Journal Journal: Driving in Pittsburgh : Is This Hell? 2
Am in Pittsburgh these days, doing some work for a troubled customer. One of the things I like about my job is that I get to travel to all sorts of places, learning many valuable lessons in the process. Today, here in lovely Pittsburgh (lit. "City of Pits", or possibly "City from The Pit"), I learned about...
The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Not Your Friend). OK, so I'm on my way back to my hotel after today's work, and I decide to grab a healthy and nutritious dinner of grease-on-a-bun from Wendy's. Missing the miniscule entrance to the Wendy's parking lot, I take the next exit, intending to turn around. But lo, said exit turns out to be a secret on-ramp to, yes, the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Funny thing about the Penna. Turnpike is that it has no exits. I realize that limited access is kind of the whole point of turnpikes, but this is excessive. Really. I end up having to drive halfways to $#@!ing Ohio or Virginia or somewhere like that (depending on which way I was going, which was either West or South, or possibly East) before being able to turn around. And THEN I had to sit in a 20-mile traffic jam before I could get back to what passes for civilization in these parts. According to the guys on the radio this morning, the governor of Pennsylvania recently announced that he's looking for a new State Slogan. He should call me -- I have some suggestions!
I also learned about streetlights and signs. Thing is, most major cities have an abundance of both of these. But Pittsburghers have seemingly come up with a novel idea for saving money: First, identify a semi-busy state highway going through a really confusing part of town. Then put up some helpful signs in key places, indicating things like the locations of off-ramps and the names of other major roads. To be extra helpful, put up some streetlights so people can see the signs even though the lettering is non-reflective. And then -- this is the good part -- save energy by turning the streetlights off at night. Brilliant, I say, just brilliant!
The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Not Your Friend). OK, so I'm on my way back to my hotel after today's work, and I decide to grab a healthy and nutritious dinner of grease-on-a-bun from Wendy's. Missing the miniscule entrance to the Wendy's parking lot, I take the next exit, intending to turn around. But lo, said exit turns out to be a secret on-ramp to, yes, the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Funny thing about the Penna. Turnpike is that it has no exits. I realize that limited access is kind of the whole point of turnpikes, but this is excessive. Really. I end up having to drive halfways to $#@!ing Ohio or Virginia or somewhere like that (depending on which way I was going, which was either West or South, or possibly East) before being able to turn around. And THEN I had to sit in a 20-mile traffic jam before I could get back to what passes for civilization in these parts. According to the guys on the radio this morning, the governor of Pennsylvania recently announced that he's looking for a new State Slogan. He should call me -- I have some suggestions!
I also learned about streetlights and signs. Thing is, most major cities have an abundance of both of these. But Pittsburghers have seemingly come up with a novel idea for saving money: First, identify a semi-busy state highway going through a really confusing part of town. Then put up some helpful signs in key places, indicating things like the locations of off-ramps and the names of other major roads. To be extra helpful, put up some streetlights so people can see the signs even though the lettering is non-reflective. And then -- this is the good part -- save energy by turning the streetlights off at night. Brilliant, I say, just brilliant!
