Lil' Rhody Lounge | Off-topic posting

[brick]

to be just a little fair, chicago is about 5 million times bigger than providence. actually, I think the city is almost as big as the entire state of rhode island.

Chicago proper is 230 square miles.

Providence is 18.47 square miles.

RI is 1045 square miles.

So chicago is about 12.5 times the size of Providence and has about 18 times the amount of street trees.

Edited May 8, 2006 by brick

[runawayjim]

Chicago proper is 230 square miles.

Providence is 18.47 square miles.

RI is 1045 square miles.

So chicago is about 12.5 times the size of Providence and has about 18 times the amount of street trees.

that's pretty comparable if you think about it.

[damus]

Chicago proper is 230 square miles.

Providence is 18.47 square miles.

RI is 1045 square miles.

So chicago is about 12.5 times the size of Providence and has about 18 times the amount of street trees.

How big a city would Providence or Boston be if they were 230 square miles?

[eltron]

Chicago proper is 230 square miles.

Providence is 18.47 square miles.

RI is 1045 square miles.

So chicago is about 12.5 times the size of Providence and has about 18 times the amount of street trees.

ah actual figures. excuse the hyperbole.

but how about this:

Chicago pop. - 2,896,016

Prov. pop. - 173,618

so chicago is 16.7 times the size of providence population wise and has 18 times the amount of street trees; a little closer.

AND the entire population of Rhode Island is just 1,076,000. compared to the 2.9 million of Chicago PROPER. Wow.

[runawayjim]

How big a city would Providence or Boston be if they were 230 square miles?

providence could include all the surrounding towns (cranston, johnston, east prov, pawtucket, and we'll throw warwick and central falls (not that central falls adds a lot) in there as well) and not be 230 sq mi (for the record, those towns make up ~157 sq mi.

[Garris]

Actually, I think the city is almost as big as the entire state of rhode island.

Outside of any quantifiable boundries or population numbers, certainly the Chicago metro is virtually as big as the entire state of RI. There are people living in communities an hour in any direction from downtown Chicago who solidly consider themselves to live in the metro and often commute there daily.

- Garris

[brick]

So after today's crash, in the last six months we are sitting at:

Broad St. (Pawtucket) bridge abutment - 7

Tractor trailer trucks - 0

Seriously, is this becoming the new Thurber's Ave curve? Are truck drivers just becoming less and less responsible?

[Cotuit]

I was thinking the same thing this morning. How many crashes are there going to be there, and why all of a sudden the drastic increase?

[basachs]

I drove by it today @ 7:15am and I will give the police and fire dept credit. They had traffic moving. The crash was at exit 29, and at exit 28 I was still moving at a decent clip. Quite an impressive sight, dont think I have seen a tractor trailer flipped over on its side before.

It both awed me and disturbed me that someone was going that fast in a truck that it would flip over like that.

Anyone know if the driver made it? Cant find anything about it, but it did not look encouraging.

[brick]

I drove by it today @ 7:15am and I will give the police and fire dept credit. They had traffic moving. The crash was at exit 29, and at exit 28 I was still moving at a decent clip. Quite an impressive sight, dont think I have seen a tractor trailer flipped over on its side before.

You could have seen the same thing last week. Almost exactly the same, in fact, only last week's truck somehow didn't have the gas tank rupture putting diesel fuel all over the road.

[Recchia]

The problem is that the interstates in RI are built too, for lack of a better term, "locally." The exits are too close together and there are too many of them. Interstates were never intended to be quick routes for people to drive 2 or 3 miles across town, but in RI that's how they function somewhat. Too much entering and exiting traffic, especially through Pawtucket and Providence. Throw in those curves and you've got a dangerous combo. And, in Pawtucket, it's quicker and easier to get from the west side (East Ave area) to Darlington via 95.

[basachs]

You could have seen the same thing last week. Almost exactly the same, in fact, only last week's truck somehow didn't have the gas tank rupture putting diesel fuel all over the road.

Heh. Once was enough.

[Cotuit]

I drove by it today @ 7:15am and I will give the police and fire dept credit. They had traffic moving. The crash was at exit 29, and at exit 28 I was still moving at a decent clip. Quite an impressive sight, dont think I have seen a tractor trailer flipped over on its side before.

Well they should be able to have traffic moving smoothly through an accident scene by now, they've had enough practice in recent weeks.

It both awed me and disturbed me that someone was going that fast in a truck that it would flip over like that.

Unfortunately I don't think the trucks really have to be going that fast to flip. The geometry of the road, coupled with the speed and the design of trucks makes them likely to tip.

[basachs]

Well they should be able to have traffic moving smoothly through an accident scene by now, they've had enough practice in recent weeks.

Unfortunately I don't think the trucks really have to be going that fast to flip. The geometry of the road, coupled with the speed and the design of trucks makes them likely to tip.

I'd have to disagree, my grandfather was a truck driver. Long haul and short haul, 18 wheeler. You need to go fast and dangerous to tip a truck. And as a truck driver, you should know better. Most do. But I guess this driver was an exception.

[runawayjim]

what's the likelihood that these truck drivers were driving safely and some jackass in a car swerved in and caused the trucker to react and flip?

it does take some reckless driving, but if the load is not properly balanced or restrained, it could shift and cause some unexpected movement of the trailer. most experienced drivers can handle this, but depending on the load, it might not be possible to recover. of course the driver should be watching as people load the trucks making sure that it's evenly loaded and properly held in there with load bars and the like.

[basachs]

what's the likelihood that these truck drivers were driving safely and some jackass in a car swerved in and caused the trucker to react and flip?

it does take some reckless driving, but if the load is not properly balanced or restrained, it could shift and cause some unexpected movement of the trailer. most experienced drivers can handle this, but depending on the load, it might not be possible to recover. of course the driver should be watching as people load the trucks making sure that it's evenly loaded and properly held in there with load bars and the like.

Hard to say if it was the driver or a jackass in a car like you mention as there are no details. I should not have assumed it was the driver. Silly of me.

you bring upa good point of watching when loading a truck. Most truck drivers do watch and double check. Safety is pretty important in general to these drivers.

[runawayjim]

Hard to say if it was the driver or a jackass in a car like you mention as there are no details. I should not have assumed it was the driver. Silly of me.

you bring upa good point of watching when loading a truck. Most truck drivers do watch and double check. Safety is pretty important in general to these drivers.

the only reason i brought up that concern is that i have driven that strip of 95 many times and usually the truckers are careful (i occasionally see the idiot in a box truck or a rental truck, but the 18 wheelers are careful and know what's coming). more often than not, i see people flying through there weaving in and out of traffic because they think those who slow down for the S curves are wusses. i wouldn't be surprised of one of those people inadvertently caused the truck to make a quick move and flip and quickly leave the scene.

[brick]

the only reason i brought up that concern is that i have driven that strip of 95 many times and usually the truckers are careful (i occasionally see the idiot in a box truck or a rental truck, but the 18 wheelers are careful and know what's coming). more often than not, i see people flying through there weaving in and out of traffic because they think those who slow down for the S curves are wusses. i wouldn't be surprised of one of those people inadvertently caused the truck to make a quick move and flip and quickly leave the scene.

they're careful if they know.

I personally witnessed one earlier in the year (actually late last year). The guy was flying and just couldn't make the turn, jackknifed, and slid. It was like watching Terminator 2, only without that whole cyborgs shooting at each other thing.

[brick]

I don't know if anybody heard, but the RI Senate passed a bill today to ban cell phone use in drivers under age 18. this could be a first step towards wider bans.

[runawayjim]

I don't know if anybody heard, but the RI Senate passed a bill today to ban cell phone use in drivers under age 18. this could be a first step towards wider bans.

this is great news! i don't know why they just couldn't make it a ban for everyone though. CT has one, NY has one, and NJ has one. it's not that hard to use a headset. whenever i go on a road trip (even if it's to my mother's in CT, 1.5 hours away), i put my headset on for the off-chance someone calls me. it makes life so much easier (especially since i have a stick).

i see too many drivers here who are too busy fumbling around with their cell phones and not paying attention to their driving.

[jencoleslaw]

i know this is totally not even UP related but i need some cat finding vibes. My mother's beloved cat Louis is missing and this cat is the light of her life. My sister and i are comparative failures next to this orange cat with white undercoating, so if you would be so inclined to send some vibes, good thoughts, prayers, whatever, i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

[Cotuit]

Passing on some info I received in an email from AIDS Care Ocean State:

AIDS Care Ocean State's Donation Center is in desperate need of men's clothing of all styles and sizes. This is the perfect time to donate unwanted clothing to help support our community. Donations of all kinds including household items, clothing for all ages and personal care items are accepted throughout the year and can be arranged by calling In-Kind Donations Coordinator Michael Dow at 401-781-5565.

AIDS Care Ocean State

18 Parkis Avenue

Providence, RI 02907

AIDSCareOS.org

401.521.3603 x117 phone

401.861.2981 fax

[Jerry2]

My entire viewpoint of living in this city has changed over the course of an evening folks. I'll save the expletive version for craigslist. I'm at the Staples Plaza on N. Main tonight buying dog food @ Petco. When I come out, I notice that somebody sideswiped mycar from the driver's side door all the way to the taillight. Of course, nobody saw this in a full parking lot jammed with shoppers. If this was the 1st time, it wouldn't be all that big of a deal. This is the 3rd time in less than a year that somebody has hit my parked car...not even including the smashed windows and keying incident that happened on Elmwood last summer. I'm beginning to think that you can't own things of value here anymore. People graffiti on your property, slam into your car, etc.etc....And then I ask myself, why am I still here? And I realize why so many people have left cities since the 50's..People don't want to deal with b*crap. They don't want to deal w/ b*crap and they don't want inconvenience. There is nothing convenient @ living in Providence or any other 2nd tier city for that matter. Retail and neighborhood services are more plentiful anyway in the suburbs..Even that god awful Coventry dune development has more convenience than living in the city! It doesn't become convenient until one can say that the city offers a better lifestyle than anywhere else...and I can almost guarantee you that s*it like this doesn't happen in Warwick or Coventry! What is the difference? I'm finding that there really isn't much of a difference at all. If I could live in a city where a car wasn't a necessary evil, then maybe I would change my viewpoint....Until then...I'm disgusted , ticked off, and contemplating moving for good!Bah humbug!

[damus]

If I could live in a city where a car wasn't a necessary evil, then maybe I would change my viewpoint....Until then...I'm disgusted , ticked off, and contemplating moving for good!Bah humbug!

I've had friends whose windshields were smashed in when visiting Providence. It's stupid and pisses me off, too. The car issue does suck. That's why car insurance is so expensive in Providence.

When I was in school I went 4 years living in Providence with no car and you can get around in the city alright with no car between walking, trollies, and buses. For my trips to Warwick or Attleboro, I bummed rides. The thing I like about Providence is that there are signs that it's going in the direction of being a city more capable of providing fixed mass transit. I'd love to see a subway at least through downcity, but that's many years away. Serious talk of streetcars and the urbanization of outer neighborhoods on Broadway, Atwells, Jewelry District, Promenade, etc are very exciting to me. The petty crime is a problem, how does that compare to big cities like Boston and New York? Between that and taxes, Providence isn't perfect.

[AriPVD]

True. Depressing but valid points. I know it sounds trite, but "that stuff can (and does) happen anywhere."