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The Arizona
Republic - Mar. 19, 2007 12:00 AM
Just like most commuters
heading to downtown
Phoenix for the daily grind, I've had to change my regular
route to accommodate the swarm of construction projects blocking
the way.
Can't cruise down Central Avenue anymore. Who knows what madness
I might encounter in the ever-changing landscape of light-rail
construction?
Can't use Second Street anymore. There's a gigantic hotel
project right next to the newspaper building that has closed
down the street.
This way's blocked. That way has no left turns. The other way
deposits me somewhere out near the zoo.
So every morning, my drive to work becomes an exercise in
creativity. The hardest part is that in my usual groggy-headed
morning mode, I sometimes forget to take the adaptive route and
find my path blocked by some formidable earthmover.
I'm sure every downtown driver has a similar tale of
construction woe. I've seen some interesting acts of defiance,
including the guy who ran the barriers and tried to cut across
Central Avenue, only to encounter a high concrete ledge where
they were putting in rail tracks. Last I saw, his sedan was
teetering on the ledge, front wheels hanging in the air.
But for most folk, the downtown dilemma is mostly about wasting
time idling in traffic.
Washington Street from the east, once a preferred way for
avoiding freeway backups, is no longer a good choice for saving
time. Past 12th Street, all kinds of winding detours swing you
around gaping trenches and construction equipment. Once down to
Fifth Street, one-lane traffic snakes for blocks between
multiple projects.
Jefferson Street heading the other way presents similar
challenges, especially near Chase Field.
A better parallel route these days is Van Buren to the north or,
if you're trying to get to the west side of downtown, Buckeye
Road to the south.
Forget about First Avenue south of Roosevelt. It's like a war
zone, with one lane of heavily rutted asphalt going into town.
True story: I nearly collided with a huge front-loader that was
rumbling past. I would have lost.
Central Avenue heading north is not much better, especially if
you get caught behind a bus picking up passengers. There's no
way to get past the bus, unless you want to end up like the
concrete-ledge guy.
Any alternate street going north and south is preferable to
First or Central avenues, including Third Street or Third and
Fifth avenues, even if you have to travel a circuitous route.
And most of downtown's east-west cross streets, such as Taylor,
McKinley, Adams and Monroe, are blocked off or unpleasantly
restricted. So don't plan on using them.
But I think these torn-up streets might present some
opportunities. For instance, instead of having a Champ Cup auto
race in November, how about Baja-style off-road vehicles
battling it out in the construction zones?
Or maybe host the next Jeep Challenge? Who needs the Rubicon
Trail when you have Washington Street?
This article was found here:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0319commuting0319trafficjam.html
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