Its amazing how life changes, how quickly we forget. Years ago I was a decorative painter, working between Malibu and Newport Beach. Traffic was a part of my life, I almost welcomed it. It was the ultimate me time (this was before cell phones were so mainstream), alone in the car with the window rolled up, the music of my choice on the radio.
Flash forward 10 years and I am crawling up Foothill, kiddie Dance Party music blaring, stressed out of my mind that my niece is going to be late for school. What is with all the traffic on Foothill? I know Town Center is being built, but can't they keep the construction off of the boulevard? Apparently not.
The nice thing about living in a small town is that you can pick up the phone and actually talk to someone at the building department. The person at Public Works asked not to be named, so he or she will hereafter be called the "source" (you know instantly that bad news is coming when it is preceded by "please don't quote me on this"). So my source tells me that the utility work on Foothill will be completed in the next 2 weeks but that work will immediately begin again on contracts that were halted in November. The new crosswalks that began last fall will be creeping across the boulevard for at least 2 months. Ditto for the sidewalk improvements. And the "signalization" (is that a real word?) of the intersections of Beulah and Sport Chalet Way, Chevy Chase and Angeles Crest, and Angeles Crest and Town Center Drive is set to start in March. At the same time, the long-awaited sidewalks will be constructed on the west side Chevy Chase between Foothill and Descanso. In short, there will be construction workers, jack hammers, diggers, concrete trucks, back hoes, cranes and a whole host of other objects in the road, blocking my commute through town.
As I climb down off of my soap box I have a reality check. This isn't Sunset, or PCH, or the 405. Its Foothill Blvd. in La Canada. 2 short blocks of traffic. I can take Milmada, or Berkshire. Or maybe I will walk.
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