Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. It’s race day and time for couch potatoes to sit back, relax and watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on television. But, what if you’re into speed but want to be more active than sedentary? Might I suggest taking a drive on the Parkway? Afterall, the Parkway is the closest thing to an unofficial raceway that we have in town.
While the real NASCAR drivers were turning laps at the Pocono Speedway in Pennsylvania, local Benites, tourons (aka tourists) and pseudo Ricahard Pettys were making with the speed on the Parkway.
I couldn’t resist the urge to get in on the action so got my 1994 F-150 Ford pickup up to 50 mph and started down the Parkway south to north. By the time hit the hunk of metal sculpture apparently donated to our fair city by the former Soviet Union (it does appear to be post Tsarist industrial art), things were already heating up.
Up from behind me came an SUV with two touring kayaks on top and four bikes on a rear bike carrier. He’s was doing about 75 mph. Blocked from changing lanes, the SUV’s driver slowed and got about four inches off my rear bumper.
This excellent drafting technique was soon followed by others as a spiffy Audi and a brand new hot Ford Fiesta fell into the pace line behind the SUV, each car about four inches from the one in front of them.
Suddenly, there was an opening in the left lane and bam, all three cars drafting off of me switched lanes and I’m left there plugging along (now at 55 mph) looking about as slow as a cement truck at a drag race.
But wait, there’s trouble ahead for the very fast in the left lane and it’s a woman in a battered Corolla who refuses to drive a single mile per hour above the 45 MPH posted speed limit. What is she thinking? Why is she screwing up a great day of racing?
Then the right lane became clear as a few cars exited onto Empire Avenue. The stream of fast cars (now hitting what must be between 75 and 80 mph) race ahead. Behind me the action is hot with cars coming up fast and switching lanes every two seconds.
It’s wild and sure beats the hell out of sitting watching racing on television. I was considering doing another run or two up and down the Parkway when a Chrysler 300 blasted by me at 90 mph, and I knew I couldn’t compete.
But how cool was the scene and how much fun is Parkway racing? Loads of fun and forget the 45mph speed limit that’s just a recommended slow speed.
For the record, I was on the City Council (then Commission) when the Parkway was approved. The original design called for numerous stoplights and the Council/Commission went to ODOT and asked that the roadway be stoplight free.
ODOT revised their plan dropped several stoplights, however, they refused to budge on the Council/Commission’s request for a 65 mph speed limit. The limit was set at 45 mph.
So, I ask, how about we revisit the speed limit issue because apart from the lady in the Corolla this past Sunday, I seriously doubt that anyone ever drives 45, or even 50, mph on the Parkway.
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2010.
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Great article Bob. I too enjoy the rush of the “Parkway Sprint Course”. The lead foot is calling…. Gotta go!
Right-on Bob! I usually drive 50,(or try to) on the parkway just for fear of a BMW motorcycle with cool flashing lights pulling me over. But with those rediculous crosswalks on the parkway, i doubt it’ll ever be increased to 55-65mph. BUT I WISH IT WAS! And if your in the left lane going slow, it’s just common courtesy to move out of the way. Inconsiderate drivers are my pet peave! Get the H@*l out of the way, you may not be in a hurry, but it aint all about YOU!
Having pedestrian crosswalks in a four-lane, limited-access, 45-mph (and in practice 50 to 60 mph) parkway is just insane.
Well at least I know now that not every idiot driving without consideration for human life or the safety of others aren’t all illiterate but actually can read, it’s that they just don’t give a sh*t about posted speed limits and expect everyone else to be self centered, self absorbed a**holes like them. For awhile I was worried that maybe it was a problem of mass vision impairment or some mysterious type of brain rot caused by mixing stress with a little latte, mocha, cellphone, Blackberry, text message, talk radio rage, etc, causing people to think that they’re the most important a**hole on the road. I even blamed it on a mass invasion of new citizens from L.A. and the Bay area and other places where driving usually involves near death experiences on a weekly basis for all the speeding thru town and blatant disregard for the large, black and white speed limit signs posted up and down the speedway that clearly state, SPEED LIMIT 45. Silly me, put people behind the wheel and they just kind of suck no matter where you live. I know now that it comes down to the fact that the more people there are in one place, the more problems there are, simple. Yet, I bet that if most of those folks weren’t incased in the protection of their cars and might risk getting punched in the face for acting like jerks, they’d probably think a little harder before driving like they just robbed a bank. I’m not saying that going around on a face punching spree is constructive, it’s just that most times your actions have direct consequences, except when you can drive off with your windows rolled up after you almost killed a pedestrian. I guess cars can turn even the biggest coward into the boldest jerk.
Mike: The problem with the Parkway is that it wasn’t engineered to be driven at 45 mph — it was engineered to be driven at 55 mph, and people in general (not just those from LA) will drive as fast as the road design and the conditions will allow, or a little faster. If you want people to go slow, build a narrow road with lots of curves. If you build it wide with few or no curves they’ll go fast, no matter what the speed limit signs say. It’s just human nature.