The city has been threatening to resurface our street for months now. Those triangular sawhorse-like structures have held signs shouting: “No parking December 23rd from 7am-5pm.” And then nothing happens. We had many changes of dates announced in December…and then with both relief and the frustrating anti-climax of streets that need work but don’t get work, we just assumed that road repair was not happening.
Most of the signs were picked up (I’m not sure how they miss a sign here and there, just to find them leaning against a tree or face down on the sidewalk) and no communications were forthcoming from the city…until about a week ago.
Suddenly, the signs were back! This time accompanied by a doorknob hanger explaining that we needed not only to not park on the street, but to also know that the street would be closed to ALL traffic until the sealant was dry. Our first date this time around was Friday, so we dutifully made sure we were out of the neighborhood before 7am (not a problem for me on a work day) and made plans for alternative parking at the end of the day. But on Friday it seems that the only work completed was the application of some kind of plastic over the manhole covers…and the work was done well before I arrived home before 4pm so I could head back out for a beach walk. (Lucky for me, my husband was home and clued me in on the availability of the street so I could avoid all the detouring.). But they did warn, Monday would be the resurfacing day…so again be out by 7am and plan not to return on the street until after 5.
So this morning, we were both out before 7, as instructed. According to my husband, we he returned home around 9:30 or so there was no road work or road closure. As he went about his business, he continued to check on the progress (or lack thereof) on the street. By mid afternoon he had decided that once again the road work was not happening. But then, after hearing some truck sounds sometime after 2pm, he went out to discover that indeed the street was closed off and resurfacing had happened!
So instead of driving home to my street, I had to take the secret back door detour through another neighborhood, through a gate that has been locked tight for 20 years (you can walk through it, but it is ALWAYS closed to cars), to park alongside my house. As I write, the street is still closed to traffic. But on our walk, we did notice that perhaps a couple of neighbors got caught by surprise and trapped in their driveways. We saw some evidence of car tracks through the freshly resurfaced streets–and in one case a neighbor out with a power washer scrubbing asphalt from the sidewalk.
Yes, they warned us. But how many “wolves” do you get before no one really believes the messaging? I can imagine the neighbor who went out to get in the car to pick up the kids from school only to realized the car was trapped. Then what decision do you make? With all of the technology we have today, why is it that simple communication seems in decline?
Here’s hoping the resurfacing holds up, the streets look good, and no one has too much asphalt carried into their homes on tires, shoes, or doggie paws! (And phew! I hope that’s the end of all the street signs and warnings of road work for a while!)
Thinking Through My Lens 