No, seriously: what the F is up with that median at NW 41st and Western?
The other night, on the way to hosting TLO Trivia Night, co-host Sam Scovill and I nearly crashed head-on into the camouflaged concrete intrusion that, like an unwanted pimple, seems to have popped up out of nowhere, in the most inopportune of places, to wreak havoc on even the brightest of days, and all for what? What is your endgame, City of OKC?
I even called the appropriate Oklahoma City roadwork office and, politely, asked “What the F is up with the median at NW 4st and Western?” and, natch, I was dutifully ignored. Just check out this photo:
Roughly about four-feet long and one-foot wide, within one day of appearing, it’s white, freshly dried concrete finish quickly became tarnished with one black rubber burn after another, with a nice collection of hubcaps gathering on both sides of the street. As I was taking the pictures for this piece, a small sporty car skidded right into it, popping of a hubcap with prestidigitatious timing.
Please tell me, road crew, did you mean to do this? Was it a mistake? A joke? An act of vengeance against a community that somehow wronged you?
Denizens of the area might remember the length of time—roughly two months—that the side of the road was cordoned off, with police dutifully ticketing anyone who went around it instead of taking the time-consuming detour. And, in all that time and all that construction, this is what they accomplished:
And, as if to rub salt in the wound, from the looks of it, it isn’t even finished yet. One half is still open, bed of dirt fully exposed as pylons continue to break and bend from the constant rotation of cars smacking into them from all sides. Even to more cautious drivers, the question left behind is this: what is the point of this median?
And, even more so, how long before we are witness to a car, speeding along only a few miles over the posted 25 mph, hitting the curb at the right angle and launching 25-30 feet in the air, rotating once or twice before landing into a storefront and causing a massive fiery explosion, a feat of vehicular carnage worthy of a Mad Max film?
So, can someone please answer this question once and for all: what the F is up with that median at NW 41st and Western?
Until that question is answered, however, I'd like to dedicate this song to all the impending lives that will most definitely be lost in the years to come...
Click it or ticket and follow Louis on Twitter at @LouisFowler.
