I was saddened to learn of the passing of former president Jerry Ford. For us folks here in west Michigan, Jerry was more than just another politician, he was family; uncle Jerry. He was a kind and gentle man who really cared for his constituents and not the money of some rich lobbyist. The country may have lost an ex-president but west Michigan lost a legacy. He may not have been the countries greatest president but he was an honest man. He will be greatly missed.<\/p>\n
Whenever a VIP comes to GR, traffic is a mess. While the airport is about 10 mile from downtown, on the south east side it is only about a half mile from the expressway. Since the security folks like to have two routes to the destination point, they usually pick the expressway and the East Beltline. And in doing so, they pretty much paralyze the east side of the city. No one can get in and no one can get out.<\/p>\n
Every intersection and every entrance ramp is blocked with police cars so that the road is only open to the motorcade. And on the expressway itself, they have a rolling road block.<\/p>\n
With a rolling road block, two cruisers get on to the expressway, side by side, about 10 miles out from the motorcade route. They then proceed to drive slowly with their flashers going. The traffic behind them is prevented from entering the motorcade route while the traffic ahead of them naturally leaves the motorcade route as they travel to their destinations. If all goes according to plan, the motorcade will have made their departure before the rolling road block gets anywhere near the motorcade route. Fortunately, we now have the South Beltline aka the Paul Henry, so when those road blocks go up, we can still get around.<\/p>\n
When President Bush spoke at Calvin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s graduation, I happened to be in the area that day. I knew that it was close to motorcade time, so I headed for the expressway hoping to get out of town before I got stuck. The police cars were already sitting by the intersections waiting for instructions as I am frantically headed for the expressway. And as I am driving down the expressway, I saw Air Force One coming in for a landing. That was too close. Another time, the rolling road block began just as soon as I passed the cruisers sitting along side the expressway. Again, another close one.<\/p>\n
This week, the main roads are already plugged with the after Christmas shoppers. Throw in a few motorcades with the president, former presidents and dignitaries and driving should be almost impossible for the next few days. Law enforcement is definitely going to have their hands full with traffic control this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was saddened to learn of the passing of former president Jerry Ford. For us folks here in west Michigan, Jerry was more than just another politician, he was family; uncle Jerry. He was a kind and gentle man who … Continue reading