The Street that Charlotte Rebuilt »
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I just don't get it. Maybe I should just have it tatooed on my forehead. It would save me some breath.
Today, I was riding down Independence Boulevard on my way to visit a customer, when I saw - or rather, noticed - that they had built up a cement divider in the portion of the road that's currently undergoing renovation. Makes sense.
Then I drove for another ten seconds, and saw the old one. For those of you who don't live in Charlotte, let me explain. Independence is a very busy street. They are currently expanding it to a "freeway". Naturally, this being Charlotte, that isn't entirely true, as there is still access all along, but it's closer than it was.
A few years ago, the city finished a section down by the Independence Arena. Cricket Arena. I don't know what it's called this week. After completing this stretch, they noticed people crossing their newly christened "freeway". They would run to the middle, hop a three-foot wall, cross the busway, then hop another wall and get to the other side. I even saw a lady do it with a stroller one time.
The city, in their infinite wisdom, added a couple feet to the top of the cement barrier. This stopped most people. There are still a few that jump it, but a lot less than before. I'd probably have made it 8 or 9 feet tall, but I can see that the city wants the most bang for the buck, and if you're stupid enough to jump a five-foot cement obstacle while crossing a freeway, the results are simply your fault. Deal with it.
Back to my point. The city builds another, similar concrete barrier on the newly freeway-ized section of asphalt. Most people would have learned something from the prior incident. Not Charlotte. The height of those new walls? About three feet.
