Rush Hour

Who says you can't get there from here? The Daily News called for a cab yesterday and tried to get stuck in traffic. That's been easy lately. The closing of the Walnut Street bridge to through traffic was the coup de grace, mixing with Schuylkill Expressway repairs, Vine and Market street construction and other Center City projects. By last Friday afternoon, in the rain, city motorists were driven to distraction - but nowhere else. The ingredients for motoring nightmares remained everywhere yesterday.

David Lipow, a lawyer, used to take the train from Exton to his office in Center City every day. Six weeks ago, that changed. Now, Lipow is driving to Conshohocken and riding his bike the 13 miles to work on as many days as he can, joining a slowly growing number of people commuting on two wheels under their own power. The reasons are not limited to gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon. Exercise and the joie de vivre of being outdoors regularly top the list. "It's exhilarating and I love it," Lipow said.

The Route 422 Bypass northwest of Philadelphia can seem a lovely country road - rolling through farmland and woodland, sometimes within sight of the Schuylkill, rolling into western Montgomery County, edging into northern Chester County, ending in southern Berks County. At quiet times - a late morning on a weekday - it is a driver's dream, an uncluttered road with an uncluttered view of the countryside. At hectic times - a late afternoon rush hour - it is a truck-heavy, traffic-thick irritant and frustration for the hurried driver.

This town is preening for the Republican convention come July. The economy hums. Times are good. But it wouldn't be Philly without something to grumble about. So even though more people than ever think the quality of life in the Philadelphia region is improving, many of them complain of spending too much of these good times stuck in traffic. In a survey coming out today from the civic-minded Greater Philadelphia First, 31 percent of residents - up from 19 percent in 1996 - buoyantly think the area is "getting better.

The lunch-time traffic in the Ellisburg Circle was doing the Jersey Weave. It's just a dart to the left and a dodge to the right, a step on the pedal and then pull up tight. Shake your fist in the air and then slide out right. The pundits out front of Ponzio's diner in Cherry Hill were trying to figure out whether there was any choreography to this chaos. Put simply: Who has the right of way? "I don't know," said Barbie Scibal of Linwood. "The standing order is to keep moving.

TO AT LEAST some Delaware Valley residents, early morning, rush-hour-traffic hassles have looked a lot better since August. Not that things have improved on the Blue Route or I-295, but the snafus have been monitored for Fox 29's morning news and gabfest "Good Day Philadelphia" by Kacie McDonnell. If the buzz is to be believed, she is well on her way to becoming Philly TV's next It Girl. There are plenty of folks - especially those who used to fall under the heading of "red-blooded American males" - who may assume that they get why the 5-foot-4-inch, hazel-eyed, raven-haired Pottsville native is garnering such attention.

The cream puff at the Philadelphia Parking Authority's auto auction was the 2000 Volvo C70 convertible. The cloth top looked nearly new, and, though the leather seats needed a scrub, the interior was otherwise remarkably fresh. For prospective bidders, it showed far better than the tired Plymouth Neons and 1990s Crown Vics sharing the impound lot underneath I-95. And it was proof you can find a drivable car among the thousands of vehicles the city seizes and auctions off each year.

AMY KIM / Washington Post