Urban Arteriosclerosis

In its infinite wisdom, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey continues with its ambitious program of building in and around so-called Ground Zero. Seven years later, the hole is one big construction site, and so is everything for blocks around. Somebody's gettin some sweet kickbax and payola.

Anyhoo, last week they opened a new exit from the PATH station, one which took you out the north side of the station and allowed me to skirt some pedestrian volume at the chokepoint when you left the station. So for a few days I liked it. No more.

Now they've closed the old exit and escalators, and everybody has to come and go through the new one, and it's a nightmare because once you hit the streets everyfrickinbody has to walk through an alley at the north end of the site and it's unbearable. Those of you who don't live in the Metro area can't imagine what it's like to spend whole days when seemingly every step you take is constrained by someone in front of you. It sucks.