Down In The Dumps

On a Monday walk from Chez Boulevardier to downtown, Your Boulevardier encountered an illegal dumpsite on Norbridge Avenue, just west of Nunes Avenue. Returning to the scene yesterday, the detritus was still there. (Not that it would get up and remove itself.) Your Boulevardier apologizes for the poor quality of the photo.



Your Boulevardier and Mon Petit Chou, who was making a rare-but-welcome weekday visit, discussed the circumstances that could lead to a person dumping two couches, a bed, a pallet, and other miscellaneous refuse on a public street. Certainly, a trip to the dump can be costly, but the Castro Valley Sanitary District offers a free bulky pickup once a year. Perhaps timing and finances were the issue: the dumper had been evicted from his home and had nowhere to take the stuff, and no money to deal with the problem. Chances are the truth will never be known, in this particular case.

Regardless of the circumstances, dumping on a public street is a selfish, wasteful, uncivilized way to deal with refuse. Clearly the perpetrator knew this, because he dumped his junk in a dark, untrafficked stretch of road with no residences on either side.

Timing is Everything

Your Boulevardier notes with dismay that once again a large, windy, wet storm is arriving on trash day in his neighborhood in Castro Valley. Prepare for garbage cans (sorry, carts) to be blown over -- or for trash, especially papers, to be blown from trucks -- and for wet, sticky garbage to clog our streets and gutters. Sigh.

Sunday Buzz

Your Boulevardier and the Subcompact Loaner walked to Valley Java this morning. We have three observations:

1) The construction of the 238-Strobridge interchange seems to have stopped at about 90 percent of completion. Though the ramps themselves are finished, cones (or whatever one calls those upright orange pylons with the black bases that are glued to the pavement) and striping are all that, to this layman's eyes, remain to be completed. Along with regular trash removal, of course.

2) The congregants of the Neighborhood Church may be fine people, but they really don't seem to care much about pedestrians and small dogs who are trying to cross Castro Valley Boulevard. A little more observation and courtesy would be appreciated. Please, friends: at least pretend to stop at the limit line -- that's the first line of the crosswalk -- before turning right onto John Drive.

3) The activity level at Valley Java was, at least at this visit, considerably lower than it used to be. Maybe Peet's has siphoned off some of the business, or perhaps the decamping of Judge Peggy Hora to parts east has caused her klatsch to find another place to gather.

Strobridge Interchange Questions

The new interchange from Eastbound I-580 to Strobridge Avenue appears to be nearing completion. Most barricades have been removed, and crews appear to be in cleanup mode. Still, four questions remain in Your Boulevardier's mind about the project. They are, in no particular order:

How will the odd patch of earth between the freeway and the onramp be maintained? One finds it hard to believe that a crew will get way up there regularly with a lawnmower to tend the narrow strip. Your Boulevardier is no fan of pavement, but it would make sense in this case to not make the area a haven for unwanted vegation.

Will CalTrans remove the fences that run along both sides of Strobridge Avenue under the freeway? It can't be argued that the fence on the west side keeps anyone out, since it stops abruptly on the south side of the underpass with no gate or structure to close the end. For now, all the fence does is collect trash, and it's very rarely cleaned out.

What will happen to the CalTrans corporation yard on the north side of the underpass? Like the aforementioned fence, the yard is an unmaintained haven for trash. Illegal dumping occurs regularly, and many piles of construction materials and debris remain there as well.

What is the purpose of the metal box at the top of the onramp? Will it be relocated, and if so will the temporary barricades and sand barrels around it be removed?

Maintenance of this offramp has long been neglected by CalTrans. Indeed, one of Your Boulevardier's neighbors left the Baywood District because (among other things) he felt the area gave a slumlike first impression, what with the litter and ill-kept homes along Strobridge Avenue. (And, perhaps ironically, this person drove a garbage truck.)

Delicious Irony

Your Boulevardier walked past the McDonald's construction site on Castro Valley's Fast Food Island today. The forms for the foundation are up. And a pile of Wendy's wrappers and cups could be seen on the lot. Construction workers can be big eaters.

(More posts are coming, and Your Boulevardier hopes soon. However, the holidays have interfered with the writing and reporting, if not the exploring. One other bit of news to be shared at this time: the Trusty BoulevarDog had her stitches out on December 26 and is well on the mend.)