The River Green

About 2 years ago, I was firmly committed to moving from Pittsburgh to another city (possible destinations included Boston, San Diego and Dayton). I can't remember the reason for my sudden disdain for the place I've called home for most of my life. For maybe the 5th time, Marieke and I took a visiting friend to see the Pink Floyd laser show at the Science Center. Corny as this may sound, the notion of moving away evaporated when the last piece 'Time' played. When the lyric 'Home, home again' came round, the visual was of the city. It was at that moment that I knew I would always be here in one form or another.

Thoughts of what might have been had we moved periodically haunt my imagination. Ever annoyed with the constant state of construction that the city is under, these periods are getting closer to one another.

Pittsburgh's colors are black & yellow; we are the city whose collective professional sports franchises have the same official colors. This random fact is thrown in because the color should actually be ORANGE- the color of construction cones.

Pittsburgh is geographically located near West Virginia. Evidence of this is present at almost all PennDot construction sites vis-a-vis the alleged propensity our neighbors to the south have of producing incestuous offspring. Why in the name of all that is reasonable would two of the three lanes of the outbound 376 interstate (the far right being an eventual exit lane) need to be closed only to have one of them open again after the exit? Come on! Do they think gas comes from water? The city is already suffering with the title of 'most rude drivers'. One wonders why.

We live in the east end of the city, a location we chose based on it's central location in that you can get pretty much anywhere in a relatively short amount of time and with a relative direct route. Now, we can't get anywhere.

The Blvd. of the Allies is closed from the parkway split until the S. Oakland stretch. What good is the damned road at this point? The whole reason it exists in the first place is so that we all don't have to sit in parkway traffic.

Without warning, signage or clear detour, the part of Greenfield that contains the gas station, Pizza Hut, Brewster's, the laundromat, the 'nice' Chinese restaurant and the only way to get to Schenley Park, I-376 in any direction and the other parts of Greenfield, was coned off and the pavement removed. The two lanes of the Greenfield bridge were promptly reduced to one and the collective blood pressure of our 'Fine Residential Community' went up. It has been like that for almost a week now. Again, COME ON!! With the help of a shovel and that big rolly-thing to squish the asphalt into pavement, I, by myself, could have been done with resurfacing in under two days.

All of this begs the question, 'What the hell are they digging all this shit up NOW for?!?!' There are tourists here for once and the Vintage Grand-Prix was this weekend, so I'm sure all the incoming spectators, participants and organizers were just thrilled to have come here in the first place when they discovered that half of the gas they just spent their life savings on would be eaten up whilst sitting in any number of traffic jams our fair city and state created with the asinine construction schedule they pulled from their sphincters.

By the stone of Juno I swear that if this city ever wants to become a place where people want to stay after graduating college, it needs to realize that when tying up traffic on the parkway, three main roads into Oakland and the only realistic access to the Waterfront, parents and prospective students will run to the nearest Penn State campus and enroll there. Why we won't even have to worry about what's to happen to all of the city's graduating student bodies- WE WON'T HAVE ANY!!

I hear the weather in San Diego is nice this time of year (all year 'round in fact).

Labels: construction , Pittsburgh