Q: Is it legal to walk on the east bound side of the Bakerview I-5 overpass? Also that side has no extra guard rail above the concrete barrier. Isn’t that dangerous for motorcycles and bicycles? Couldn’t they potentially get hit and go flying onto the freeway?
A: Have you ever visited a college campus and seen footpaths through grassy fields created by students who chose the shortest route to their next class, even if that means disregarding the available paved paths? There is a (likely apocryphal) story about Dwight Eisenhower who, while president of Columbia University, had a solution to this problem. He recommended that rather than pour sidewalks when new buildings were built, the school should just plant grass and after the students have worn trails in the grass, put the sidewalks there. Many people claim that this story belongs not to Columbia, but to the university they attended, proving that this wasn’t a problem limited to one school; it is a universal human behavior. Whether we give Eisenhower credit for the story or consider it an urban legend, the premise is real; humans will, given the option, take the shortest route to their destination.
Continue reading “The Shortest Route Isn’t Always The Best Route”