Tonight after work I swung down Friendly Ave. to pick up dinner from P.F. Changs at the Friendly Center Shopping Plaza. The good news is the road work that has been going on for the better part of a year two years seems to be coming to a close. The bad news is the section of West Friendly from Westridge Road down to the Shops at Friendly Center is a classic example of civil planning gone horribly wrong.

Although the city technically widened Friendly by 2 full lanes, driving on it actually feels more cramped and crowded than it did before. This is because of the new median divider the size of the Neutral Zone that somehow made its way smack-dab into the middle of this once beautiful thoroughfare. Left turns can only be taken at certain points along the median, creating an almost one-way street effect that is anything but pleasant. God help the poor folks who live along this stretch of Friendly. Getting to and from their homes must now be a little slice of paved hell. If I was in their shoes, I’d be down at City Hall raising cain like there’s no tomorrow.

Sometimes I just don’t understand why cities decide to alter roads, change traffic flows and generally screw things up for us little people. If Friendly had simply had one lane added to either side, and left the center turn lane alone, the new construction would have been quite welcome. Instead we have confusion and bottlenecking. I was looking forward to the completion of Painter Blvd., but now I’m not so sure.