Move Out of the Way!

I have heard that Utah has the widest streets in the nation.  Neighborhood streets are only two lanes – generally.  Still most seem big enough for cars to get by other cars that may be parked on the side of the road. 

Our main streets consist of 6 – 8 lanes – perhaps not for the entire road, but at some points.  I’ve gotten used to really wide roads.  As a pedestrian, I find I have only a few seconds to cross before the light changes.  It’s not like that all over the city – but enough to me that it feels that way.

Roland and I noticed the streets in Oregon were quite narrow in comparison.  We had a strange encounter at Fort Grove because of it.

Fort Grove is very pretty, almost story book looking, very secluded though.  Not a lot of shopping convenience.  I don’t know how far the firehouse is, but apparently they have access to one.

As we were driving around and looking at houses, Roland saw the fire truck behind us.  When we see that in Utah, our reaction is to pull over and let anything with a siren pass us.  Even with neighborhood streets, or the not-as-wide streets downtown.  There’s still enough room to pull over and pass.

Aside from Portland, I didn’t see much in the way of being able to pull over in order for any emergency vehicle to pass.  Certainly not in Forest Grove.  If we had pulled over, the fire truck would not have been able to pass.  The streets were too narrow.  I felt in the way as we continued to move and try to get out of its path.  It didn’t matter if we turned or went straight, it seemed to follow us – and there was nothing we could do but continue moving in a neighborhood that we weren’t even familiar with.

The two pictures don't  show the true narrowness of what was felt