Thursday, December 28, 2006

Spring Break in December

Southbound traffic on Padre Blvd. was backed up as far as KFC when I finished my last sandcastle lesson yesterday.
Yuck.
That median is sure going to have to be pretty to make up for all the aggravation this project is causing...

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12 Comments:

Blogger sillysand said...

I could be mistaken, and i may even have to eat crow.
I think it is going to suck big time

7:10 PM  
Blogger Sam said...

The drainage work is the pain the the Yapootie - but we sorely need that. The median, well, maybe a good idea with good intentions, but a floozy outcome, at least to me.

8:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thought the median project was supposed to be this beautification thing - green and native. At this point it looks like pavers and more pavers - guess the few holes are for the green part.

I was ambiviant about the project my thinking being that the TXDot people were the "professionals' and had the training and experience to know about traffic flow. But looking at the Great Walls of Concrete that are being built on Hwy 48 I am having real doubts.

How are the critters supposed to get from one side of the road to the other? I guess they had better be able to jump. And if there is a wreck the emergency vehicles may have to go miles out of the way. It is sort of like an Austin Expressway less the exit ramps and frontage roads.

At this time it sure sucks.

8:31 PM  
Blogger Sam said...

Honest, I don't mean to make anyone feel bad or get mad, but I did have visions of long, lush green spaces in the median. What happened?

9:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It was sold as safety and beautification...There are several definitions of beautification. Some just as small as some minds.

10:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You're right Pedro and most recently the major sell was the safety issue. But again I guess we all interpret it differently -when I heard "safety" I thought of the median as being a safe haven for people trying to get across Padre but in many places the median is a skinny "curb" (that I can already see people driving over.)

My first posting the word should have been ambivalent - never could type (or spell for that matter.)

7:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

“TX DOT – professionals” - an oxymoron for sure. When in doubt, pour more cement. The most disturbing thing I heard was that No U-Turn signs will be posted at each of the openings - meaning that the traffic will be diverting to residential streets in order for people to get to the opposite side. Also heard that the city is thinking of putting up direction signs to guide people to stores - great, more signage - a beautification must in all urban design books. Was there ever a rendering produced to show what this median project was going to look like? I'm with the rest of you - hoping that it will be better than it looks now. But as it appears most things happen on this island - wait and see, complaints, redo. Aim, Aim, Aim - misfire.

8:16 PM  
Blogger Sam said...

Yes there were designs and drawings but they were hard to read. I'd still like to say the big deal is the drainage, which is way cool because that stretch of road could flood like heck. Thanks for that, I meam really we should be grateful.

But the little curbs seem to be "monster truck bait" and the small garden plots too small. There again. maybe it is good that the low curbs are there, as the higher "Jersey Barrier" could pose problems of its own. Can you imagine a median 30 inches tall?

Let's get used to it for a while. If we see some curb cuts we need that is a small thing to fix, like you need a serious left somewhere. You can probably tell by the tire marks from the big trucks and SUV.

We're from Texas; we can fix anything. /Sammie

8:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Some of those beautiful center islands are too darn long. Some of my shopping is done...because it sounds like a good idea at the time. This is esp true of restaurants and t-shirts. Many businesses are blocked....for blocks. I am not going to drive 3 blocks out of my way and then make a U-turn or worse.....drive around a residential block to sneak up to a store!! If I can't see it don't bother with cute or pretty signs either. Drainage is badly needed!! The rest of this may put some people out of business! !

4:24 AM  
Blogger Sam said...

I heard a rumor that there will be "No U-Turn" signs on the median. Anyone know if that is true?

If you think it will be tough in a car, try being a truck driver or haul a boat trailer in that area ... whew!

Us locals know the shortcuts but can you imagine routing traffic to Gulf or Laguna on a July weekend, not knowing Tiki-Boo about the Island?
-Sam

10:35 AM  
Blogger just wandering said...

hi: I think the mayor is going to try to get txdot to put in more plants and we should all contact him to support that. If we don't try, we can't complain. Oh, wait, yes we can!
other nancy m

4:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

U-turns will be allowed at every intersection except one, and that is at Sunny Isle. That was the intersection made for the people from Fiesta Harbor. That is designed for only left turns.

5:06 PM  

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