November 21, 2003
The Stepford Husbands
At the November PRNC meeting, Ted Cuzzillo and Steve Spencer are just two of the members clearly yearning for their own Richmond Bridge model kit for Christmas. An interesting question is whether we in the Point will help advocate for pedestrian and bicycle access after the bridge work has been completed. By the way, I read a complaint this morning that the bridge work will continue until 2005, but unless you'd like to see the bridge closed down completely for a month, I don't know how else they could do it. Given that two years ago we were worrying that chunks of the bridge were falling into the Bay, I say thanks and Mazel Tov to CALTRANS on this project. And isn't it groovy that we now have our very own Trader Joe's right in El Cerrito, so we don't have to go over the bridge so often?
We'd be a helluva lot less congested if Marin County wasn't so phobic about public transportation. They turned down BART, they have no bus service, they're disinterested in public transit options, and then they gripe about how squeezed they feel. Look at the bridge traffic during rush hour--it's filled with SUVs with single drivers. It's that fake crunchy stuff that makes me nutty--pretending to care about the environment, as long as you don't have to change your own behavior.
But then, public transit options for the Point are not very good, either. Poor AC transit is getting cut, and we can't really get to BART that easily, or find a parking spot when we get there. I'd love to leave my car at home a lot more than I do now, but I can't gamble that I can park in El Cerrito or Richmond if I have a meeting to attend.
Posted by: K. G. Schneider at November 21, 2003 12:27 PMI think even the Caltrans guys would agree that congestion on the bridge through 2005 is a hassle. In fact, everyone agrees the work is so important that we'll put up with it for that long.
Posted by: Ted Cuzzillo at November 21, 2003 12:05 PM