Well, I knew that I’d be writing about the so-called Carmageddon one way or another this week. I must admit, I was not optimistic that this would be a favorable piece. But as it turns out, the San Diego (405) Freeway bridge demolition was a smashing success.
From what I gather anecdotally, businesses saw a decline in business, overall patronage being down somewhat, but in light of the dire warnings to stay off the roads, it wasn’t like, say, a stock market crash in terms of financial disaster. And based on a conversation with fire Capt. Chris Sellers and police Chief Don Pedersen, there were no catastrophes as gloom-and-doom pessimists had expected.
It’s reassuring to know that one of the busiest stretches of paved road in the country can shut down and Angelenos, who supposedly can’t get out of our cars to walk around the block, somehow managed to not melt down. As for myself, I rode the storm out at home, mostly, but also made use of my lower extremities and a pretty darn good public transportation system.
And here’s where I’m going with this: City workers do a hell of a job. They rarely get credit when things go as planned and on schedule, but when for one reason or another, they’re off schedule, the you-know-what hits the fan. Those are some pretty tough working conditions. Not only that, our lives are dependent on a great deal of municipal labor. Bus drivers, for instance, maneuver a huge vehicle through busy streets while hauling dozens of passengers at a time. And meanwhile, there are crews repairing (and when necessary demolishing) the roads and bridges we drive. Police officers and firefighters, of course, also protect our safety. The list of death-preventing public workers goes on and on. But this is a shout-out to all of them – imagine a world without trash pick-up or records-keepers – because the world is a better place because of their efforts.