Instead of screaming into the void of Twitter, I bring you a weekly highlight reel of what it’s like going places in Greater Hartford when one is gloriously car-free. These posts are on a slight time delay because nobody needs to know exactly where I am when I am there.

Building on last week’s theme of the heat is awful, the heat makes me cranky, I dislike having to practice good sense by taking it easy.

It’s not my imagination, either, how much the heat stinks. I looked at the app that tracks my steps whether I want it to or not, and my average steps for this past week were about 2,000 fewer per day than my lowest week in December, January, or February — those cold months that I allegedly couldn’t live without a car in.

In past years, I would try to do most of my physical activity early in the morning or later in the evening when it was this hot, but I can’t say I feel especially ambitious when it’s 80°F at sunrise, for several days in a row.

As annoyed as I am about this, I’m grateful to have decided years ago to live in within a short walk of a park.

(Why are the pics so bad? That’s because I decided it was too sweaty to carry around a camera.)

I’m grateful to have chosen a neighborhood where I could easily walk, a few blocks in one direction or another, and access groceries, coffee, baked goods. Even when it’s blazing, I can motivate myself to walk seven minutes to the fancy coffee place, feel like I’ve had human contact, sit at a picnic table for awhile, and then walk the seven minutes home. 

How does one manage getting to work when you wake up sweaty?

For starters, I’m fortunate to not work at Taco Bell, because it seems their dress code is a black company t-shirt and black pants– which looks nice except for right now when it looks like torture for employees waiting for and walking to the bus.

On slightly less wildly hot days, I walked slower and drank more water.

On hotter days, I rode the bus the entire way to work, which means taking a bus in the opposite direction from where I need to go. The bus is free; the layover, minimal. This meant walking about three blocks instead of 1.8 miles in each direction; the total time for the bus was the same as I would’ve spent walking. The stop is directly by my workplace and is in the shade with a clean place to sit. I was visited by chipmunks.

[Side note: I really had to laugh at a recent public transit article that used a photo showing a mostly empty bus. The routes I regularly ride never present so many seating options, even at off-peak times of day. The photo above from one of the “too hot, taking the bus all the way” days depicts what has been my typical experience for at least the last six months. I got the last empty seat that did not require sitting with a stranger. More people boarded after me. There were kids sitting behind me. I’m really feeling like if you don’t use the bus, you don’t get to talk about the bus.]

On the hottest day, I said bump that, I’m working from home.

On my major excursion of the weekend — dropping something off for a friend who lives about 15 minutes away — I encountered the ongoing construction project on Park Street. It’s lovely to be stranded like this. Still. The assumption that if I am walking on Park Street, I might not be trying to access something on Bartholomew Avenue.

They postponed the “open streets” event because of the heat, but is it too much to ask to have open sidewalks?

[Dear Reader, I did not cross here.]

This is one of those many occasions that reveals a disconnect. You can tell us how great a project or event or whatever will be in the long run for residents, but right now, I kinda hate you because you’re making me walk in Park Street, and you should be so lucky it’s early on a Sunday and not rush hour or once that hipster cafeteria opens.

All those barrels used to keep humans off the sidewalk? Those could’ve been used to make temporary pedestrian walkways so access is maintained for everyone during construction. Twisting an ankle on unfinished sidewalk is less damaging than getting nailed by a driver who isn’t yielding to you in the roadway.

BUS MILESTONES

If you ride the bus, you’re a bus rider. None of that gatekeeping crap. But, it definitely feels like you’ve earned a badge or something when you hit certain milestones.
Already I’d (plenty of times) reached the “yells ‘backdoor’ at driver” level — for myself and on behalf of others. There’s the badge for spacing out and missing your stop. There’s one for boarding the bus without looking at its route number first.

Today, I leveled up by having the honor of someone holding the bus up for me because I had only just come around the corner when the driver was five whole minutes early. Considering this particular driver is impatient and dedicated to setting new speed records for himself, I was shocked that he waited the ten seconds for me to catch up.

There are still many milestones to be reached, though, including bringing something especially large and something especially awkward on the bus, which could be the same item.

SHOUT OUT

For the people who told me that the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz “needed” to obstruct pedestrians and cyclists, I offer this photo from the set up for Monday Night Jazz. Note how both vehicles were carefully maneuvered into the equipment loading zone and how neither are blocking any pedestrian/cyclist walkway.

If organizers of other events cannot conduct itself with similar respect for regular park users — including those passing through — perhaps it’s time for them to evaluate if an urban environment is the best fit for their event.


HOW MANY THINGS ARE WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

Would you pump coffee straight into whoever is running the Alerts Twitter?

PLANNING

If you’ve been following along, you know I was planning for various train trips for #BeyondHartfordBeyondCars, and then there were lots of question marks around what I could reasonably do because of the poorly communicated construction project (AKA #GetRailedCT) . . . and then it was more clearly communicated that, actually, not all trains would be vanished for the rest of the summer, so this introduced another round of planning. Suddenly, I had a much longer list than I would have time for this season, so I asked people to vote.

Here are the four places I should now be visiting, if I honor the voting system and don’t demand a recount:

It was fun to watch votes go back and forth on this one. Any time I’ve been to Bridgeport, I’ve been passing through on public transit. I suppose this means I’ve passed through Milford as well, but that hasn’t even registered. This doesn’t mean I’m skipping Bridgeport because it failed to get the votes. . . I may go in the fall or later on.

The secret about this one is that I thought I was really trying to choose between Colchester and Marlborough. I’ve spent no considerable time in either, but I know Mansfield well. I’m not sad about this outcomes, but then, going back to the original issue: the list was long because I couldn’t decide.

Early voting between Colchester and Old Saybrook had the former leading by a lot. Like, I wasn’t sure if this would turn around. I found myself wondering why Old Saybrook was getting no love. Then, the tide shifted. So, Colchester will be a trip for another time.

The real surprise for me was this:

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Clinton pummeled Madison, but I really was like “Why? They know I’m not going to the outlets. There’s not going to be any shellfish consumed. What could they want from Clinton?”

That’s what’s to look forward to, but then I added three more potential (though less involved) stops to my list.

The point: even if people claim you need a car for almost everything, no you don’t. What I need is 300 paid vacation days and perfect weather to make all the trips I would like to in the near future.

A MEME I DON’T HATE
I’m sure in a few days I’ll feel differently, when it gets absorbed fully into the mainstream to sell soda or something, but right now. . . bravo to:
CTrides
Treehugger


and The Size of Connecticut

I think she’s referring to hikes in the woods, but this also counts for some bootleg bus stops (looking at you, Bloomfield Avenue bus stop by a major community center)

WHAT NEXT

Walking Book Club: As in a book club that meets while in motion, not one that reads books about walking. (Though maybe there will be a book about walking at some point). This is ideal for people who prefer to not sit still and to not make dull small talk. This begins, I’m hoping, in September. The focus will be on books, articles, poetry, audio, and short videos related to nature and to climate issues. There will be structure so one session will meet six times, then another will begin, and so on. Send an email if you want more details.

Greater Hartford Pedestrian Safety Working Groups: We gathered a few weeks ago and have several working groups. If you’re less interested in endless meetings and more interested in making stuff happen, get in touch. Think about what skills you have and will commit to using. (If you are are professional in this field, you might reconsider if your only motivation is to check off a box to say you’ve done engagement or advocacy. This is for those with sincere interest in making positive change)