http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.d...1190/OSHopinionPosted April 10, 2008
Editorial: Traffic hassles ahead worth your patience
This coming weekend promises barricades, orange cones and traffic restrictions galore.
Getting around Oshkosh won't be easy, especially for a few select hours on Saturday.
Why?
Amazing community events are taking place.
The hassle is worth your patience.
The Oshkosh film shoot for major motion picture "Public Enemies" will require finishing touches and blocking off of the city's downtown to complete its transformation into 1930s Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The traffic restrictions will extend into next week and some days beyond.
Traffic and parking hassles? You bet.
Payoffs? No doubt about it.
In 2009, Oshkosh will be incognito on the big screen as director Michael Mann and actor Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and a huge cast of local extras imagine the dastardly days of Dillinger. Our community is lucky to have a few traffic headaches. They'll be more like migraines for some homeowners and business owners, but, for the most part, people are willing to put up with the pain given the long-term payoffs – a one-of-a-kind role in a Hollywood film.
While "Public Enemies" crew commandeers the downtown, Oshkosh will also be pulling the starters pistol trigger on the "Oshkosh Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk," starting Saturday at 8 a.m. at Leach Amphitheater. The races will also finish there.
Be prepared for police-coordinated traffic restrictions along the half-marathon's 13.1-mile route on Saturday. The Northwestern's print and online editions, along with Oshkosh City Hall's Web site, will continue to make traffic-restriction maps available so you know where the half-marathon and 5K routes will be. Generally speaking, the route is a large loop through Oshkosh east of U.S. Highway 41. More than 2,000 runners and walkers are expected.
Traffic and parking hassles? You bet.
Payoffs? Again, no doubt about it.
What community doesn't want more than 2,000 runners, walkers and spectators jamming its core for a weekend? They run. They spend. It's a major surge of energy and revenue for the city.
Oh, and don't forget about the closure of Ohio Street from Witzel to South Park Avenues. This hassle is due to major street reconstruction which will benefit traffic flow and commerce for years to come.
Temporary headaches.
Huge payoff.
Everybody gets an Oscar for their patience.
Final Thought: Traffic hassles in Oshkosh this weekend and lasting through the next couple of weeks due to filming of "Public Enemies" are worth our collective inconvenience.