Shopping, traffic and insanity

So here we are in the midst of the biggest shopping weekend of the year. What is the first thing Tom thinks about at a time like this? Besides will the Dodgers ever hire a manager? Yes, its traffic!!! The nightmare that is Rivers Avenue near Ashley Phosphate. There is a rather large Mall on one side. On the other side are 4 large, and inexplicably separate, shopping centers. One after another, 4 in a row. All on the same side of the road and completely separated and totally impractical to get from one to the next.

Why? Why would anyone think this is a good idea? No one does of course, yet they accept it anyway. Why? Because there are no other alternatives? I don't believe that.

Am I going to whip out the old subway bit now? No. Even I know it isn't terribly practical to do extensive Christmas shopping without a car. Its a lot to try to carry on the train.

But how about building just a little bit smarter. It wasn't too long ago that there were only two shopping centers in that spot. Two with a gap in the middle. And one was really struggling to make it. The other is ruled by Wal Mart. So at the time. There was only Wal Mart, soon-to-be out of business Service Merchandise, Toys R Us and Sports authority. If they were going to add Best Buy, Pet Smart, Barnes and Noble, Linens and Things, Michaels, Super Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Circuit City and a number of others, then why not do it in a more organized manor.

Think Big People!! There was, and still is, a lot of free space around the mall. Why not move things over there. Consolidate. You could have built a parking garage and a pedestrian walkway. You could have traffic converge from three directions onto one large shopping area instead of only one direction to get to 4 separate ones.

Am I the only one who gets it? Why are people afraid? Why do people think that density equals more traffic? What we are talking about is consolidation equaling traffic efficiency. We are dealing with a society full of sociological fence straddlers. Where people are unwilling to do anything for fear of everything. If its the last thing I do, I will show people the truth.

-T