Escape from Highway 1 gridlock

 Pacifica Tribune, Letters to the Editor 8/12/15.  "Snail's Pace" by Rev. Piers Lahey, (Daly City).

Some of us found the path to freedom

"Editor:  There we were just a few days ago (Monday, 8/3/15), angry motorists creeping along at slower than a snail's pace, trying to travel south on Highway 1. I, for one, paid the price for not listening to KCBS ahead of time and learning about the monumental blockage just down the road. By then it was too late.

Funny, when you're in a mess like this, you tend to find a way out, if there is one.

There were about six cars behind me in the slow lane (there was no fast lane) in front of IBL School. From time to time, the drivers were looking in their rear-view mirrors and once in a while a car would move to the right onto the shoulder of the highway, wondering if it was possible to make a break for it, wondering if there were police or CHP nearby. Each time, however, the driver moved quietly back in line.

Finally the first car made a move, onto the shoulder, onto Paloma, and then onto freedom. I and about five other cars followed suit and escaped. I'm sure others did, too. I'm sure no one looked back either. So far as I know, no tickets were issued."

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Note:  Map to find Paloma Avenue from Google.  Photograph from Urban Expats. 

Posted by Kathy Meeh