Howdy reader,
Some scattered observations from the front - well, more like the back, or back office, of The Great Corona Lockdown.
Traffic
The local stay at home order has, understandably, reduced street traffic to around 10-15% of its usual level. However, what's seemed to go up is poor driving. If we use the official TOA metric for poor driving - turning the wrong way on a one-way street - my best guess is that I've seen such infractions occur at double (or even triple) the usual rate.
You may be thinking, rather eloquently - huh? I agree. I initially suspected there was some kind of social proof at play here (drivers simply following each other around, like lemmings) but I soon stumbled on a much more likely excuse - with fewer drivers around, it's simply less likely for cars to queue up at a red light. Nothing makes it more clear that a street is one-way than a car stopped where opposing traffic would otherwise flow.
Traffic, part two
TOA subscribers may have noticed that the morning email is arriving later than usual. Could this be evidence of higher internet traffic causing server strain? Only a 4500-word article from Vox can tell us for sure.
Spring is here, sort of
Each person has a different idea of spring's first approach. Whether you smell the flowers, feel the warm air, or simply enjoy the daylight given by an ever-generous sun, these signals are critical because, once noticed, it's hard to get back into the wintry mood.
For me, the return of hibernating Hubway racks - eh hem, Blue Bikes - always marks a sure sign of spring. The rack by the Public Garden at the end of Charles Street reappeared today, and it was a bittersweet moment. Spring will be there, when we make it, so have patience...
Have patience?
I almost have the whistling part down, Norah Jones can (and should) handle the rest.
Just need a little patience... hang in there, readers.
