Although I'm a lifelong lover of storms, for once it's not a welcome site.
Despite moving the police tape way back a couple weeks ago, thus giving us back our visitor parking lot, this week the powers that be closed it again "indefinitely". In addition, the whole street right outside my building has been littered with "no parking - police order" signs... also "indefinitely". So essentially, having any visitors over to my building is next to impossible.
Also this week, there was a small bright spot when they reopened my end of the pedestrian bridge just downriver... for about an hour... and then subsequently closed it with no explanation... once again "indefinitely". But without question the most frustrating part is the fact that the 10th Avenue bridge remains closed, making it extremely inconvenient to get to 35W north and any shopping I need to do. And this weekend, they closed the stretch of 94 from downtown to highway 280, making it equally inconvenient to get anywhere east (i.e. St. Paul).
One theory I've heard is that there is a team of Navy SEAL divers down there and they want to protect their identities. Another possible explanation I heard for why the 10th Avenue bridge is still closed is that, given its close proximity to the 35W bridge site, they don't want the public possibly dropping things into it while it remains a crime scene. Either way, things probably won't get any better until all of the bodies are recovered (as of today, the number of missing is two) and cleanup can really kick into full swing.
Which brings me back to the weather forecast which for today and the next few days includes rain and storms, delaying the recovery efforts. I'm not trying to be insensitive to the tragedy that happened here. I just wish the powers that be were a little more sensitive to the fact that people live here and at the very least be a little more forthcoming with information.
