Category: Phoenix

…to put in bike lanes: bike lanes that no one will ever use.

It just doesn't make sense. Phoenix is not somewhere temperate where people actually bike to work or downtown. In the summer, afternoon temps flirt with 120F for weeks on end. Even hardcore mountain bikers like my boss, eschew cycling when it gets that hot.

If they wanted to make 3rd and 5th Avenues two way, fine. But don't put in something that is basically useless and adds nothing to the community. Put in a planted median down the center of the street and plant some shade trees. That would've increased the value of downtown much more in my opinion.

…that you can't drive anywhere in this town without running into road construction/closures—especially in Central Phoenix.

I sent this photo to a friend in Oregon who quipped, "At least you're not in Texas!"

We've been running the A/C since Daylight Savings kicked in everywhere else in the country, confirming that the two go hand-in-hand.

I worked here in one of the anchor stores, Broadway Southwest, in 1978. I documented Metrocenter's downfall a couple years ago, and just learned the other day that it's shuttering completely at the end of the month. I have so many good memories of this place from my high school and college years. (And just so you know, all—save for one—are non-sexual in nature, you perverts.) It was the place to go and hang out. When it opened in 1974, it was so futuristic.

It's sad, but I suppose life moves on.

July is nearly over and we've had no monsoon this year.

But apparently Phoenix hasn't gotten the memo.

Probably the last hurrah for the monsoon this year, but I'm still hoping for more, more, MOAR!!!

We were approached by our landlords/next door neighbors a couple weeks ago to see if we'd be amenable to them removing the mature elm in our back yard so it could be relocated to their front yard to replace a dying ornamental orange. In exchange, they would go ahead with the full rear yard makeover we'd been discussing with them for the past year or so.

How could we possibly say no? Right now the yard is a mess, and the only redeeming feature is that tree.

Last Thursday the tree guy showed up and successfully removed the dying citrus from their front yard.

Unfortunately…

…no matter how many ways they tried it, they could not get the tree removal truck into our back yard (even though the tree guy had previously assured our landlords he could get it back there) to move the elm.

So as it stands now, the landlords are going to have to enlarge the gate before the truck can get in the back yard. We don't yet know the timetable, but since they've already paid to have the tree moved, I can't imagine it will be that long.

We all met with the landscape architect later that day to discuss the plans for the back yard. Apparently our landlords had a much more ambitious plan in mind than we could ever have ever wished for. We just wanted to get rid of most of the water-sucking, impossible-to-maintain always-on-the-verge-of-death lawn and replace it with a more drought-tolerant landscape and run a paver path from the patio to the back gate. They're not only doing that; they're planning on redoing everything. We're getting a new patio with a pergola, gravel in most of the yard with a small lawn area, and new, more drought-resistant trees.

From what was discussed, it sounds like we're going to end up with something similar to this:

It's probably going to be a disaster while it's happening, but the results will definitely be worth it!

Every town has at least one: an intersection that leaves you convinced the traffic engineers were stoned out of their minds then they designed it. I have to pass through this one twice a day on my way to and from work.

19th Avenue is the street running vertically in the picture. McDowell is horizontal. Grand Avenue (US60, which runs to Wickenburg and points west) is the street that runs diagonally in the picture and fucks up everything it touches. (Many years ago ADOT finally built over/underpasses at nearly all of the Grand Avenue intersections, but for some reason this one was omitted and IMHO, it needs one more than any of the others. I'm sure it was left out because the State Fairgrounds are on the northeast corner, a small oil refinery on the southwest and neither could be encroached upon for for the necessary ramping required. Interstate 10 is about a quarter mile below the bottom of the picture.

Because of inadequate planning when I-10 was put in, every morning traffic backs up on 19th Avenue from the single eastbound onramp to this particular intersection. Because the backup is so awful there isn't enough room to get everyone into the left turn lane onto the freeway, it spills off into the left lane itself, effectively cutting 19th Avenue down to one lane between the intersection from hell and the freeway.

Going home at night in the opposite direction it's even worse, because not only is there traffic coming off I-10 wanting to go northwest on Grand, we also traffic coming from the Capital complex off southern 19th Avenue wanting to do the same. To their credit, the traffic designers thought this one out a little bit; they at least put in a dual left-turn lane on 19th northbound at the this intersection.

Not that it really makes any difference.

Traffic still backs up to the freeway (this time northbound), so the idiot drivers I have to deal with on a daily basis pull into the left (straight ahead lane) and STOP, attempting to push their way into the flow of left turn traffic when the light changes. If that doesn't work, they turn that left lane into a THIRD left turn lane onto Grand, and I've witnessed more than one close call as the idiots narrowly avoid hitting someone else turning left from the southbound direction.

If this weren't already enough of a clusterfuck, there's a rail line that runs north just to the west of 19th Avenue, crosses McDowell (you can see it at the edge of the picture), and then runs parallel to Grand.

Lord help everyone when a train decides to rumble through (which is often), completely blocking all east-west traffic and disabling the left turn lane signals off 19th Avenue completely.

I've learned to simply avoid that middle (left) lane until I get through the intersection, but even that is no guarantee of safety. The other day I saw some idiot make a FOURTH left turn lane from the MIDDLE straight ahead lane, nearly colliding with someone who was proceeding through the intersection in the left lane!

And god forbid there's actually a collision in this intersection. You'd might as well turn around and go back from where you came (if you can), or just turn your engine off because you aren't going to get through in any kind of timely fashion.

For the next quarter mile past this intersection going north, there are several prominent " NO LEFT TURN 4-6 PM" signs posted on the residential streets that feed off 19th Avenue. I always used to wonder why they were there. Now I know.

The idiots who can't (or won't) wait to turn left onto Grand Avenue blow through the intersection and then turn left onto one of the residential streets because they all end at another street that allows you to get on Grand without having to wait for a six-way stop light.

Of course there's no enforcement of the NO LEFT TURN signs. None whatsoever. Because why would there be?

There's another route I could use to get to and from work, but it involves a dozen stop signs and often-blocked streets. So yeah.