the atmosphere on the bridge

David Stockhoff · 17 May 2011, 11:32 · from 2011-May.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 07:32:10 -0400
Subject: (urth) the atmosphere on the bridge
In-Reply-To: <4DD23DDB.8090302 at io.com>
References: <BANLkTin_uEJLQSqKGDWXLQTBxhkc6eFZOA at mail.gmail.com>
	<4DD23DDB.8090302 at io.com>
Message-ID: <4DD25CBA.9050708 at verizon.net>

I took that bridge as a shopping mall, like the Ponto Vecchio. 
Apparently this one is open at night.

On 5/17/2011 5:20 AM, Jeff Wilson wrote:
> On 5/17/2011 2:40 AM, Jason H wrote:
>> I'm confused about the atmosphere on the bridge that Severian crosses at
>> the very beginning of his exile (Shadow chapter XIV).
>>
>> Previously he had been walking on the Water Way, and I get the
>> impression there are few people about. He says he no longer appeared a
>> torturer "in the eyes of the few who passed me"; also, he was able to
>> hear the song from a ship, carried by the wind, from a league away.
>>
>> But when he steps on the bridge, the scene is suddenly crowded: there
>> are carriages, there are vendors crying out, and people "thronging" the
>> walkway. When he stops to talk to the guard, he is suddenly surrounded
>> by a hundred people. All of this in the dead of the night.
>>
>> Does this make sense? Why would the bridge be so crowded, but the
>> walkway on one side of the river be practically deserted? Aren't the
>> throngs of people *crossing* the bridge?
>
> Bridges are very often bottlenecks for traffic; there are generally at 
> least three lanes of various sizes leading away from a bridge footing 
> in a city, but the bridge is generally only as wide as it has to be 
> due to the expense of construction and maintenance, and as a defensive 
> measure. The spacing between bridges also factors in, there are many 
> choices  to cross between streets on dry land but only so many bridges 
> between the river banks.  Consider the important of the bridge at the 
> end of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.
>
>
> OF course, big cities like Nessus of have luxuriously broad numerous 
> bridges, not unlike the various bridges across the Thames in London, 
> but in times of asuterity, decadence, and/or corruption, these 
> inevitably become considered additional real estate and become covered 
> with stationary concerns until again there is a bottleneck only as 
> wide as it has to be. The relatively uncluttered bridges across the 
> Seine in Paris are a rare sign of enlightened self-interest on the 
> part of the city government.
>
> Or that's my impression, I'm not a civil engineer or anything.
>


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