I recently experienced a rush hour nightmare on my way from P-Burgh to WashPa. And, as a faithful reader of the Post-Gazette column, "Getting Around," I submitted an email to Joe Grata, the writer of said column. Here it is in its entirety:
"Dear Mr. Grata,
To begin, I love your "Getting Around" column. It speaks the truth about PennDOT and other transportation woes in the Pittsburgh region. A feat that is unduplicated around these parts.
As a Pittsburgher who commutes to Washington, PA for work via the Parkway West and Interstate 79 South, I was wondering if you could shed some light on a particularly confounding PennDOT practice I have suffered through time and time again. Why, oh, why does PennDOT choose the morning rush hour to accomplish a relatively small project that could be completed, say, after 10 a.m. and before 3 p.m.?
The most recent example of this foolishness which caused hundreds, if not a few thousands, of folks to be late for work on Wednesday, October 10 began shortly after the Bridgeville exit on 79 South. Slowing from 65 mph (yes, I know that the speed limit is only 55 on 79; this is another source of my commuter angst), I passed a construction sign that flashed something to the the effect of "LEFT LANE CLOSED NEXT 20 MILES." Um, what? I was traveling in the left lane. And I continued to travel in the left lane for the next 12 or so miles at approximately 10-15 mph in stop-and-go traffic. I couldn't figure out what PennDOT could possibly be doing for 20 miles without some type of advanced notice. When I appraoched Canonsburg, there appeared to be a plume of dark smoke, and then my hypothesis changed to: well, maybe it isn't PennDOT, but a horrible fiery accident. Alas, the smoke was coming from the valley, not from the roadside. Finally, a slowly-moving PennDOT truck with one of those blinking arrows pointing to the right became visible, and the merging commenced. Between this arrow truck and the next, there were two PA State Police vehicles, then more PennDOT trucks slowly meandering southbound in the left lane. And when I was in view of the reason for the whole darn traffic snarl, I could not believe what I saw: two workers jumping on and off of the truck quickly replacing those reflector thingys along the white broken center lane dividing line. At 8:30 in the morning.
I am a veteran commuter. I always build at least 15 extra minutes into my trip in case of heavy traffic, accidents, etc. However, I was still 15 minutes late for work Wednesday. And that just gets the day off to a bad start.
We both know that this project did not take these workers longer than a portion of the morning to complete. However, I am baffled as to why they could not just wait until 10 a.m. to begin this work. (Case in point: I had Columbus Day off and I traveled from the South Side Slopes to IKEA in Robinson Township in just 15 minutes in very light traffic at 10 in the morning.) It would increase the safety of the workers, their vehicles, other motorists, preclude the possiblilty of higher blood pressure and stress in motorists, and well, allow us all to get to work on time.
This episode is not unusual. There have been bridge inspections and other justified nonsense which, again, could take place at a later hour. Is their scheduling designed to cause road rage and other medical and emotional distress in the citizens of this fair Commonwealth? Or does this have something to do with the ridiculously early shifts that PennDOT schedules so that their workers can get home in time to catch the afternoon soap opera lineup? I mean, really, we already put up with an un-Godly number of simultaneous construction projects and are forced to remember which road is closed at what time and which detour to take. This rush hour junk is simply over the top.
Please advise."
Two days later, Joe emailed me back with this:
"thanks for your note. let's ask penndot about this. tnx, joe grata"
Joe had forwarded my concerns to a bureaucrat named James Struzzi. However, I have not yet received a response from Mr. Struzzi. WTF? I know that he has better things to do than email pissed off commuters, but I have better things to do than be late for work for no good reason.
I'll let you know what happens...
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
I'm Baaaack.
So you thought Hot Pink Butter was dead, didn't you?
Actually, so did I, that is, for some time. That, my friends, is due to a number of reasons. The most prominent in my mind being the fact that I thought that if I was going to be a marketable young attorney with a spankin' clean reputation and outward appearance of professionalism, that I could no longer post to this blog with the same artistic freedom and candidness as before (read: freedom to cuss). Also, I was busy living in a place known as Washington, PeeA, where there was plenty to blog about, but due to small-tahn syndrome, I was sure that someone with an Internet connection would get wind of my ranting and I would be forever shunned. And no one wants to be shunned.
Well, some things have changed, and others have not. To summarize the progress in my life, I will use a list format, as I do with most things in my life:
1. I graduated from Pitt Law in May 2006.
2. I am now burdened by two monthly law school loan payments (the feds get the big check & the bank gets the small check).
3. I passed the Pennsylvania Bar Exam & was admitted to said Bar in October 2006.
4. I have been working as a Law Clerk for a Washington County Judge for 14 months.
5. For the first 12 of those 14 months, I rented a duplex in the City of Washington across from a drug dealer.
6. The highlight of my law clerkship so far was experiencing a 1st Degree Murder jury trial, with sharp object as definite murder weapon, fecal matter-covered flashlight as possible murder weapon, crackhead homeless violent Defendant, 63-year old naked murder victim, and all. (BTW, yes, Randy Douglas Reese was found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and will reside at SCI Camp Hill for the duration of his natural life.)
7. I purchased my first home (FSBO) in the Souf Side Slopes!
8. I have been living out years of my dreams (& nightmares) of TLC/HGTV by rehabbing the cosmetics of the aforesaid home.
9. I sold my nine-year old Dodge Durango & bought Skafta's grandmother's 1999 green Honda Civic so that I could afford the student loan payments, mortgage, and bills while living on the equivalent of minimum wage for lawyers AND filling my vehicle with enough gas to drive 330 miles each week to and from work.
10. I continue to work for my Judge by commuting 33 miles south each day to Wash Cow (a job that I would love all the more if if were (1) in Pittsburgh and (2) paid me $5-10k more per year).
11. Travel in the past 16 months included Florida, Colorado and Aruba. Fantastic!
12. I re-immersed myself in tap dancing by taking Advanced Tap once a week at my cousin's studio, Kickline Dance Center. I dance alongside high schoolers who think that I am nuts. Funny, but nuts. And, yes, I danced in the recital. In a costume. And forced everyone, including the Judge & our staff to come and see it.
Ummmmmm, so I think that about catches everyone up on my life. Now, I can post about normal things, funny things, political things (well, except for politics in Wash Cow, because as an employee of an elected official, I am prohibited on many levels from doing so).
Hooray!
P.S. I hope that you like the new look of the Butter.
Actually, so did I, that is, for some time. That, my friends, is due to a number of reasons. The most prominent in my mind being the fact that I thought that if I was going to be a marketable young attorney with a spankin' clean reputation and outward appearance of professionalism, that I could no longer post to this blog with the same artistic freedom and candidness as before (read: freedom to cuss). Also, I was busy living in a place known as Washington, PeeA, where there was plenty to blog about, but due to small-tahn syndrome, I was sure that someone with an Internet connection would get wind of my ranting and I would be forever shunned. And no one wants to be shunned.
Well, some things have changed, and others have not. To summarize the progress in my life, I will use a list format, as I do with most things in my life:
1. I graduated from Pitt Law in May 2006.
2. I am now burdened by two monthly law school loan payments (the feds get the big check & the bank gets the small check).
3. I passed the Pennsylvania Bar Exam & was admitted to said Bar in October 2006.
4. I have been working as a Law Clerk for a Washington County Judge for 14 months.
5. For the first 12 of those 14 months, I rented a duplex in the City of Washington across from a drug dealer.
6. The highlight of my law clerkship so far was experiencing a 1st Degree Murder jury trial, with sharp object as definite murder weapon, fecal matter-covered flashlight as possible murder weapon, crackhead homeless violent Defendant, 63-year old naked murder victim, and all. (BTW, yes, Randy Douglas Reese was found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and will reside at SCI Camp Hill for the duration of his natural life.)
7. I purchased my first home (FSBO) in the Souf Side Slopes!
8. I have been living out years of my dreams (& nightmares) of TLC/HGTV by rehabbing the cosmetics of the aforesaid home.
9. I sold my nine-year old Dodge Durango & bought Skafta's grandmother's 1999 green Honda Civic so that I could afford the student loan payments, mortgage, and bills while living on the equivalent of minimum wage for lawyers AND filling my vehicle with enough gas to drive 330 miles each week to and from work.
10. I continue to work for my Judge by commuting 33 miles south each day to Wash Cow (a job that I would love all the more if if were (1) in Pittsburgh and (2) paid me $5-10k more per year).
11. Travel in the past 16 months included Florida, Colorado and Aruba. Fantastic!
12. I re-immersed myself in tap dancing by taking Advanced Tap once a week at my cousin's studio, Kickline Dance Center. I dance alongside high schoolers who think that I am nuts. Funny, but nuts. And, yes, I danced in the recital. In a costume. And forced everyone, including the Judge & our staff to come and see it.
Ummmmmm, so I think that about catches everyone up on my life. Now, I can post about normal things, funny things, political things (well, except for politics in Wash Cow, because as an employee of an elected official, I am prohibited on many levels from doing so).
Hooray!
P.S. I hope that you like the new look of the Butter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
