- May 21, 2001
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To save money (hundreds of dollars/year) and get exercise, I park far away from work. It is a 16 minute walk each direction. It currently involves going through a construction zone with signs to watch for danger and falling objects above.
When I'm lazy or in a hurry I take a shortcut that shaves 5 minutes off each direction. As a bonus, it avoids the current construction. This shortcut is down a 15' hill (on grass or on concrete), under a railroad bridge along a ditch for flood water, and back up a 15' hill (on pavers). At the top of the hill, I rejoin the sidewalk and go on my way. There are no signs for "no tresspassing" or danger or any other warning. Crude map, sorry Google's satelight image is years old and some important details are missing.
Today as I got to the top of the hill, a biker came up and says "Sir, as a future warning it isn't safe to go down there." I said "Ok, thanks" and then turned my head to see who it was. It was a cop on a bike just sitting there waiting for another person to come up the hill. He didn't ask a name or hinder me at all.
I can see danger in places like the American southwest where a flash flood can fill those drainage ditches to the brim in minutes and where there are few exits. But, for me, there are convenient exits 100' apart and it takes days to fill even in flooding weather. That really seems like a waste of a cop's time to me. Now, I do have video of me on a narrow 6" ledge under those tracks with a steep drop off into concrete. That I could see as being dangerous. I could link it if anyone can tell me how to convert a Samsung phone video (.3g2 format) to any other format.
I'm not really complaining here, as it is just a simple shortcut. But I'm just curious, is walking along a ditch an illegal thing to do? Is that a real police warning that could later be a ticket if he recognizes me again?
When I'm lazy or in a hurry I take a shortcut that shaves 5 minutes off each direction. As a bonus, it avoids the current construction. This shortcut is down a 15' hill (on grass or on concrete), under a railroad bridge along a ditch for flood water, and back up a 15' hill (on pavers). At the top of the hill, I rejoin the sidewalk and go on my way. There are no signs for "no tresspassing" or danger or any other warning. Crude map, sorry Google's satelight image is years old and some important details are missing.
Today as I got to the top of the hill, a biker came up and says "Sir, as a future warning it isn't safe to go down there." I said "Ok, thanks" and then turned my head to see who it was. It was a cop on a bike just sitting there waiting for another person to come up the hill. He didn't ask a name or hinder me at all.
I can see danger in places like the American southwest where a flash flood can fill those drainage ditches to the brim in minutes and where there are few exits. But, for me, there are convenient exits 100' apart and it takes days to fill even in flooding weather. That really seems like a waste of a cop's time to me. Now, I do have video of me on a narrow 6" ledge under those tracks with a steep drop off into concrete. That I could see as being dangerous. I could link it if anyone can tell me how to convert a Samsung phone video (.3g2 format) to any other format.
I'm not really complaining here, as it is just a simple shortcut. But I'm just curious, is walking along a ditch an illegal thing to do? Is that a real police warning that could later be a ticket if he recognizes me again?
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