TriMet has been very busy the past month with final preparations for the re-opening of the 5th and 6th st. bus mall. Buses will move there later this month with MAX coming in September. As of yesterday, not all of the mall shelters and kiosks were finished, so I know they are getting down to the wire with this project.
Along with ticket machines and fancy new shelters, TriMet has put up new signage detailing what is prohibited in the “area only for boarding, exiting or waiting for a bus or train.” The obvious no no’s are there – no smoking, no skateboarding, and no bike riding. What struck me as odd is the final prohibition – No Rollerskating. Wow, seriously? I honestly haven’t seen a rollerskater in 10 years. Back in the 90’s, the craze was rollerblading and yes, you saw them everywhere, but today? And rollerskates? Are we talking the 4 wheeled while laces ups we had as children? If so, again I have to call shenanigans. When was the last time you saw gangs of rollerskaters disrupting bus and train travelers in Portland? Ooh, ooh, flashmob idea people. Rollerskating pillowfighting Santas with clown makeup.
I’m guessing someone from a different generation than mine put together this display. They still live in an era of big wheels, full size Tonka trucks, light bright and yes, rollerskates. I wonder, maybe the TriMet team was forced to come up with a 4th item for the sign and this is all they could come up with. If you had to fill in the blank for a 4th prohibition, what would you put in? No meth? No chuggers? No puking (that is a serious problem downtown if you didn’t know.)
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While I guess I wouldn’t want someone skateboarding endlessly around the boarding area, I don’t even see why there’s a prohibition against any of those transportation forms, provided that the person is using them to get to the bus or train.
I mean, say you rollerskate/blade to the MAX from home. Are you supposed to take off your skates before entering the boarding area?
I think they could have gotten of three of those icons, leaving room for one giant “no smoking” sign, with a caption noting that “No, seriously, don’t smoke here. That includes standing near the edge of the shelter and smoking when it’s raining. We can still smell it.” But that’s just me.
maybe it’s for all those goofy wheelie shoes…. I think the #4 should have been “No Spitting” … ewwww
Good! Get them rollerskaters out of my way so I can pop and rock with my breakdance crew.
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