Driving in Phoenix, Arizona before it got so crowded


I've never driven in anything but crowded conditions. Where I grew up, and learned to drive, in Minneapolis, the tiny streets were always crowded, crowded with cars, crowded with pedestrians, bicycles, dogs, you name it. By the time I got to Phoenix, in 1977, the streets were already being overwhelmed in spite of their size. East Bell Road was an absolute madhouse, with cars going every which way, and I tried to avoid that area.

Then in 1982 I moved to Los Angeles, and I don't have to tell you how crowded it is there, and has been for a very long time! So imagining a world where the drivin' is easy, and there are no crowds, no one tailgating you, no one suddenly cutting you off from your blind side, is a nice thought. I know that Phoenix was like that not too long ago, because of the old photos I collect, and when I ride with people who have driven in that time and place. They scare the life out of me!

You can time-travel to a less-crowded Phoenix by riding along with someone who really hasn't realized that times have changed. I've been with people who do the kind of stuff I'd never dream of, like stopping for no apparent reason right in a lane, or maybe drifting over to the left side of the road (only in residential areas, of course!) because it's more convenient than doing a U-turn. These people rarely use turn-signals, and their turns are the leisurely turns of someone who just might stop right there, decide that this isn't where they wanted to turn, and start backing up. They could, of course, be from a small town, but instead I prefer to think that they drove in Phoenix before it got crowded.

The less-crowded driving techniques that I see would have gotten you in a fender-bender in my old neighborhood in Minneapolis, and probably much worse in Los Angeles. Even nowadays in Phoenix some quick slamming of brakes and careful driving can avoid someone who thinks that the roads are uncrowded, but those days are coming to an end. Making a left turn across six lanes of traffic is something I've never even considered, but if I were driving in old-time Phoenix where the only thing that might hit me is a tumbleweed, it would be silly not to make the turn.

Sometimes I take a look at the big, empty streets early on a Sunday morning and imagine what it used to be like. In those days you wouldn't need a mirror on the right side of your car, and you sure wouldn't need a backup camera. It must have been nice, I'm sorry I missed it.

Image at the top of this post: Bell Road and 26th Street in the early 1970s, Phoenix, Arizona
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