This Noisy City!!!

I am staying in today after Spanish language class as it is a damp, rainy, cold winter day in Buenos Aires. I thought I would share with you some reflections on the city, especially the noise! This is a very noisy city. Perhaps all cities are that way, but as I shared in an earlier post, I have never really lived in a downtown urban area, so this is a new experience for me. When I walk to school in the morning, or home at noon, the traffic is overwhelming. Many days the pedestrian traffic is as congested as the motor vehicle traffic. And the majority of streets are not very wife, so the two lanes of traffic are right next to the narrow sidewalks. And all of it is contained in concrete or brick canyons. That means the noise tends to stay at street level and sometimes is even amplified by the reverberation or echo effect. Plus it means you must stay on the sidewalk, for the taxis, cars and buses are right next to you and you dare not step off the sidewalk or you will be in their right of way. With the high pedestrian congestion, it means you have navigate people walking at different speeds which can mess you up quite easily. It all becomes one huge dance, but not a tango. No where near as coordinated.

I have noticed one interesting phenomenon though, if I am able to keep walking at my regular pace, which is pretty quick, I am able to walk several blocks without having to stop for lights! It seems there is a pace you can walk which gets you to the next cross street just as the light changes. I don't know if this is on the regular cycle, or every other cycle, for the cars, but when the pedestrian traffic does not slow me down I am able to keep walking without stopping at each cross street for several blocks in a row. Can't do that in Miami!

The fact that most of the streets, including many of the busiest Avenues, are one way makes pedestrian travel easier. Once you realize which way the traffic originates, you don't really have to worry about looking the other way when crossing a street. Other than, making sure that there are no turning vehicles when crossing a street at an intersection. Even though you have the right of way as a pedestrian, when you are crossing with the light, the vehicles from the perpendicular street that wish to turn, either right or left, depending on which way your side streets traffic flow goes, are not shy about making the turn with pedestrians in the crosswalk. Again, it becomes a sort of dance between the vehicles and the pedestrians at each crosswalk.

The hazards of living in a big city: dangerous vehicle traffic, heavy pedestrian traffic, lots of noise, (from the vehicles, the construction, the emergency vehicle sirens), the exhaust fumes, the dog excrement on the sidewalk, the pigeon droppings from above. It is no wonder many, many people walk the streets with ipods plugged into their ears, and very serious expressions, not a smile on the lot. Life in the big city is tough, and not for the faint of heart.