Why does Stockton Hill after 5 p.m. feel like a different road than it did at noon?
I sat in that line by Hobby Lobby this week, and again, the turn lane was packed with people trying to hit the new food spots like everybody got off work at the same second.
I was just trying to get through Frontier Shopping Plaza, and the Hawaiian grill lot and the donut place were pulling cars in from every direction.
A friend recently commented to me that she used to fly through Stockton Hill after work and now she leaves ten minutes early just to deal with the backup by those new stores.
5-7 years ago, I would never have seen that stretch jam up over dinner plans. Now, they are always there, brake lights everywhere once the clock hits five.
These after five drivers seem to think the whole road is their driveway into Hobby Lobby and the restaurants, as if the rest of us are not just trying to get home.
On top of this, you get the people cutting across late, and the people stopping short for a spot that is already gone, and basically the whole frontage turns into a parking lot with turn signals.
I saw it again this week right there by the new food spots, cars stacked up, people waving each other in like the lane was optional.
The worst issue is not that Kingman finally got places people want to go. The worst issue is how these after five drivers act shocked that the road got busier when the lots got busier.
Your dinner run may only be one stop to you, but I have no idea why that means the rest of Stockton Hill has to stop with you.
For the record, I do like the new stores. I have been in Hobby Lobby, I have looked at those food spots, I wanted this town to have more than the same few options.
I am not mad that people are going out. I am mad at these after five drivers who drive like the extra traffic is a surprise, when it is basically the price of finally having somewhere to go.
It is a daily occurrence now. Every day around five, Stockton Hill by Hobby Lobby and the new food spots turns into that slow crawl.
These after five drivers do it everywhere on that stretch. Near the plaza, by the grill, past the donut place, it does not matter.
A friend said she would rather sit in that line than go back to when there was nothing worth turning in for, and that is basically how I feel too even when I am annoyed.
While I understand everybody is hungry and off work at the same time, I do wish these people would leave a little earlier and quit treating Stockton Hill after 5 like it is still empty.