Parking Curbs On Avenue Q May Have Actually Been Designed In Hell

Okay, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but maybe do it better, okay?

Downtown

I guess Avenue Q is considered part of "downtown"? We kind of have to establish that in order to talk about the topic of the day. That area between Avenue Q and all the way up to University has been redeveloped with tons of student apartments, hotels, and other stuff. The spirit of redevelopment has spilled over to Avenue Q proper and I'm not so sure it's a good thing.

The Changes

Some islands have put in to facilitate parking on Avenue Q. It seems like a good idea but there are any number of problems with it. First off, Avenue Q is a very old and established road so people aren't expecting changes. There's also the fact that the islands are very low and not really easy to see. So let's say you're driving down Avenue Q and this is all you see ahead:

Visibility

Do you see that little thing up there with the little yellow strip on there? That, and the parking spaces in front of it are relatively new. If I was new to Lubbock it probably wouldn't be a problem, after all it does have a "Right Turn Must Turn Right" sign and a big arrow on the ground. The problem is, people who have driven their whole life in Lubbock are running into the little islands and tearing their cars up.

The Solution

It seem like, at least in the short term, there should be some kind of flashing light, or at least a large orange traffic cone located on these things. Hopefully by reading this at least you'll be aware to look out for these changes on the street.  As for parking in front of those things, I certainly wouldn't trust Lubbock drivers to not rear end my car.