Drive-by Astoria #1: The Corner at 8th and Commercial

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 16, 2012

Yesterday was sunny and beautiful, and for a change I was a passenger with her camera out. Some of the shots I got were kind of fun. The perspective was different, the angles unpredictable, and the composition could either be nice or insane. When I looked at the photos, I realized this is how many of us see our town. As of today, I think I'll do a short series of "Drive-by Astoria" photos. It might also be fun for those who haven't been here for awhile to feel like they're really back for a visit.

Here we are coming up 8th Street from Marine Drive, turning left onto Commercial. Looking west you can see the post office steps on the right and the Clatsop County Courthouse on the left.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

By Land and by Sea

Astoria, Oregon ~ February 1, 2011

I enjoyed seeing these huge tomatoes on the side of the delivery truck in the Safeway parking lot. Goods arrive in Astoria by truck as we watch other products travel past on their way to or from the ocean on ships.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

BIG Rig at the Post Office

December 13, 2010

At the end of each day, one of us stops by the back dock at the post office to deliver the bags of orders we've packed up that day. It must be due to the heavy volume of Christmas mail, but today the truck picking up looked enormous. I asked the driver how he could possibly make the turn onto 8th Street, because I really couldn't imagine it. He said it was tight, but it wasn't all that bad. (I really can't imagine how it's done.) The truck collects from a number of local-area post offices before heading pack to Portland. He said the bad stop was Seaside, where if there are any cars parked on either side of the street, it simply can't be done. I've forgotten what the Seaside post office dock looks like, but I believe him.

In 2009, I showed a photo of a truck hauling logs making the turn at the corner of 8th and Commercial. The truck you see here will have to turn right onto two-lane 8th Street, and immediately make the insane left turn onto two-lane Commercial. Before I knew the drill, I was once or twice one of those cars that had to back up so the truck could turn.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

That intersection, with truck

Believe it or not, every vehicle passing through Astoria to points east (such as Portland or Seattle) has to negotiate this downtown corner. Traffic comes in on a small highway without too many nasty curves, and it leaves on the same. But, it has to go through town on Commercial Street (essentially our "Main Street"). Marine Drive is wider and straighter for anyone going west, but since Astoria's downtown is a one-way grid, Marine Drive goes only one way, and this is the result. There is no interstate or freeway for those who would rather "not get off here." I heard that the routing was arranged this way in order to keep business bustling in town, and maybe that's true. But there's no bypass for the big guys, and since we're located in a logging area, trucks carrying trees and heavy equipment share the same road as smaller vehicles.

If you're travelling behind a rig like this, you need to hold back when you near the intersection, or you could be forced to back up, and if there's a line of cars, it's not so easy. I've seen it. In fact, when I was new in town, it happened to me. The truck in the photo is of moderate size, but longer ones do comes through here. When one of them gets stuck, there's nothing for it but to put it in reverse and try again. I'm sure Astoria has a special niche somewhere in the Truckers' Hall of Fame and Legend.