By Neil Macaulay Santa Monica
On Aug. 9 (“Standing on firm ground”), you show a picture of the Farmers’ Market at Fourth Street and Arizona Avenue. There is a six-foot gap between the truck and the police car which form part of the “barricade.” Some barricade! Have you ever watched high-speed chases on TV? A fast moving car (such as Russell Weller’s, with his foot firmly planted on the accelerator), if aimed at the six-foot gap, would knock the police car aside like a toy. All the careless people complacently strolling around would be knocked down like nine pins.
I remember when I first came to Santa Monica 10 years ago and first saw the Farmers’ Market, and noticed that there was nothing but a plastic “barrier” between me and an approaching car. I thought: “If that driver makes a mistake and drives straight ahead, I’m dead.” I got out of there fast and never went back.
Here we are again. It’s still lethally dangerous. How dumb can people be? We should adopt the ostrich as the official bird of Santa Monica.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 11, 2007. Read the original PDF.