How
do you know when you’re in a big city? Could be when you consider
yourself in the city, enter a destination into the GPS, and get
told 40-45 minutes until your arrival.
Could
be.
I
grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island. You could any two spots within
city limits, drive from the first to the second with a stop in
between for lunch using table service and included multiple beverage
refills and dessert, and likely arrive in less than 45-minutes.
Ok,
you caught me, that was a joke. The reality is, such a trip across
the city of Warwick would take longer than 45-minutes with lunch.
But…
Just
the two spots in Warwick wouldn’t take up that much time. I don’t
think you could pick any two spots in Warwick and make them a
45-minute drive. Though, I should point out, I could be wrong.
Pick a dead-end road to start, one with winding and limited access,
then head out across the city in a way that forces the use of
slower roads with traffic and a similarly access-challenged destination,
and you might be able to create a drive exceeding 45-minutes.
I doubt it. But I’ll concede it may be possible.
There
I was the other morning. Had a place to go. From the outer rim
of the city to just inside the other side. Figured it might take
me about 20-minutes to get there. Maybe 25. Results came back
saying 43.
Forty-three
minutes.
To
get across a city. (And not fully across a city.)
Forty-three
minutes.
With
the majority of miles using highways with speed limits of 65mph.
In
fairness, I wasn’t actually driving within a single city. I was
starting in the shadow of the city, crossing it, and then arriving
in the outskirts on the other side. Plus, due to a lovely water
feature, I needed to drive in a direction that led away from the
destination for a bit. Still, that’s not too unusual in the real
world.
Lefts
and rights and north for a bit when you need to get south.
Start
points and destinations advertised as within city limits that
are actually outside of city limits.
Real
world.
Ever
heard of T.F. Green airport? Gets advertised as Providence. Flight
crews welcome you to Providence, Rhode Island. Those three-digit
identification letters for it are PVD. It’s also located in Warwick.
About 8 miles from Providence. (Your results may vary, but that’s
an 11-minute drive.)
I
bring Green into the conversation because of the illusions we
face when it comes to cities. I’ve often heard people say—we’ll
pick New York, but this conversation happens in lots of states—they
live in a city like Buffalo, Rochester or Syracuse, when in reality
they live some 30 miles and more than a half-hour drive away from
that city.
It’s
a locator. A landmark. A “you’ve never heard of my town, so here’s
a city you might recognize that’s close enough” conversational
peace offering.
And
yet that time saver of a “here I am” dot on a map that’s a bit
off mark isn’t something reserved for those that don’t know. People
that darn well do know occasionally fall for it as well. Such
as the location concept of T.F. Green airport.
While
we think of places like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, we
often miss some of the most obvious differences. And that’s the
sprawl around them.
Do
you know the largest U.S. city by area?
It’s
Sitka, Alaska.
Don’t
just set that aside, writing it off (along with the fact that
the top four cities are all in Alaska). Because Sitka is joined
by Jacksonville, Houston and Oklahoma City in the top ten. Nashville
lands ahead of Los Angeles. New York City resides outside the
top twenty-five.
Jacksonville
is more than twice the size of New York City.
Chicago
would comfortably fit within Nashville. Twice.
How
do you know when you’re in the big city? Is it traffic? Land area?
What creates the delays and hurdles between destinations?
Is
the big city something of an illusion? It appears to me that such
a wild claim has a bit of merit.
I
finished my errands the other day. Took me a couple of hours once
moving about in the store was factored in to the afternoon. I
also didn’t have time for lunch, even though there were plenty
of options for it in the big city.