Positive changes

A couple of positive changes in our gray city.

For years my favorite radio show was the local dixieland program on weekend mornings. But then the host died and was replaced by an earnest, sincere and, alas, unbearable young DJ, who sounded like he was poorly reading everything. He was terrible! After listening to him for a couple minutes, and he went on endlessly, I had to change the station or break the radio. I always chose the former.

He's been replaced! A new DJ with apparent experience and aural personality now runs the show. Hooray, I can listen again.

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City streets are typically designed for traffic this way: cars park at the curb, next to them is a thin lane for bikes, and next to that a wider lane for cars. In this configuration, cars and bikes are dangerously close to one another.

In the university area a new design is being tested. The bike lane is at the curb, then the parked cars, then the traffic lane for cars. Cars and bikes have a barrier of parked cars between them! Now the only thing a driver must be careful of are doors swinging open. But this is a definite improvement and I hope it becomes the new standard.