Subdivisions, Narrow Streets and Race Tracks

by Reenee,
from Santa Maria, who holds forth on her blog:
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Has anyone else noticed how subdivisions in Santa Maria have changed over the years? Surely I am not the only one who has noticed that the streets are getting narrower?

According to my mother who also happens to be my chief historian, the first subdivision built in Santa Maria is the area north of West Alvin Street and west of North Broadway, in the early 50's. There is always the possibility that she might be incorrect, but way back when I was a tiny little blogger, I learned to never question her memory.

However, we do have home movies to prove that just past the 500 block of West McElhenny Street there were acres and acres of agricultural fields, as far as the eye could see. So she might be right.

Also on one of these antique 8mm rolls of film, George Hobbs can be seen waving to the camera as he delivers mail long before he went on to fame and fortune as Mayor of the town that had the "Mexican problem." (As provocative as that little nugget is that led to a lawsuit, it's a different rant for another day.)

Back To Narrow Streets

Some of these older subdivisions have streets almost as wide as the ones that border the block I live on. The two streets that intersect on my corner have four lanes each. The one street that runs east and west has no stop signs for seven long blocks, before it curves to the north turning into Railroad Street.

There are no sudden dips or pesky bumps anywhere to obstruct the many race car drivers that frequent the area. There are a few other streets this wide found in other older parts of town, but they have stop signs. You'll recognize these sections of town easily, it's where the houses don't look like they all came from the same mold.

Wide Streets, More Cars

Having wider streets is a very good thing since there always seems to be a thousand cars parked along every inch of curb no matter where you go. Also, the older areas have alleys down the middle of the block, these alleys are curiously all in the East/West direction. Once I find out the reason for this I’ll report it here.

Getting back to the subdivisions, they have blocks that have no alleys. Why is that by the way? Subdivisions that have been built most recently have the narrowest streets in town, lanes really. Also, some of the streets dead-end without rhyme or reason and you have to try to find your way around hoping you're going in the right direction to avoid driving around in circles.

Mice scurrying around in a maze comes to mind here. Considering the ever increasing cost of these homes, I can guess why the builders want narrow streets with no alleys. Yes, you got it, more houses! Consequently, these houses are so very close together that in some areas, people could share breakfast and the morning newspaper by merely leaning out of their windows.

New Neighborhoods, Small Streets

The biggest problem with these narrower streets is that they can barely accommodate two cars going in the opposite direction, so you imagine what happens when cars line every inch of the curbs. Yes, it turns into a stand off, both drivers squinting at each other to see who's going to go first.

You can almost hear the theme from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" as each driver wonders who will blink first. Sometimes it's a game of chicken to see who can beat who and save ten seconds. It's pretty much the same game at stop signs.

The next time I renew my driver's license I'm going to have to read the manual thoroughly this time so I can find the section that says, "Two vehicles at a time can proceed after coming to a stop, instead of just the first vehicle." It's probably in the same section that states, "A driver can roll through a stop sign if the oncoming traffic is moving too slow for them, or if there is no traffic."

I’ll need to highlight it and keep it in my car to show the traffic officer that stops me the next time I roll through an intersection simply because I didn't see any cars, or him. I'm certain I’ll also find the section that says, "Any city street that has two lanes going in each direction for several blocks can be used as a racetrack at any hour of the day, rain or shine. We recommend Fesler Street for this activity." As I sit here typing, I can hear racing going on. (But, I digress.)

I know that the influx of cars in Santa Maria is due to many reasons, not least of which is that every single human being over the age of sixteen simply has to have a car. I know that when I was sixteen I had to have one. I didn't get one of course, but I still felt I had to have one.

Why So Many Cars?

One of the lesser acknowledged reasons, is that several houses around town have several families living in them. All of these families come with several cars and when their owners run out of room in their driveways and lawns, they park in the streets. They always seem to save the spots on the corners for either the large vans or huge pickups, so that the drivers of standard sized cars have to inch out into the middle of the street at the intersections to see if the coast is clear before proceeding.

Hint: If a car is bearing down on you at that point, the coast was not clear. My Aunt found this out...twice. Another favored spot for these huge vehicles is next to driveways. Due to the fact that my driveway empties into a four lane street (race track), it can take me up to five minutes or more to back my car out since there is always a huge pickup parked next to my driveway that blocks my view.

The upside to this is that it's good exercise. I back up my car a few feet, then I put it in "park" jump out, run into the street to see if anyone is coming, then jump back into my car and back out a little bit more. I repeat this process until I'm out of my driveway. This gets ugly in a rainstorm due to the umbrella action.

I once asked the neighbor that drives this huge pickup if he could park it in his driveway instead to prevent this obstruction, but he told me that he prefers to park in the street. He went on to tell me that backing out of the driveway was too time consuming for him. As I was enjoying this knee slapper, he told me that if I'm so concerned I should get a "taller car."

Had he not then bid me adieu and firmly closed the door, I’d have explained the "good neighbor policy" of our All-American City.