Ah…carmegedon….
Never before had California opted to close one of its biggest freeway
arteries…until the last carmegedon we had just a few months back. With that event, the media did a
fabulous job of forewarning folks and offering alternate ways to get from here
to there, avoiding the areas that would be most affected. But there were consequences….
Since the freeway that was closed was one of the biggest
main arteries of southern California, closing it affected every other connecting
freeway. It even affected freeways
that were nearby but not directly connected.
Folks did an awesome job of planning ahead for the
closures. What had been dreaded as
the biggest freeway nightmare of Californian history turned out to be a bother
but not the disaster it could have been.
When carmegedon was over, those of us who live here wiped our brows and
sighed in relief, thinking that was over and we’d never have to face anther carmegedon. Flash forward to this weekend….
When the last freeway closure took place, that was bad
enough. But this time, officials planned
to close a vast majority of the same freeway. A part of me that wondered if since folks managed to deal so
well with the last carmegedon, officials felt it wouldn’t be such a bad thing
to close an even bigger stretch of the same main freeway artery this time.
Once again, the media, papers and illuminated freeway
notification signs forewarned of the closure and cautioned folks to find
alternative routes. Once again,
those of us who live here moaned our dissatisfaction. But…once again…in true southern Californian style, we rose
to the occasion.
What could have turned out to be a commuter’s disaster was
definitely troublesome but nowhere near the horrible mess it could have
been. Why? Simple. Cause when push comes to shove, we southern Californians
rise to the occasion in order to make a bad situation better.
As I recall, wasn't this how things turned out the LAST time? Didn't Carmageddon just turn out to be a non-event? Seems to me the press just decide to MAKE it a problem while the public know better.
ReplyDeleteHey Eli O,
ReplyDeleteNormally, I would agree that the media sensationalizes things. But with closing the 405 freeway—the most major transportation artery of southern California, officials were taking a HUGE risk to close it. And in this case, the media did a great deal to help rather than add to the problem. : -)
I even heard about it on the news here! I take it another "no big deal" kind of thing after all... I hear it's going to happen again!
ReplyDeleteHey Tracy,
ReplyDeleteAgain? Geez! THe only reason these carmegedons turn out to be no big deal is cause all of us go out of our way to make other travel plans. It's a pain but does help minimize horrible traffic jams. : -)