Why I don't like it when politicians visit the QC...

[Jeremiah Johnson]

I got a little story for you all and I want a little feedback.

I was leaving to go to Walmart which is only a 5-10 minute drive from my house at about 4:30 PM today, July 17. Little did I know, that MR. Vice President Dick Chaney was visiting the Quad Cities to support a local politician. I also live within 5 minutes from the airport, which happens to be situated at the intersection of Route 6 and Interstate 74.

Usually at this forementioned intersection traffic travels smoothely. NOT today! I had just gone through the intersection when I noticed police cars everywhere. I mean everywhere, too. They blocked off the North- AND South-bound I280 on-ramps to I74. I had seen a helicopter flying above but I had just thought it was a LifeFlight chopper and there was a wreck somewhere. Well, after going to Walmart, I tried to get back onto I74 from John Deere Expressway. Wasn't gonna happen. No one could get on or off of I74.

I then keep on JDE until I reach the other side of the mall thinking I would take the back way to Route 6. I got in front of McDonald's and the airport and traffic was at a standstill for about 2 miles or so. It was 112 degrees with the heat index and no where to go. So sitting in traffic, I wasted a good bit of gas with my AC blowing at full blast and not going anywhere.

So my question is...

Why does the Vice President need to halt traffic for 2 hours? I mean, if someone wants to hurt him, then wouldn't that attract even more attention? I was getting pretty dang annoyed and mad.

I'm sorry if this is innappropriate but I thought someone might get a chuckle out of it or have something to say. I like to complain about the government.

[Jaine Perotti]

Originally Posted by Budda648

I like to complain about the government.

haha... don't we all.

[KenWittlief]

hey at least it was only for two hours!

Here in Fairport, NY they are widening the main E-W street through our area. This has been going on all summer.

They also decided it was time to do maintance on the main bridge over the Erie Canal, right in the middle of Fairport - so it has been locked in the up position all month (on the main N-S road).

but that wasnt enough - they decide to pave the only other E-W road through town this last week, closing it completely.

If a natural catastrophy had closed the main roads and took out the bridge then our town would be declared a disaster area

but the town / county decided to this was somehow a good idea. The least they could have done was send us all to the Outer Banks of N.C. for the month!

[Taylor]

Several years ago, we were on our way from Indiana to the outer banks of North Carolina. Our route took us through Cincinnati. President Clinton was scheduled to land at the Cincy airport that day, shutting down all highways surrounding Cincinnati for 2 hours.
We were very happy to find this was a decoy - turns out Billy really landed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, an hour north.

[dlavery]

Originally Posted by Budda648

I got a little story for you all and I want a little feedback.

< yadda yadda yadda >

So my question is...

Why does the Vice President need to halt traffic for 2 hours? I mean, if someone wants to hurt him, then wouldn't that attract even more attention? I was getting pretty dang annoyed and mad.

I'm sorry if this is inappropriate but I thought someone might get a chuckle out of it or have something to say. I like to complain about the government.

Excuse me while I stop giggling. I really am not trying to treat this lightly, but for some of us it is really hard to be sympathetic about this one.

If this little interlude had that much of an effect, then just be thankful that you don't live/work in Washington DC. For some of us, this sort of motorcade madness is a daily occurrence. My office window overlooks Route 395 as it winds its way past the U.S. Capitol on the way through Washington. During my commute each morning and evening, I pass by the White House. On any given week, I will see an average of five motorcades winding through the city, disrupting traffic and raising tempers on hot summer days. Every time an international dignitary comes to visit Congress, or another head of state drops by the White House for dinner, or some ambassador needs to quickly get to the airport, or the President wants to wander over to the Kennedy Center for a show, seventeen different branches of the local constabulatory get together to conspire how to create as many new ways to confound District traffic as possible. They shut down streets, change traffic signals, block traffic, put 45 cops on overtime duty, clear roads while the motorcade is still five miles away, block off three different routes while actually using only one "just in case," all while seemingly intentionally scheduling these things for the height of rush hour so they can cause the maximum inconvenience. The motorcade then takes 30 seconds to pass through a given area, but the affect on traffic can last for two hours. Just when they get the mess all cleaned up and traffic flowing smoothly again, they start all over as the next joker with a few extra big black cars and an inflated sense of importance decides he needs to stop traffic for a while. <sigh> Not that I am bitter or anything.

Yes, it is unfortunate that you guys had to deal with a back-up caused by the Vice President's visit, and his motorcade's affect on local traffic does seem excessive. But at least you don't have to put up with it every day, or even multiple times per day. It could be so much worse.

Now for the real kicker - just remember, your tax dollars are paying for all this insanity!

-dave