Walking and the pedestrian environment
July 12, 2004
Inhumane Waste (Seattle)

No garbage cans, no toilets.

This is part of the special feature Freeway Box, showcasing my old life next to freeway viaducts.


Alcoholic refuse

So what's a guy supposed to do? You know, you're coming home from a baseball game or maybe a home or boat show. You've got a cup or bottle in your hand. How long are you expected to carry it before tossing it on the ground? 2 minutes? 5 minutes? 10? 20? Your wrist gets tired after awhile, y'know!

There are no garbage cans to be found anywhere. I was carrying a bag of garbage for the entirety of my photo expedition.

In addition to event-goers, there is a significant amount of garbage generated by folks buying alcoholic beverages from the 4th and Massachusetts franchise of Washington State Liquor stores. For homeless folks anywhere downtown who hit the jackpot, this is the closest place for hard liquor. So the sidewalk along 4th is strewn with shot-sized bottles.


Ramp structure with brown stain

This photo is of the Atlantic entrance on the east side of 4th.

Engineers and craftsmen put countless weeks of their lives into building these meticulously angled structures. The paint is uniform and amazingly, blindly drab gray. What they never expected is that someone would get explosive diarrhea on the side of their freeway ramp!


Posted by Rob Ketcherside at July 12, 2004 9:12 PM
Lost Seattle
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