A Contradictory Place Of Transportation

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Stretched between East D. Street and Washington Street is the conveniently yet awkwardly placed Petaluma Transit Mall. On either side of the construction there are metal archways with letters-that are too small to read when passing by in a car- that label the site as such. The four individual bus stops that can be seen between the two arches, however, are much more distinguishing traits. Despite the Transit Mall being only two blocks from downtown, with its modern concrete, metal, and Plexiglas, the Transit Malls clashes heavily with its surrounding. Across the street, two abandoned and boarded warehouses sit with hopeless “For Rent” signs, and at one functioning warehouse a rusted forklift might be seen lifting a pallet of unknown substance onto a graffiti tagged truck. Just behind the fence of the Transit Mall lay a parched field and void railway tracks. It was from this section of dead grasses that came a constant flow of birdsong. This conflicted absurdly with the deep grumble of trucks coming from the fuctioning warehouse and nearby shipping depots.

Even within the transportation center, no architectural coherence or sense could be found. The bus stops were curious structures; within each enclosure, if you could call them that, there is a cement block (that is not rectangular seeing as technology and architecture are beyond rectangles) that serves as bench. The posts of the awning (that were also within the visual enclosure), were metal and similar in positioning to those of a swing set. The awning itself was slightly curved -once again to prove American architectural ability- with extensions off the sides (that would have looked Asian were they not made of metal rods) and was much too high off the ground to stop any rainfall (seeing as rain almost always falls at a slant in Petaluma.) To give the effect of being within an room, there were three Plexiglas barriers. One ran along the back of the cement bench, but no further. The other two, being right angles, made up the front and the sides of the suggested room, but on no sides actually completed the full distance of the seating area. In fact, the two angled barriers were so far from each other that the entry space was larger than the length of the barriers themselves. On a windy day, the patrons would feel the wind. On a rainy day the patrons would get wet. Thanks to the Plexiglas, on a sunny day, the patrons would be burnt.

Next to these atrociously unpractical attempts at modernism are cement blocks. Atop these cement blocks are mock Victorian lampposts. Hanging from these era lampposts are ominous, white, and spherical security cameras that must have a name that ends in “tron.” Behind the row of bus stops runs a metal fence with Victorian spikes atop it. Along the entire Transit Mall there is a unending clash of modern, Victorian, working class, teenagers, birdsong, grumbling trucks, fresh air, and smog.

In the center of the row of bus stops, there is a kiosk. The kiosk displays times of departure and arrival, route maps, and various other things that the makers of such posters believe you ought to know before you board a bus. The true value of these charts is frequently displayed; on President‘s Day, two teenage girls came to ride a bus, and on top of the time they spent sitting in one of the abandoned bus stops thinking all was normal, they spent ten minutes staring at the kiosk before they discovered that the busses were not running due to the holiday. Though one of the bus stops is designated for use by Golden Gate Transit, no information can be found about Golden Gate Transit on the kiosk; a man who came to ride a bus belonging to Golden Gate looked worriedly about the kiosk, hoping that he would suddenly notice a Golden Gate Transit poster, until he resigned to wait on the cement seating.

Also in the central region of the Transit Mall, there is a stand for newspaper dispensers that cold hold three dispensers in row. Indeed, there are three newspapers dispensers, but one is placed atop another, while the rack remain bare on the end. Only one dispenser ever contains newspapers. Just off to the side of the street’s center, there is a dip in the side walk, a traction mat, a lighter shade of cement leading from the traction mat to the other side of the street, and every other indication of a pedestrian crossing, except for a large metal blockade declaring that it was not one. About ten feet over, in the direct center of the Transit Mall was the true and accepted pedestrian crossing, which had all the same traits as the other besides the blockade.

The confusion and general dissatisfaction produced at the public transport center is even greater on the average day when the busses are running. Given that it is Petaluma, it will be windy, and since there will be no shelter, the people will be perturbed. Often, there is not enough room on the cement benches and people awkwardly await their busses. Since the engines of the busses are commonly heard in large advance of them actually being seen by the patrons, the patron’s ears become trained for the sound. Consequently, any cars or trucks that are heard and falsely give hope for a bus are detested. Despised, however, are the cars that zoom by the Transit Mall; those cars are to the bus riders are like someone being forced to walk somewhere being passed by a biker. All but the well-experienced bus riders (who escape it only to worry whether or not their busses departures and arrivals will be timely) are deeply flustered on whether or not another bus is actually their bus. Once on their bus they will be paranoid that, despite all contradictory evidence, they have just boarded the wrong bus.

This turmoil never ends at the Petaluma Transit Mall; even at night, when no people are fussing about, the abundance of architectural and environmental clashes still remain. After all, the Transit Mall is just another blatant example of a city project that is done with a timeline and, besides for it to perform its main function, has only one goal: to look relatively attractive. The modern looking bus stops were built despite lack of any environmental shelter because they demand the belief that Petaluma is keeping up with the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area cities. There are Victorian lamps because Petaluma has been building cobblestone patches in roads downtown and the lamps would help continue the effect. In spite of the impracticality and lack of visual cohesion, the Transit Mall does what it has been asked to do: it is a hub for three different transit networks and a large amount of people travel through it.

-Paige