Why This Chicken Couldn't Cross the Road

Wanting to cross the street, from on the south of Castro Valley Boulevard to on the north, I looked up and down for a crosswalk that wasn't blocked.

If I'd had a softball, I could have thrown it and hit my destination. Walking, it would have taken me a few seconds.

But I had to get in my car and drive past the blocked intersections where no U-turns are possible, finally do a U-turn on the eastern side of Castro Valley Boulevard, then double-back to return to Shari's.

The shape of my driving route resembled a bobby pin exactly one-third of a mile long — up a ways, quick U-turn, down a ways. 

I thought it would take longer, but from car start to car stop, it was only a little over four minutes — not as bad as it felt. On the way, I tried to think up new answers to the question, "Why did the chicken cross the road?"

Lacking the wit of Patch columnist , all I came up with was: because she had a death wish, because she likes a challenge, and because she wanted to see what the construction workers were doing. Today, I am the chicken. I wanted to cross the road and I wanted to see what the construction workers were doing. 

I stood in the intersection at Wilbeam Avenue — in the median surrounded by, , and Shari's — but only for a few minutes because I was told that I would have to leave unless I had a hard hat.

Ghilotti Construction Co. is laying a 24-inch sewer main down the center of Castro Valley Boulevard, a crew member at the site told me. He was pleasant and patient, but didn't want to give his name.

He said the location of the pipe forms a letter Z (almost), with  San Miguel Avenue to the south being the upper line of the Z. Now they are almost to the middle of the vertical center of Z. Next they will head left onto Redwood Road toward the high school to form the lower line of the Z.

As most of you know, the construction is part of a downtown beautification project. Old-fashioned street lamps, landscaping and mosaic work will make Castro Valley Boulevard into an inviting place for pedestrians and bicyclists, in addition to cars.

It will be gorgeous. Even Pleasanton might begin to envy us a little.

But that's not until 2013. 

Meanwhile, businesses next to the construction zone are suffering greatly. The recession is bad enough, but construction is threatening to sink them.

If you are a good deed do-er or a pay-it-forward type, you might make a point of taking the extra five minutes involved in getting to one of these stores or restaurants here.

As I type this now, I am in Shari's Restaurant, having had a delicious lunch and a window seat on the construction work. It's peaceful in here, despite the sounds of construction and traffic that I would be hearing if I were outdoors.

Billy Joe's "Piano Man" is playing at a low volume in the background. The only other sound is the occasional clatter of dishes.

Oh, hey! Good news! As I finished loading the photos, the ditch at the intersection was filled in! You may now cross the road. A Shari's slice of pie awaits you.