Street Smarts: Climbing gas prices, cruise control criticism an...

Having non-city cars/trucks is the stupidest damn thing on West Cliff or East Cliff. As if no one has seen, heard, gone over cracks-patches- potholes, or smelled cars. Building little cul-de-sacs to view parked cocoons, cages, or rest stops for the homeless set up folding chairs is a lot wiser than bringing harried commuters where no serious employment exists. Bad enough that everything is raising in price; but I, for one, am truly loving rising gas prices.

Lumbermen's is the worst, first you have to dodge all the illegals at the parking lot entrance, then watch for obtuse people pushing or pulling their carts to a car.

The left turn area is way too small also.
Lumbermen's has lost quite a bit of business due to that parking lot mess.

Re Question of the day:

Lumbermen's is by far the worse. It has minimum number of parking spaces and the migrant men that harass women when you pull in. The parking area along with the migrant worker problem, makes that store not usable to residents. One one had it is unsafe, and not worth being sexually harassed just to buy a plant, and on the other hand, the parking area is substandard. I suggest Capitola OSH, very nice parking area, and good prices with no illegals harassing you when you walk in.

I thought it was really nice to have that part of West Cliff drive closed. They should close a larger stretch for only bikes and walkers on weekends. Of course they could still let residents into their homes.

This would be a big improvement to the existing, too small, unmarked, shared bike and walking path that runs to the lighthouse.

Lumbermen's is awful! Not only for the lack of parking,the cars speeding through while the driver yaks on her cell but the men at the entrance of the parking lot, wow. Their mommas would be so ashamed if they could see how those men behave towards women.
Sometimes I have my 105 pound dog in the car with me and it is a thrill when he barks loudly at the group as we drive in and out of the parking lot. The men shrink back like the little chickens they are. Get one of those men away from the crowd and he is shy and unsure of himself.*Scoff*
Ole!
Trader Joe's on Front Street is fine as long as one goes there in the morning hours.

SC Mom wrote:

Re Question of the day:
Lumbermen's is by far the worse. It has minimum number of parking spaces and the migrant men that harass women when you pull in. The parking area along with the migrant worker problem, makes that store not usable to residents. One one had it is unsafe, and not worth being sexually harassed just to buy a plant, and on the other hand, the parking area is substandard. I suggest Capitola OSH, very nice parking area, and good prices with no illegals harassing you when you walk in.

FYI: That's why you IGNORE them. If they are hollering and whistling, just don't even pay attention to it. I mean common sense. Eventually they give up, and you go on with your day. Trust me, the stores are not hurting, just because you don't shop there anymore. Others just learn to not even pay attention to it.

Question of the day:

Hands down, the parking lot I hate dealing with more than any other in town is the Safeway parking lot on mission street. There's so many people who don't pay attention walking out in front of cars, the lot is too small, and the entrance on the Almar side is always a mess.

Anywhere in downtown area is the worst. Its a jumbo parking lot for meth-labs-on-wheels (those dilapidated motor homes). Due to laws against blocking the beach view, most the lots are single-level, and spaces are rare. But there is no beach view from downtown, so I say every parking lot should be at least 4 stories.
Costco and the Cap Mall are easy to navigate, especially if you are not lazy, park a few rows further away from the entrance, and comfortably walk up.

"...most people I know driving down a long, flat stretch of interstate are hardly saints at keeping the needle locked at 65 mph."
Agreed, long as there is no tailgating, passing on the right and erratic lane changes involved. Its not the speed that is dangerous on straight roads, its the stupid things bad drivers do.

Pamparius wrote:

"...most people I know driving down a long, flat stretch of interstate are hardly saints at keeping the needle locked at 65 mph."
Agreed, long as there is no tailgating, passing on the right and erratic lane changes involved. Its not the speed that is dangerous on straight roads, its the stupid things bad drivers do.

you forget about those bad drivers who block the passing lane (the left lane)

blocking the passing lane is just as illegal as speeding.

some dude driving wrote:

<quoted text>
you forget about those bad drivers who block the passing lane (the left lane)
blocking the passing lane is just as illegal as speeding.

True, they shouldn't be in the left lane if they are not traveling at the speed of traffic. But if they're going a reasonable speed over the limit, and people are still tailing and passing at 90mph, then the other driver is in the wrong. 55 in the left lane, paralleling the right lane, just causing a traffic hazard is not cool either.

[QUOTE"]Q: The morning commute northbound on Highway 1 comes to a dead stop before the Freedom Boulevard entrance between San Andreas and Mar Monte. There is a very wide center median and right shoulder to allow for either another lane or merge lanes. It would only involve some minor paving to create these new merge lanes. A lot of money and effort are being spent at the Fishhook to create new merge lanes. It seems so simple and inexpensive to do the same thing at Freedom Boulevard and Rio del Mar.
--Fred Long
--Watsonville

A: A project such as Mr. Long envisions in a heavy traffic area wouldn't be simple, and definitely not cheap. Widening that stretch of Highway 1 would likely come with a price tag in the ballpark of several million dollars, according to Susana Cruz, spokeswoman for Caltrans. Unfortunately for Aptos and Watsonville commuters, nothing's in the works.[/QUOTE]

Shanna, honey, it would help if you actually explained *why* the price tag would be so extreme. Mr. Long is saying the lanes are there, and all that has to be done is a little paving of the median and re-striping. I have a feeling it can't be done the way he suggests, since it would eliminate the wide median and shoulder. I could be wrong, but then I'm not the Street Smarts guru, you are.

Please explain your answers.

Daisy Mae wrote:

Lumbermen's is awful! Not only for the lack of parking,the cars speeding through while the driver yaks on her cell but the men at the entrance of the parking lot, wow. Their mommas would be so ashamed if they could see how those men behave towards women.
Sometimes I have my 105 pound dog in the car with me and it is a thrill when he barks loudly at the group as we drive in and out of the parking lot. The men shrink back like the little chickens they are. Get one of those men away from the crowd and he is shy and unsure of himself.*Scoff*
Ole!
Trader Joe's on Front Street is fine as long as one goes there in the morning hours.

I had a group of them giving me hard looks as I drove into the front of (41st)Kmart, when it was still there, & I'm a 215 lb. man. One short one shouted hey pendejo before I got out, & I jumped out shouting back hey F*** Y**! They assumed I didn't know spanish, & man were they embarrassed. I played in a popular salsa band in Central America, in my early 20's.

SC Mom wrote:

Re Question of the day:
Lumbermen's is by far the worse. It has minimum number of parking spaces and the migrant men that harass women when you pull in. The parking area along with the migrant worker problem, makes that store not usable to residents. One one had it is unsafe, and not worth being sexually harassed just to buy a plant, and on the other hand, the parking area is substandard. I suggest Capitola OSH, very nice parking area, and good prices with no illegals harassing you when you walk in.

At one time the illegals were so bad they built the wall along the sidewalk to keep the illegals out of the parking lot. For a while the illegals keep outside the wall, but now they're back on both sides.

Gangs had a gun battle right in the 41st Ave. Safeway, according to today's report. Could any of them be associated with the illegals that infest the parking lot outside. They also make obscene remarks at women who pass by, and think they own the parking lot.

Of course, that shouldn't be surprising. They think they own the whole country:
http://www.americanpatrol.com/REFERENCE/Quote...

Chicana wrote:

<quoted text>
FYI: That's why you IGNORE them. If they are hollering and whistling, just don't even pay attention to it. I mean common sense. Eventually they give up, and you go on with your day. Trust me, the stores are not hurting, just because you don't shop there anymore. Others just learn to not even pay attention to it.

Chicana lectures us stupid gringos about the proper way to accommodate overbreeding obnoxious illegals getting more obnoxious by the day.

If we jump through enough of Chicana's hoops, maybe she won't call us racist xenophobic haters.

Oh please, we put up with anything, just don't call us names!

Pamparius wrote:

<quoted text>True, they shouldn't be in the left lane if they are not traveling at the speed of traffic. But if they're going a reasonable speed over the limit, and people are still tailing and passing at 90mph, then the other driver is in the wrong. 55 in the left lane, paralleling the right lane, just causing a traffic hazard is not cool either.

you shouldn't be in the left lane unless you are passing someone PERIOD. that is what the vehicle code says in an omfuscated way.

The speed you are doing is irrelivant. Once you have a clear lane to the right, merge into that lane when it's safe to do so.

It's such a rare pleasure when 17 commuters actually practice this on the road.

check out water4gas.com

Pat Kittle wrote:

<quoted text>
Chicana lectures us stupid gringos about the proper way to accommodate overbreeding obnoxious illegals getting more obnoxious by the day.
If we jump through enough of Chicana's hoops, maybe she won't call us racist xenophobic haters.
Oh please, we put up with anything, just don't call us names!

I am sorry, what? You just don't get out much, do you? First off, I didnt call anyone names, and second, its the pot calling the kettle black, now isn't it? You dont think the "overbreeding" bit is too much? We are humans, not animals, and I think the only overbreeding we have here, is people like you, who have nothing better to do than insult others. You are not superior, and as someone said in a post: "Gee the last time someone that perfect was on earth, he was Crucified"! You are not one to judge and call out like you think you own this country... So how about you think of something MORE intelligent to say, button your lip, take your viagra because your speech is getting very limp.

Chicana wrote:

<quoted text>
I am sorry, what? You just don't get out much, do you? First off, I didnt call anyone names, and second, its the pot calling the kettle black, now isn't it? You dont think the "overbreeding" bit is too much? We are humans, not animals, and I think the only overbreeding we have here, is people like you, who have nothing better to do than insult others. You are not superior, and as someone said in a post: "Gee the last time someone that perfect was on earth, he was Crucified"! You are not one to judge and call out like you think you own this country... So how about you think of something MORE intelligent to say, button your lip, take your viagra because your speech is getting very limp.

News flash: in the age of science & reason, humans are animals. But we wouldn't expect someone who finds the Virgin of Guadaloupe in their burrito to understand that.

As for "buttoning my lip" -- you're getting a little ahead of your reconquista fantasy. Americans are finally going to put an end to this open borders crap, regardless of whether our cowardly politicians help or not.

Shanna,

I think your comment about the difference between 3.85 per gallon and $4 a gallon misses the point. Sure,$4 isn't that much more, but it was already painful at 3.85. It's the rapid run-up in price over a short period of time that hurts us all, from our commute costs to the price of everything we buy, at a time when the overall economy isn't doing so hot.

And yeah, both those parking lots are problematic. Lumbermans is just a bad design; TJs is undersized for the volume of business.

some dude driving wrote:

<quoted text>
you shouldn't be in the left lane unless you are passing someone PERIOD. that is what the vehicle code says in an omfuscated way.
The speed you are doing is irrelivant. Once you have a clear lane to the right, merge into that lane when it's safe to do so.
It's such a rare pleasure when 17 commuters actually practice this on the road.

Yes, I must admit I am guilty of this one to avoid being stuck behind a truck, and avoid making quick lane changes on curves (but its not in the top 12 causes of accidents).=(
I don't see that law observed much here, but I do in lesser populated roads.