Not a whole lot going on over the weekend (in my little corner of the world) except the recent snow melting and turning to rain. All gone again now; but leaving behind some early spring flowers who still seem to be wondering what hit them...
This afternoon we're actually up to temperatures around +14'C (57'F) - but even if both my own kitchen window thermometer and my usually trustworthy phone app agree about that, it still does not feel like it to me! (Rather chilly winds blowing...)
Friday was Delivery Day for me, as in receiving and unpacking and putting away my fortnightly home delivery of groceries around noon. That usually tends to add up to rather enough activity for one day - usually finished off with a walk to the recycling station in the afternoon. (The downside of regular home deliveries is that one ends up with more large paper carrier bags than any normal single person is likely to be able to find other use for...)
Yesterday was one of those days filled with bits of Everything and Nothing, as in keeping me busy enough, but still leaving me with very little to report when looking back. Snow-free again outside, but still rather dull. I decided to devote part of my afternoon walk that day to inspect the consequences of a major road work project nearby - repairs of bridge crossing the railway, which involves that bridge now being closed for traffic over the next three months. During which times cars and buses and cyclists and even pedestrians are being redirected to use other streets and cycle lanes and walkways.
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| Peeking through the fence |
Luckily, there is a separate footbridge for cyclists and pedestrians nearby - a bit to the left from this view, and for me personally that is "on the right side", as in closer to where I live. And as I'm usually on foot, no need for my own sake to be all that concerned about the main road being closed for three months - except for the few occasions when I might feel like taking the bus for a change. Because those will obviously not be passing by here for a while now.
I went to check on the sign at the nearest bus stop. It told me to "choose a stop nearby" and "search your destination". (They do not even include the word "online" but just assume everyone to be able to handle such searches from their phone nowadays.)
I walked on a bit further to see if they had perhaps added some extra temporary bus stop on the way towards the city centre, before the next permanent one (which is by the railway station). They had not. That means that over the next three months, my two "most nearby" bus stops are each 15 min walk away from home - and whichever one I choose, I'm then already as close to the city centre as the bus will take me anyway... (Which is why I rarely bother about taking the bus at all, unless I'm going further than that.)
I'm not too worried for my own sake (as I'm used to walking that distance, and thanks to the regular home deliveres rarely have to carry much now) - but I'm still wondering what on earth The Authorities behind the planning are thinking. What about people in need of walkers or crutches, or with heavy bags of groceries to carry? Or parents with small children? Most of the people living around here are either pensioners or young families.
9 comments:
the weak and beautiful flowers hanging their heads down are so pretty and for some reason I truly love the grass surround by dirt and a little snow. so appealing to me.
i can tell you that here the people who make decisions about traffic and bridges and all things that wrecks our lives, do no have a clue what they are doing. they only see dollar signs for taxes
That is a good question. I hope they have plans to accommodate the elderly and infirm!! Sweet little crocus!
Usually, your town seems such a good place to live, catering for the needs of all residents, it is odd that no provisions have been made in this case.
Sandra, luckily most early spring flowers are rather resilient - I suppose they have to be, in this climate :) ... As for public transport, alas it sometimes seems that the planning must have been done by people never using it themselves!
Ginny, to be 'fair', there are no obvious alternatives in this case (for a certain part of the usual bus route). I just find the info they put up sadly insufficient.
Meike, I'm afraid our city buses is one area which has been constantly debated for years now, without really satisfactory solutions for some routes. The temporary situation in connection with the repairs of this bridge may be unavoidable, but it adds to the general irritation with the overall situation. (Obvious for anyone following our local daily newspaper... ) Several bus lines no longer meet at all in the city centre, and far too many people have to walk far too long distances to change buses there as well. I'm just clinging to the hope that they'll manage to sort it out before I may really really need it...
In the part of town where I live now, it actually worked a whole lot better when I first moved here. We even had small buses that went into the side street where I live (and took me all the way to the hospital where I still had to go more frequently then). It has only deteriorated since then. First they took away those small buses. Then they skipped the nearest bus stop for me along the main street. The city bus also used to go along a street in the city centre, with a convenient bus stop there. But then they changed that street to be bus-free. More recently, they also changed a square where all bus lines used to meet; and 'my' bus is one of those that no longer go there either, but stops a few hundred metres away (towards 'my' end of town rather than the city centre). Which is why I've really given up taking the bus to "town" at all. It doesn't save me neither time nor very many steps any more...
How inconvenient these things are, and the temporary "solutions" are rarely satisfactory or convenient for the majority of people. These schemes are nearly always implemeneted by people whose lives it doesn't affect.
I remember you telling us about the change in the central bus station. Not only is it all very inconvient, it is also very much against everything we should be doing these days to encourage people to use public transport, in view of its impact on the environment.
Too true, Carol...
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