I had a terrible experience the other night with traffic leading up to Christmas Tree Lane. Not the Lane itself -- if anything, that seemed more nicely decorated than ever before -- but with the traffic.
One of my sister-in-law's Christmas wishes was to have someone else drive her and my brother down the Lane, so she could enjoy the sights. After picking up Starbucks and kettle corn in Clovis we embarked on our adventure. We got off Freeway 41 at Shields and immediately hit the traffic, backed up all the way from the entrance to the Lane, at Shields and Van Ness.
I am not kidding -- it took us over an hour and a half to get a half a mile. Driving my zero-emissions Prius, I watched as the miles per gallon on my dashboard gauge crept lower and lower, to depths I had never before seen in this car. I thought about all the cars around us, which likely weren't so low-emission, and also wondered how all the flares put down by Fresno Police Officers doing traffic control (for which I am grateful) contributed to our air quality.
By the time we finally decided to call it a night and head home for dinner (a very late dinner!), we had literally been in the car for over three hours -- and we cut the Lane short, getting off at Ashlan, which is only the halfway point! I could have driven to the coast more quickly.
It seems like there should be some way to smooth out this process, both to reduce its impact on our environment and to make it more enjoyable for families trying to experience a holiday tradition with wriggly, impatient little ones in the car. Any suggestions?
I don't know if there's much more they can do about the traffic. You can only put so many cars on one street, no matter what you do.
My family went to the Lane during one of the pedestrians-only nights. We only did a few blocks because it was a bit overwhelming for the kids (2 and 6 years old). But we also drove along the Candlelight Christmas display on Huntington, and bought a commemorative calendar there (as we do every year). The traffic was a bit slow in spots, but it's not nearly as crowded as Van Ness.
Put up Christmas lights in front of your home and enjoy.
Get rid of the car traffic each night. Put the horse and buggy crew on revolving shifts creating jobs that people can use this time of year. From horse manure patrol to feeding the horses to the nostalgic feel of it.
It would also help foster some better Clovis/Fresno relations since most of the horses seem stabled out there anyway. ^^
If there's no money for it, just make it a volunteer service and see how many kind people can donate horses, clean-up crews, feed, etc.
Or... make it Pedestrian only. I don't care how old your child is. There are strollers and buses.
I agree with John Zacharias - make the Lane pedestrian only. I've only walked the Lane, so I can't speak from experience, but it doesn't seem like it would be that enjoyable in a car, anyway. It seems like one would miss the sensation of having the lights above and all around.
It's shocking to me that in a town where air is (should be?) a priority, we still allow cars to idle for hours at a time in the name of tradition.
I only did it once in a car, never again.
Not to mention the SUV's all around us, we couldn't see a dang thing.