Recon The Route

This isn't quite ready yet.

 I was passing through downtown Waterloo yesterday and noted that there was a lot of barriers to my commute route which cuts across an intersection underneath the expressway. This was going to present a challenge to me because there looked to be something going on with this formerly forgotten bit of dirt. It had sat looking the way it has for years, but apparently the 'powers that be' have turned their "Giant Burning Eye" of urban beautification upon this forlorn urban feature. 

This could be a situation where I fly the "Fickle Finger of Rebellion" to those Mordorites of Modernization and try to cut across anyway, or I could just, ya know, go a block over, around, and be on my merry way. 

I guess I'll just go around! 

I decided that I should explore my options though, given that this development had provided me a chance to check out some new possibilities. So I first went over to look at the 'really old route' which was the way I had commuted to my old shop job for 17+ years. I have noted that more work had been done over that way, but I hadn't been down to really look at it of late. So, I went the long way around and when I got to the barricades I peered over and saw that yes- indeed things looked closer to finished on the South side. However, I was going to have to check out the North side and that meant another long way around to see that.

On the way, I had to traverse the new roundabout at Fletcher and University. The dimwits!  You can cross going East-West, but North-South? fahgeddaboudit!  Not happening. I guess cyclists were not meant to go North-South in Waterloo, Iowa. Huh! Who knew?! 

Once past that mess, I went around down to the East side, dead end of Falls Avenue and what do you know? Nothing has been done where you cannot see it from the new road. Imagine that. Looks like it'll be quite a while before any cycling can be done through that tunnel. That fancy-pants tunnel that my son, when he saw the image here quipped, "Ya mean that hasn't been graffiti ridden yet?" He's not wrong, you know. It will be as soon as they open this up. Painted up, that is. Plus, they had troubles occasionally with people getting ambushed under the old bridge that I used to go under through there. I wonder how this tunnel will affect things in terms of that. 

Let's say I'm a bit skeptical that this whole deal is a very smart design. 

But when it gets done, I'll be using it for the commute. In the meantime, I'll be going about two blocks more out of my way to work. Longer bike rides! Hooray! (Only slightly sarcastic there.)