According to Google Maps, the south end of the pedestrian crosswalk on High
St is
• 1238 feet from the spot on rte 9 directly across from the Mobil station,
• 1140 feet from the middle of the parking lot.
But that's just as the buzzard flies.
To traverse those points on sidewalks and even vaguely legally, a
pedestrian must
• go south, cross to the south side of Salem End Rd →→→ High St (no
crosswalk except at Maynard Rd, some distance south and west of the
starting point)
• go east, cross Adams Rd (no marked crosswalk)
• continue east, cross State St
• continue east, turn south, cross High St again, at the
warning-flash-able crosswalk
• go over the pedestrian bridge — no shielding from weather
• go down ~27.003 rather nasty steps — slippery in rain, icy(?) in winter
• go 50 feet east — away from the objective
• go south, cross Rte 30 (= Edgell St off-ramp, no traffic calming or
speed controls (or signs))
• go south, cross the west end of the Super Liquors(!!!)/Keli parking lot
• go west, cross Vernon St
• • • NOTE: eastbound traffic turning left off Pleasant St onto Vernon
St has the (vehicular) right of way and does not stop, and the crosswalk is
at the far end of the intersection. It is vaguely conceivable that
motorists will pay attention to
which-driver-might-illegally-not-stop-for-me, coming-off-the-off-ramp, i.e.
look right, until they are in the intersection, then verify that
nobody-is-(again illegally) coming-at-me-from-the-parking-lot, and finally
shift eyes left for pedestrians.
• turn right (north), turn left at Computer Care Associates,
• go west on the north side of Pleasant St at least to the alley behind
Fresh Food Sales and Marketing,
• cross south (NO marked crosswalks for the next 2 miles),
• either follow the east:-south:-east curve along the eastbound rte 30
turnoff, or cross some grass, to get to the sidewalk on rte 9 west
• go west ~489.73 feet, to the Mobil station:
• • • NOTE: the first part of this segment parallels (NOT anti-parallel
- we're all going west) the no-acceleration-lane merge from rte 30 (either
direction) to rte 9 (westbound). If a motorist on either of those roads
perceives a rear-end threat and moves right to escape, a pedestrian heading
west may be rear-ended instead. Better for the motorists. Blood may be
thicker than water, but plastic bumper panels on some cars, and their
metallic counterparts on others, as well as on trucks, are thicker still.
___
OK, I've bought my beer and cigarettes and ignored Super Liquors, carrying
my stuff/backpack, or staying with my gaggle of friends (who can all hear
each other over the traffic, particularly WATCH OUT) the whole way. Time
to do it in reverse.
A case of beer weighs ~24 lbs. in bottles, a bit less in cans. (You think
I'm going to make that trip for a bloody 6-pack?) This time I'm going _up_
the 27 steps to the bridge.
NB: According to current statistics, most human pedestrians cannot soar
like vultures. Let's declare the whole trip a mile long, with close to two
dozen street crossings, half of them unprotected even by paint on the road.
Someone feel like arguing?
___
THE MORALS OF THE STORY:
[1] People who think human nature in the under-60 cohort will contemplate
such an anabasis when the alternative is a 30 yard dash across Rte 9 must
contact me immediately, for I have many things to sell, and you're clearly
in a mood to buy.
[2] Those who believe "personal responsibility" or distinctly
non-kiddie-like "maturity" will, or should, supersede the human nature
referenced above, and thereby absolve themselves of sympathy, are reminded
of the physicians' conclusions in the (lovely, IMO) film THE MADNESS OF
KING GEORGE:
» » A person can create perfectly-formed three-legged chairs without back
supports, and yet be a stranger to reason.