Futuristic design, graceful arches, the new Sixth Street Bridge closed shortly after it opened. No, it doesn’t have a structural problem. It has a human problem: Drag racing, donut hole maneuvers, and people climbing the wide arches for Selfies. Police have issued numerous citations, and now the authorities are devising preventative measures to keep people safe; the first measure is temporarily closing the multimillion-dollar bridge. *
The best laid plans, eh? That our human club membership includes both criminal and foolish people shouldn’t surprise anyone, but those who designed and funded the bridge might have considered that some will discover new uses for it and that they will do so at their own and others’ jeopardy.
There isn’t much anyone can do to ensure a bridge will be used as it was intended, including any social or psychological bridge. Take the current perception of an angry America split along political, economic, and racial lines as an example of an unbridged gap. Can we build a bridge that connects one side to the other without its being misused? Note what happens during televised debates between pundits. In very few incidents does either side cross the bridge, and in some instances one or both sides destroys it.
The next time you see a debate, picture a bridge shiny and new and built with the purpose to connect. And then watch the drag racing, donut hole maneuvers, and people climbing the supports to show off for onlookers. Watch, also, the frustrated moderator try to facilitate the free movement across the bridge only to yield to the necessity of shutting down the bridge by interrupting the debate with a commercial, a cutaway, and another set of guests. In some instances those on either side of the gap simply walk away from the bridge, unwilling even to meet at the halfway point or acknowledge its purpose to connect one side to the other.
The primary purpose of a bridge is to connect places and people. They facilitate the interactions of society. That all bridges eventually need some repairs is inevitable, but what we see in social and psychological bridges isn’t a longterm wearing down. Almost as soon as such bridges span gaps, they need repairs.
*https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/sixth-street-bridge-arches-boyle-heights-downtown-la/2944212/
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-20/the-sixth-street-viaducts-baptism-by-la
https://abc7.com/sixth-street-bridge-takeovers-friday-night-closure/12069497/
The best laid plans, eh? That our human club membership includes both criminal and foolish people shouldn’t surprise anyone, but those who designed and funded the bridge might have considered that some will discover new uses for it and that they will do so at their own and others’ jeopardy.
There isn’t much anyone can do to ensure a bridge will be used as it was intended, including any social or psychological bridge. Take the current perception of an angry America split along political, economic, and racial lines as an example of an unbridged gap. Can we build a bridge that connects one side to the other without its being misused? Note what happens during televised debates between pundits. In very few incidents does either side cross the bridge, and in some instances one or both sides destroys it.
The next time you see a debate, picture a bridge shiny and new and built with the purpose to connect. And then watch the drag racing, donut hole maneuvers, and people climbing the supports to show off for onlookers. Watch, also, the frustrated moderator try to facilitate the free movement across the bridge only to yield to the necessity of shutting down the bridge by interrupting the debate with a commercial, a cutaway, and another set of guests. In some instances those on either side of the gap simply walk away from the bridge, unwilling even to meet at the halfway point or acknowledge its purpose to connect one side to the other.
The primary purpose of a bridge is to connect places and people. They facilitate the interactions of society. That all bridges eventually need some repairs is inevitable, but what we see in social and psychological bridges isn’t a longterm wearing down. Almost as soon as such bridges span gaps, they need repairs.
*https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/sixth-street-bridge-arches-boyle-heights-downtown-la/2944212/
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-20/the-sixth-street-viaducts-baptism-by-la
https://abc7.com/sixth-street-bridge-takeovers-friday-night-closure/12069497/
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