Schuster and Stanton: The Consequences of Incompetence

Have you driven down Schuster lately?

From Stanton to Brown Schuster has a new bike lane. The City has eliminated one of the eastbound lanes to accommodate the bike lane.

It works for me, because I cycle. For all those parents dropping off the fruit of their loins at El Paso High, maybe not so much.

The problem is that from Florence to Stanton, Schuster is closed.

Tens of thousands of people, maybe, drive through the intersection of Stanton and Schuster every day. And not being able to drive on that portion of Schuster is a major inconvenience for not only the drivers, but also for all the people who live in Barrio Heights, because all of those cars that used to drive down Schuster are now driving through the neighborhood.

If you want to drive north up Stanton, it takes three cycles of the stop light at Stanton and Schuster to get through the intersection.

From all appearances, the construction on Schuster is done. The word on the street, about the street, is that the contractors are waiting to install lights along Schuster, but the transformers in the neighborhood can’t handle the new proposed lights, so all the commuters have to suffer through long lines, stupid traffic, and delays.

I was tempted to just move the barrels and barricades and open the street myself. I may still do it.

But maybe someone at the City reads El Chuqueño, and they’ll fix it.

Maybe.

Like a famous first century Jewish philosopher said, “If I can’t trust you with the little things, how can I trust you with the big things?”