6:35 a.m. A cacophony of car horns. I lie there wondering what is the cause of the irregular honking. And then it stops. And then it starts up again. I look out of my bedroom window and see that the traffic light on the North corner of the street is stuck. The North flow traffic is the busiest part of the intersection and their ride is impeded by a stuck red light – vs the East to West cross traffic where the light is stuck on green. I watch for a few minutes to see how the traffic regulates itself. It is a tribute to human cooperation that no pedestrian or bicyclist is struck by North bound traffic. At 7:45 the honking dies away. Gone. I look out again and a young, blonde, female traffic cop is directing the flow. The lights are still stuck but the traffic is organized. Of course, all of us, on both sides of the street are awake and up by this time. 15 minutes later she leaves and we are now back to the car horn orchestra. There aren’t many variations on that theme, I gotta tell you.
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Sanitation trucks have a unique role in traffic. The first time I saw it was the use of a sanitation truck – you know those City specific garbage trucks – as a road block. It was on 11th Street in the West Village and it kept the traffic out while President Obama paid a visit to a wealthy fund raising person at the East end of the block. There were metal barricades along the street and then right in the middle, a sideways parked truck. What brings this to mind – Just Now – I watched a sanitation truck block the North flow of traffic – no cop/ stuck light – as I heard sirens in the background. Within a few seconds, a cavalcade of fire engines appeared, crossing East to West with no threat of their procession being interrupted by impatient drivers stuck on a malfunctioning red light.