Traffic Control

Last Saturday, I was headed for University Village to meet up with some friends at the Ram. Back when I lived in Berkeley, I had a very good understanding (hard-won, mind you) of what roads and areas of town to avoid after a Cal football game. My plan was to avoid traffic snarls, restaurants suddenly jammed with people looking to get a bite before heading home, and knots of cars (fans of the visiting team) who have found themselves on unfamiliar roads.

Since I've moved to Seattle, I haven't spent enough time near campus to have a feel for the road and traffic changes that occur as Husky Stadium drains. My route to U-Village was via NE 65th St to 25th Ave NE. Traffic snarled up pretty badly on 65th eastbound, so I diverted up a couple of blocks north, then tried to come down 25th from there.

That's when I ran into two traffic control cops. They had made 25th Ave NW into a one-way affair, heading north. I was required to turn left (east) onto 65th and then head to U-Village the back way, past TiCycles. But as I waited to turn left (through several cycles of the light) I was quietly amused by the reactions of drivers coming the opposite direction. Many tried to stop at the red light they were facing, despite repeated urging by the officers. Some came to the intersection with their left turn signal blinking; the officers shook their heads and kept waving them through. The reactions of these drivers were the best! Some of them looked vexed, as if to say "that was the only route I knew back to the freeway!" Others simply turned off their blinkers and kept going. The most amusing ones were those who looked upset or angry, as if the cops had some vendetta to carry out. I even saw one guy who was flinging obscenities, if my lip-reading skill is any good. That's going to get you nowhere fast!