Welcome to the neighborhood, and please come again soon

I'm tempted to be annoyed by the fact that ADOT has shut down I-10 between Seventh Street and Seventh Avenue for roadwork for the third weekend in the last four (and plans to do it one more time next weekend). I was going to write a post about the way that decision has choked downtown streets such as McDowell and Roosevelt, causing large backups on Seventh Street and Seventh Avenue in the process and making errands like running to the grocery store inordinately difficult.

But I decided the better approach was to see the bright side of ADOT's move. Thousands of people who would have just zipped past downtown Phoenix and given the area a passing notice, if any at all, were exposed to the area these last few weekends. Those who took their detour along Roosevelt Street got to see, among other things, relatively new urban housing developments, a bakery, restaurants, and a new record store. This had to be quite a shock for many in this metro area, where it's not uncommon to hear people say they haven't been downtown in 15 or more years. No doubt many of those people expect downtown to be a frightening and crime-ridden place, and almost certainly those people were pleasantly surprised.

On second thought, maybe we can petition ADOT to shut down I-10 every weekend.