Opus 2012-227, On the Street: “Our First Job Is Safety”

I was driving down a narrow, two lane street that is the major artery to my middle school and the elementary school across the street.  Traffic is heavy with parents dropping their children off.  The sidewalks are bustling with parents walking their children to school.  It is the busiest time of day for this section of road.

Guess when the powers that be decided to trim trees on this route?  You got it.  Right now.  A huge orange truck with one of those cherry pickers on a hoist was against one curb.  Orange cones protruded out into the street making it difficult for cars to go both ways.  The sidewalk was blocked off because the branches were falling.  The city has hundreds of miles of low usage streets with trees that need to be trimmed but they are here where everyone else comes every day at this time.  The great cherry on the top was the sign on the truck that declared “Our first job is safety.”  There first job should be thinking.

You have seen this expressed in many ways.  Think of the garbage trucks that block busy streets during rush hour.  Think of school buses that literally stop traffic on wide divided highways because the bus stop is convenient.  Think of crews filling pot holes at the exact time that people are trying to get to work. 

How about if some of you run for city council?

homo unius libri