This Week on the Skytrain … Conspiracy Theory

Posted by Cynical Sarah on September 2, 2006

The Skytrain station nearest my work recently had some work done to it. They put in an entirely new entrance going down underground to the Skytrain. It’s got a new side entrance right where I would normally go to get on the train after work, and there’s also a new entrance on a completely different street.

When they first opened it up, they had a transit working standing at the old entrance directing people to give the new side entrance there a try.

I gave it a shot and even used a few more times over the weeks. I wouldn’t say it was necessarily faster or more convenient, but it was a lot more deserted so you were able to get down to the train faster without having to battle people for position in line to the escalators.

Being a creature of habit like any other human though, I naturally fell back into my old pattern of using the old entrance and exit. I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one because the new area seemed to always be pretty much deserted. Even when I walked through it weeks after it was opened, it still had that new-building smell of fresh paint and tile grout.

It was actually kind of spooky too. Even though the old entrance was a bit dirty and sometimes seemed a little old, it always felt safe because there were lots of people around so you didn’t have to worry about anything happening there. The new area was nice, but it was empty, and it was easy to creep yourself out walking through there and imagining someone hiding behind one of the columns just waiting for someone else to come walking through alone.

I’m guessing I wasn’t the only person who noticed the new entrance’s lack of use. First signs started appearing announcing the new entrance and its fancy elevator in an attempt to direct more traffic flow through it. Then the old entrance was blocked off and suddenly everyone was forced to use the new one.

Coincidence? I think not. I have a sneaking suspicion that the old entrance is just fine and the transit people just decided to mess with us to get more people used to using the new exit.

They say it takes about 21 days for people to form new habits (excluding cigarette smoking and junk food eating of course). So I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple more weeks they reopen the old entrance like nothing happened.

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Tags: public transit, skytrain

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