It was temporary

I wrote on Monday about the craziness of the "Local Access Only" signs that the city had placed on Northeast 25th through 41st Avenues, trying to fake people out from traveling between Knott and Fremont Streets on those numbered streets.

The signs are gone now, and an alert reader has explained to me what they were about. The only major north-south thoroughfare between 25th and 41st, which is 33rd, was closed for repaving between Knott and Fremont. The city was trying to talk detouring drivers into going nine blocks out of their way rather than cut down, say, 32nd. The paving has now moved north on 33rd, and so the signs I was seeing have been taken down – probably moved north.

You could still argue that the signs were pointless, because nobody would go nine blocks out of their way in each direction. And the signs and cones still had no legal import, as far as I can tell. But at least they had something besides pure car hatred behind them. And at least they're gone now. 

If I had known what they were there for, I would have saved my rant against the city "transportation" children for a future opportunity, of which there will no doubt be many. So never mind.