First bus ride a special occasion

Published 9:42 pm Sunday, November 25, 2007

There’s something about riding a bus in downtown Seattle.

It’s a bit rough, a bit grimy.

My daughter doesn’t know about any of that.

She’s two.

She loves buses. Not as much as she does fire engines or a garbage trucks, but hey, they’re just buses.

So, when we decided to take her on her first bus ride, she was understandably enthusiastic.

“Where’s the bus?” she asked as we got to the bus stop.

“We have to wait,” we told her.

Waiting is not a top priority for toddlers. Soon she was trying to climb on the bench, checking out the trash can and looking at the street art coloring the back of the shelter.

Then when I wouldn’t let her run off exploring, she got tired and sat down on the bench.

And waited.

And squirmed.

And waited.

And wiggled.

Finally, mom said “I think I see a bus.”

My daughter jumps up, tugs at me and looks.

“The bus,” she said.

Whoosh, it rushes by, nearly passing us before finally stopping.

I swooped her up and we head to the back of the bus so she can see out.

She took a look around, stuck her thumb in her mouth and took it all in.

“Garbage truck,” she said, pointing, seemingly enjoying her high vantage point.

I made sure that thumb didn’t stray too far before it went back in her mouth.

“Another one,” she pointed to another bus.

Soon I noticed a strange-looking guy is staring at her. My creepy-guy radar went off. I stared back at him. He kept staring. Finally, his stop came. He’s out of our lives. I shook my head at my wife. She rolled her eyes.

Thankfully our daughter was oblivious.

She quietly watched everyone get on and off. Finally, it was her turn.

I swooped her up again, and in a rush she was out on the street, in downtown Seattle looking up at the skyscrapers.

She enjoyed every minute. It won’t be long before she couldn’t care less about riding a bus. That’s why I’ll cherish this bus ride.

Installing cameras

Question: Living in Marysville we have many stoplights, including one busy one at Fourth Street and State Avenue. I was wondering if the city plans to install cameras at some of the busy intersections to catch red-light runners. I have notice an increasing number of red-light runners and hope that this is a priority for the city.

Orlin Griggs, Marysville

Answer: The city is indeed interested in red-light enforcement and has looked into cameras at intersections for a number of purposes, including red-light running.

The city currently has cameras at some intersections for the purpose of operating the signals and for image capture of vehicles damaging rail crossing gates.

After careful evaluation of a red-light running system, the city decided to enforce red-light running by other means. We instead installed blue lights on many of the city’s traffic signals. These lights tell police officers when a person has run a red light even when they are not directly behind them.

John Tatum, Marysville traffic engineer

Ask us about traffic

Have a question about traffic or street rules around Snohomish and Island counties? E-mail Street Smarts at stsmarts@heraldnet.com.