The Busy Streets in the Foothills

Yesterday was chaos in the foothills. The schools in the Glendale Unified School District opened their doors to new and returning students with many of the schools sporting a red carpet welcome. Not surprising, traffic was, in a word, a mess. Buses that were absent from our local streets over the summer months filled them again as did cars with parents and students. Parking was at a premium, too, as parents accompanied their students to school, eager to give them a proper send-off. I made my way to Lincoln Elementary where my granddaughter met her new third grade teacher. Also there were friends that she hadn’t seen over the summer and with whom she was eager to catch up. With barely a glance over her shoulder to her family, she was off.

I remember growing up hearing the words, “My, they grow up fast!” I thought people who said them were old but, to my surprise, I was thinking the same thing this morning so, obviously, people aren’t old who share that sentiment.

After I made my way to the office, traffic once again was reduced to a crawl. Looking out my window, I saw a mobile film shoot traveling on Honolulu Avenue from Pennsylvania Avenue to Ocean View Boulevard. The trek was made several times and I doubt the line of cars following it were hopeful to be in the shoot but only wanted to make their way to work. Glendale police were brought in to keep things moving along.

Between the film shoot and school traffic, drivers had to be extra-vigilant on Wednesday and that vigilance has to be sustained as school has just begun. I know that several agencies, from our local town council to safety personnel, have encouraged drivers to give themselves extra time to get where they need to go in the morning when school starts and in the afternoon when it lets out.

Not everyone, apparently, has gotten the message; I saw one car gun it through a crosswalk as a woman was walking through it pushing a stroller. Makes me shudder to think what may have happened.

Drivers: Be cautious, be attentive and be in the moment when driving. Give yourself extra time. No one wants to leave a legacy of injuring – or worse killing – someone because they were too much in a hurry. Remember ICKY: impatience can kill you.

  robin goldsworthy