is DON'T shovel UNLESS you de-ice - and the vast majority of people use salt for that.
(My point was that shoveling without de-icing is still better than not shoveling for most of the time the snow is on the ground. To put a finer point on it, a thaw and refreeze on an unshoveled sidewalk is every bit as treacherous as one on a shoveled sidewalk - without the pedestrian benefit of having the sidewalk shoveled before it occurs)
Capiche?
(My point was that shoveling without de-icing is still better than not shoveling for most of the time the snow is on the ground. To put a finer point on it, a thaw and refreeze on an unshoveled sidewalk is every bit as treacherous as one on a shoveled sidewalk - without the pedestrian benefit of having the sidewalk shoveled before it occurs)
Capiche?
51
ECB, WTF? The Metro website is NOTORIOUSLY unreliable, as numerous Sloggers have been pointing out during this Snow Siege! I studied the website before I left my house yesterday morning and was not looking to catch a 60 since the (just updated) website told me the 60s weren't running past the VA hospital. Lo and behold, what did I see coming down the big Olson Way SW hill, but a 60!!!! Yes, I had great bus luck yesterday but if I had followed the website's advice, I would have trekked a mile up the hill and into White Center, where I had hopes of catching a 54 or a 120.
So why be raggin' on this man? Everything he said in his editorial was absolutely TRUE -- it IS time to become angry about Seattle's handling of this disaster. I envision a crowd of people with torches and pitchforks outside City Hall come Monday. Hopefully the silver lining in all of this is the end of Nickels' political career..........
So why be raggin' on this man? Everything he said in his editorial was absolutely TRUE -- it IS time to become angry about Seattle's handling of this disaster. I envision a crowd of people with torches and pitchforks outside City Hall come Monday. Hopefully the silver lining in all of this is the end of Nickels' political career..........
52
hmm, I don't live in Seattle.
However, his statement about the 3 bus and its non-arrival hinged on his observation that other cars and service vehicles of various types seemed to be able to make it down that street just fine.
You may disagree with his conclusions, (I do, too!) but his premise is valid; your just being intellectually dishonest.
However, his statement about the 3 bus and its non-arrival hinged on his observation that other cars and service vehicles of various types seemed to be able to make it down that street just fine.
You may disagree with his conclusions, (I do, too!) but his premise is valid; your just being intellectually dishonest.
54
WTF you people talkin' 'bout?
I've been checking Metro's Bus Tracker consistently throughout this, and I've found it not only extremely helpful, but highly accurate.
Based on my experience over the past week, literally every route I've needed to use: #48, 10, 43, 5, 16 & 358 - have all been pretty much spot-on in terms of service issues, re-routings & delays.
Yeah, it sucks if you're an old-fogey without home internet access, and yeah, it would be great if all the stops had real-time updates ala a lot of the ones in Portland. but it ain't going to happen.
And you know why? Because, in a few days, when the snow has melted, and all the people forced out of their cars and onto the buses with the rest of us plebes go BACK to driving, they won't give a poop about the shitty bus service about which they've been incessantly whining for the past eight or nine days (not being able to make the connection that - duh! - if the roads are too shitty for cars to drive on, then they're probably also going to be too shitty for buses to drive on as well), and they won't be willing to spend a fucking dime on making the public transit system, which they don't ever plan on using again (until the next major weather freakout, that is), able to operate better under adverse weather conditions.
And can someone answer me this: is it just me, or do a lot of the people out there whining about how the GUBAMINT AIN'T DOIN' IT'S DAMNED JOB! strike anyone else as the same gun-totin', SUV-drivin', O'Reilly-watchin' Rossi-supportin' suburban tract home-livin' folks who keep voting for idiotic Tim Eyman sponsored tax restrictions, and who constantly say they want LESS GUBAMINT interfering with their Jehovah-givin' RIGHT to do whatever they damned well please?
Well guess what, ditto-heads? This is what REAL self-reliance feels like. The Gubamint you want defunded into insignificance wasn't able to help you get to your job, or the mall, or the grocery store this time. You got just what you-all say you've always wanted: total and complete independence from relying on anyone besides yourselves. And what was the result of the first major test of your self-reliance? After less than 24 hours, it seems that the FIRST THING many of you did was DEMAND the "big, bad Gubamint" step in and haul your pathetic, whiny asses out of your snow-bound cul-de-sacs.
And, does it strike anyone else as ironic that it's mostly those damned "city-livin' librul elites" who've been best able to cope with these adverse weather conditions, while the good, God-fearin', GOP votin' suburbanites flail around in their tire-spinning 4WD's like spoiled children throwing a tantrum because they've been deprived of their candy?
More...
I've been checking Metro's Bus Tracker consistently throughout this, and I've found it not only extremely helpful, but highly accurate.
Based on my experience over the past week, literally every route I've needed to use: #48, 10, 43, 5, 16 & 358 - have all been pretty much spot-on in terms of service issues, re-routings & delays.
Yeah, it sucks if you're an old-fogey without home internet access, and yeah, it would be great if all the stops had real-time updates ala a lot of the ones in Portland. but it ain't going to happen.
And you know why? Because, in a few days, when the snow has melted, and all the people forced out of their cars and onto the buses with the rest of us plebes go BACK to driving, they won't give a poop about the shitty bus service about which they've been incessantly whining for the past eight or nine days (not being able to make the connection that - duh! - if the roads are too shitty for cars to drive on, then they're probably also going to be too shitty for buses to drive on as well), and they won't be willing to spend a fucking dime on making the public transit system, which they don't ever plan on using again (until the next major weather freakout, that is), able to operate better under adverse weather conditions.
And can someone answer me this: is it just me, or do a lot of the people out there whining about how the GUBAMINT AIN'T DOIN' IT'S DAMNED JOB! strike anyone else as the same gun-totin', SUV-drivin', O'Reilly-watchin' Rossi-supportin' suburban tract home-livin' folks who keep voting for idiotic Tim Eyman sponsored tax restrictions, and who constantly say they want LESS GUBAMINT interfering with their Jehovah-givin' RIGHT to do whatever they damned well please?
Well guess what, ditto-heads? This is what REAL self-reliance feels like. The Gubamint you want defunded into insignificance wasn't able to help you get to your job, or the mall, or the grocery store this time. You got just what you-all say you've always wanted: total and complete independence from relying on anyone besides yourselves. And what was the result of the first major test of your self-reliance? After less than 24 hours, it seems that the FIRST THING many of you did was DEMAND the "big, bad Gubamint" step in and haul your pathetic, whiny asses out of your snow-bound cul-de-sacs.
And, does it strike anyone else as ironic that it's mostly those damned "city-livin' librul elites" who've been best able to cope with these adverse weather conditions, while the good, God-fearin', GOP votin' suburbanites flail around in their tire-spinning 4WD's like spoiled children throwing a tantrum because they've been deprived of their candy?
55
@54: I waited for ninety minutes last night for a 194 or 174. I can understand interrupted service, but it would help if the Metro site had accurate information.
As for those "city-livin' librul elites," idiots like Erica are making me embarrassed to fit that label, especially when Erica's latest crusade seems to be advocating small government, at least insofar as road safety is concerned.
As for those "city-livin' librul elites," idiots like Erica are making me embarrassed to fit that label, especially when Erica's latest crusade seems to be advocating small government, at least insofar as road safety is concerned.
56
Erica, I know you want to dis Joel, but can't you at least agree that the bus routes should get high priority for snow removal?
57
Things I've learned from this adventure:
1) Major transit routes should get priority when clearing the roads.
2) Metro needs to do a better job of communication in general, such as:
a) explaining what routes their buses are on (adverse weather vs regular)
b) any major delays, overcrowding, etc
3) Metro should not run their in city busses "on the wire" in the middle of a snowstorm. If one bus gets stuck, it delays all the buses behind it
4) In reference to the above, it's easier to walk sometimes and being in a nice dense neighborhood where I had a number of walkable options for food was a lifesaver.
5) I wish people would shovel their sidewalks and apply non-salt de-icer.
1) Major transit routes should get priority when clearing the roads.
2) Metro needs to do a better job of communication in general, such as:
a) explaining what routes their buses are on (adverse weather vs regular)
b) any major delays, overcrowding, etc
3) Metro should not run their in city busses "on the wire" in the middle of a snowstorm. If one bus gets stuck, it delays all the buses behind it
4) In reference to the above, it's easier to walk sometimes and being in a nice dense neighborhood where I had a number of walkable options for food was a lifesaver.
5) I wish people would shovel their sidewalks and apply non-salt de-icer.
58
44/45... So shovel off a little trough between your shoveled off sidewalk and the street, so any runoff has a path to the street.
And aren't nearly all of us on hills anyway? Wouldn't the runoff just head downhill and fail to pool on the shoveled-off sidewalk?
2nd level logical thinking, guys. Try using it.
And aren't nearly all of us on hills anyway? Wouldn't the runoff just head downhill and fail to pool on the shoveled-off sidewalk?
2nd level logical thinking, guys. Try using it.
59
@58,
Nope - in freezing weather here it doesn't quite work that way.
For example, there is a layer of about 1.5 feet of snow on my street that has turned into ice. The top of that started to turn to slush yesterday, which created major tire ruts that are now about 8" deep because snow fell and it partly refroze. The snow that was scraped off of sidewalks (where people did that) mostly went onto the median and/or partly into the gutter, and since it didn't melt in the interim, there is no ready drainage off of sidewalks into the gutters. Because there is so much snow and ice and there are lots of trees on my street that prevent direct sunlight, it probably won't melt until the temperature rises significantly and/or it rains a lot. In the latter case, because much of the slush won't thaw immediately, you'll have nasty flooding.
To see this in action - hit the U-District - there's about 8-12" of combined ice/slush/standing water in many of the intersections.
That all occurs whether or not you de-ice after shoveling snow.
Nope - in freezing weather here it doesn't quite work that way.
For example, there is a layer of about 1.5 feet of snow on my street that has turned into ice. The top of that started to turn to slush yesterday, which created major tire ruts that are now about 8" deep because snow fell and it partly refroze. The snow that was scraped off of sidewalks (where people did that) mostly went onto the median and/or partly into the gutter, and since it didn't melt in the interim, there is no ready drainage off of sidewalks into the gutters. Because there is so much snow and ice and there are lots of trees on my street that prevent direct sunlight, it probably won't melt until the temperature rises significantly and/or it rains a lot. In the latter case, because much of the slush won't thaw immediately, you'll have nasty flooding.
To see this in action - hit the U-District - there's about 8-12" of combined ice/slush/standing water in many of the intersections.
That all occurs whether or not you de-ice after shoveling snow.
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