Worcester: Tripping the Light Fantastic
As one of my favorite Worcester columnists noted, it was school vacation week last week, which meant that not only could I pay twelve bucks for a sno-cone at Disney on ice, but also that I was back in my home town for an ENTIRE WEEK. As some folks may not know, I commute back and forth between Worcester and my new teaching job on the South Shore in a lovingly renovated suburban high school. The commute being what it is, I have a room nearby to stay in, so spending an entire week with my family (less one -- my eldest daughter is off at MCLA in North Adams) rather than pining for their company in my little room in Pembroke was a treat.
Walking around in Worcester (walking the dog is my chief duty at home; more so when the weather is bad) I couldn't help but compare my own "gritty, tightly-knit blue-collar community" with the South Shore. For those that think Worcester comes off badly by comparison, I should point out that Worcester's virtues are easily overlooked by its own citizens. Worcesterites love to complain about their city; maybe it's because they don't get out of it enough.
So let's talk sidewalks. Along May Street, where I live, Public Works was busy ripping up a recently created sidewalk (blacktop, not concrete) to lay PVC pipes that looked like they were for electrical lines. As there is new electrical work being done nearby at Beaver Brook Park, I suspected that it had something to do with that. I'm looking forward to a well-lit, well-drained park with better fields, including soccer fields for our growing legions of soccer players. In the meantime, the sidewalks along May Street were a mess, hastily covered over with blacktop after the pipes went in. That's an observation; I'm not complaining (yet).
The lack of a sidewalk in Worcester is notable, and people in Worcester get rather testy with local government about them from time to time. They should. A sidewalk is a necessary amenity. Good sidewalks not only build good neighborhoods, they improve cardiovascular health and provide dogs places to urinate. They are footpaths to freedom.
"Sidewalks? So what?" you might ask. Well, it seems in the suburbs of the South Shore THERE ARE HARDLY ANY FREAKIN' SIDEWALKS AT ALL! No one walks anywhere except to their cars. Then they get in and drive. The only places with sidewalks are toney neighborhoods and malls. Then, no doubt, they pay to exercise indoors on treadmills, as if they were donkeys grinding grain. WTF?!
I can go quite awhile in my neighborhood without having to drive except to get groceries, and that's only because I'm too lazy to carry them (my kids are too lazy to help; for that matter so's the dog). I can walk to:
Walking around in Worcester (walking the dog is my chief duty at home; more so when the weather is bad) I couldn't help but compare my own "gritty, tightly-knit blue-collar community" with the South Shore. For those that think Worcester comes off badly by comparison, I should point out that Worcester's virtues are easily overlooked by its own citizens. Worcesterites love to complain about their city; maybe it's because they don't get out of it enough.
So let's talk sidewalks. Along May Street, where I live, Public Works was busy ripping up a recently created sidewalk (blacktop, not concrete) to lay PVC pipes that looked like they were for electrical lines. As there is new electrical work being done nearby at Beaver Brook Park, I suspected that it had something to do with that. I'm looking forward to a well-lit, well-drained park with better fields, including soccer fields for our growing legions of soccer players. In the meantime, the sidewalks along May Street were a mess, hastily covered over with blacktop after the pipes went in. That's an observation; I'm not complaining (yet).
The lack of a sidewalk in Worcester is notable, and people in Worcester get rather testy with local government about them from time to time. They should. A sidewalk is a necessary amenity. Good sidewalks not only build good neighborhoods, they improve cardiovascular health and provide dogs places to urinate. They are footpaths to freedom.
"Sidewalks? So what?" you might ask. Well, it seems in the suburbs of the South Shore THERE ARE HARDLY ANY FREAKIN' SIDEWALKS AT ALL! No one walks anywhere except to their cars. Then they get in and drive. The only places with sidewalks are toney neighborhoods and malls. Then, no doubt, they pay to exercise indoors on treadmills, as if they were donkeys grinding grain. WTF?!
I can go quite awhile in my neighborhood without having to drive except to get groceries, and that's only because I'm too lazy to carry them (my kids are too lazy to help; for that matter so's the dog). I can walk to:
- 5 hairdressing salons
- 2 breakfast places
- a luncheonette/cafe
- 2 pizza joints
- a really fancy restaurant
- a college (hey, that's where I got certified to teach!)
- a 24 hour convenience store
- a butcher shop
- a deli
- a supermarket (except I'm too lazy if I'm buying much)
- a dance studio
- a Chinese restaurant run by really friendly and incredibly hardworking Vietnamese folks
- Several Vietnamese restaurants
- any number of bars, liquor stores, etc.
- Two barbecue joints
- until recently, an excellent bookstore and cafe
and so on. You get my point.
So Worcester: Love your neighborhoods. Complain to the city council when your sidewalks are unsafe. And for heaven's sake, spring is coming, so GET OUT AND WALK!
posted by urbansocrates at 3:49 PM
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