Homeless in Vancouver: Don't mind us, we're just repaving

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      Ah…don’t you just love the smell of fresh asphalt in the morning?

      City engineering department crews with streets operations are in the process of repaving the stretch of West Broadway between Oak and Granville streets.

      They started the morning working on the westbound lanes—grinding off the old road surface and laying down a base layer of hot fresh asphalt. Now they’re beginning to work on the eastbound lanes.

      Road crews should be seen and heard...in election years?

      Racing to resurface West Broadway. The white car was faster.
      Stanley Q. Woodvine

      One disapproving onlooker grumbled about how “every other major city in the world does this at night”! And in truth it is disruptive, with the crews tying up two of the three lanes on whichever side they’re working on.

      On the other hand, the work progresses quickly. When I said as much to one of the crew members, he just shrugged: “We’re only dealing with the top six inches.”

      Even so, by the time they’re done for the day they will have covered well over over 52,000 square feet of roadway with an estimated 5,000 tons of asphalt.

      And they’ll pick up where they left off tomorrow. 

      Tonka alert! Don’t worry, I’ve heard cats always land on their feet/wheels.
      Stanley Q. Woodvine
      La la la Human Steps! Union-stipulated Interpretive dance break.
      Stanley Q. Woodvine
      What are you drinking? Built-in drink dispenser with its own cups. That’s cool!
      Stanley Q. Woodvine

      Stanley Q. Woodvine is a homeless resident of Vancouver who has worked in the past as an illustrator, graphic designer, and writer. Follow Stanley on Twitter at @sqwabb.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      Homeless Sarah

      Aug 20, 2014 at 2:49pm

      We don't mind