This evening we went with friends to dine at the Pass By Bar. As we walked up Nanluoguxiang to that venerable institution (a decade this year!) I wondered — not for the first time mind you — why there is any resistance to banning auto traffic on that narrow street.
This evening saw the inevitable black Audis barreling down the road carrying KTV Communists to meet their ernai from the drama academy. Plus there was yet another full-on street squabble over a fender bender. When we walked by, “Driver” A (I use that term as a convenient definition, in no way am I testifying to the man’s actual ability to operate a motor vehicle) was bending down in front of “Driver” B’s car, trying to take a picture of the license plate as “Driver” B and “Driver” B’s…girl friend (she was a woman, about three decades younger than her companion, so I’ll be charitable in my description) were smacking “Driver” A on the head and neck whilst a crowd of looky-loo’s (including your correspondent) stopped and gawked. Fun times in the hutong.
It seems so simple, given the nature of the road, to ban non-essential traffic, private automobiles, and taxis with exceptions made for delivery vans and actual residents. What gives?
I asked the same question to my daughter who worked at Nanluoguxiang, and your answer is in the second paragraph. Apparently there have been efforts to ban traffic, but those guys in the Audis on the way to the drama school to pick up their babes are the connected guys, and they aren’t about to walk anywhere. And the drama girls? Well they don’t probably walk all that much either. It’s another one of those “It’s the way things are roun hea.”
Ha ha.. the inevitably black audis – AudiA8? they probably bought it after watching “Transporter 2″.
Hmm, well, what enforceability of any traffic rules is there in Beijing? How often do you see a policeman on the streets (other than shaking down a bar, or creeping out tourists on Tiananmen Square, that is)? Even if they would post someone at each end of the street – and all the side roads?? – so many ‘exceptions’ would be granted…. to anyone who looked ‘important’….. to anyone who slipped them a 50 or a nice packet of smokes.
And once you start making allowances for ‘essential traffic’, it all falls apart; how the heck is anyone going to be able to differentiate? One of the problems is that so many of those black Audi bastards do actually live in the streets around there. The hell with making an exception for local residents. No-one should have a car in a hutong. The street is three-quarters of a mile long, for chrissakes – who can’t walk 600 yards. I’d pedestrianize that entire block. You’d just need to provide one or two sheltered parking areas somewhere nearby to keep the Audi-mob semi-happy.
But, since that’s obviously not going to happen…. I think it might be reasonable and practicable to start with banning taxis. Occasionally I cab over there from Sanlitun, and I always get off at the south end and walk up. The driver is always baffled, and telling me, “I can go up there, you know.” “Yes, but I don’t want you to.”
I can’t agree more… add to the mix the drunken and rowdy outdoor diners around the xinjiang joint in the summertime and you get a true recipe for disaster.
Jim,
I’ve heard that rumor, too. Pathetic, really.
Froog,
Same thing happens with us when we take a taxi there. My own personal demonstration is when one of those black audis tries to honk me out of the way, I just slow my fat ass way down. They carry on a bit, but what do I care if the “Assistant (to the) Deputy Vice Committee Head for Beijing Water, Sewage, and Chuan’r Stands” is inconvenienced on his way to pick up his 18-year old mistress.