The Chainlink

Is there help to be found from City of Chicago in addressing road hazards to cyclists and peds? (was "Water Crews...", "Open Letter...")

12/8/2011:

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Old/outdated content follows:

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Dear Rahm, Dear Jason,

On the evening of Tuesday November 8 2011 I observed that there had been digging at the intersection of W. 24th Street and S. Rockwell and plates had been put down, but apparently the crew did not have large enough plates to cover the hole.

Disappointingly, they left a gap between the plates about 5" wide, as seen in this image taken tonight:

I called this in to 311 and asked them to mark it "urgent."

On  November 11 I passed the spot and noticed nothing had changed, and  placed a second 311 request.

On November 15 I called the 28th Ward Streets and Sanitation office, and Eileen was nice enough to call me back a few hours later when she returned to the office. I explained the situation and lack of follow-up to her and hoped that she would be able to get the problem rectified.

This evening, November 17, I again noted nothing had changed. As I stopped to photograph the problem another man on a bicycle rode up and told me that he had called 311 about this problem as well.

Per a 311 supervisor, all requests are still marked as "open."

 

To Rahm: I understand that you are trying to increase the efficiency of infrastructure repairs and improvements, but assuming that this is the handiwork of independent contractors, it is clear that basic public safety considerations are not being observed.

 

To Jason:

I find it surprising that a call to your streets and sanitation office regarding a hazard such as this would not be met with a timely response.  My previous experience with this office under your predecessor was actually quite exemplary.

 

 

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on November 18, 2011 at 5:21pm

2400 S. Rockwell, try that.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on November 18, 2011 at 6:30pm

Bust workday, sorry.

Thanks to all for rallying around this problem and for the supportive words.

Will respond from recent to oldest.

Permalink Reply by Michelle Gregorek on November 18, 2011 at 6:34pm

That worked.  Thanks for your help.

Charlie Short said:

2400 S. Rockwell, try that.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on November 18, 2011 at 6:34pm

I guess I can't believe that the Mayor's office is able to keep up with the volume of mail received, and I'd say historically about 3/4 of messages I've sent to any city e-mail address have gone unacknowledged (and that's being generous), but I would appreciate that address too.

 

My guess is not that this is Streets and Sanitation's work, but the water department's, or more likely independent contractors hired to accelerate the backlog of projects.

Streets and San's response was actually to contact CDOT to inform them of the problem.

 

Charlie Short said:

I would click on "Pothole on Street" That will get to the right folks. This may be streets and san work, but CDOT's reporting mechanisms are pretty good.

 

You could also shoot an email to the mayors office. I'd have to dig to find a link, but they are very good about distributing information quickly.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on November 18, 2011 at 6:42pm

Michelle, thanks so much for summoning Charlie.

Charlie, I took some time at lunch and called 28th ward S/S office again-- Eileen asked if it had been taken care of and said she'd call CDOT again. I asked her if there would be any additional value in calling the Alderman's office and she said "sure, why not" so I spoke to the Alderman as well. He said he would follow up and have someone update me, but I'm not exactly clear on what specific course of action he intended to take (in principle it's none of my business but I would very much like a better understanding of how these things work internally so I can choose the most expedient route next time.)


Here's the scene as of about 25 minutes ago:

 

Michelle Gregorek said:

I threw a link to this thread to Charlie Short with CDOT/Active Trans.  He suggests to report through a link, but I am not sure what option at the link to choose!  Your thoughts as to the correct option on the link?  Here is his reply/suggestion...

 

1. Contact the Alderman's office; early and often. I would call once and give details and then leave messages every night
 
2. Use this link to report to CDOT, as the work may be supervised by us. http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/svcs/iwantto.report_file.html
 
Good luck.
 
Charlie Short
Program Manager
CDOT Bike Safety and Education
P - 312.744.8147
C - 773.720.0097
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on November 18, 2011 at 6:49pm

You know, I've spent so much time trying to shake 311 operators loose from the "shifted plate" question that my BP went up 15 points reading this question . . . it's not a matter of shifted plates, it's an instance of the crew clearly not having enough plates to span the gap and leaving a half-assed and dangerous job.

In this case I would say that the plates are not anchored, but that a collar of fresh asphalt was put down around them to hold them in place (and maybe as a transition to the higher surface). There has been no shifting-- the gap is in line with the direction of traffic and the plate is still firmly within its asphalt collar.

Steven Vance said:

Howard, were the plates anchored? Plates can be anchored in two ways (in my observations): with asphalt around the plate edges, or with large bolts. 

I've noticed that plates to cover up potholes are rarely anchored, but plates as part of utility relocation or "tapping" are anchored. 

 

The photo below shows how a metal plate has moved 6 feet. It used to be covering the pothole; this is at Milwaukee under the Bloomingdale Trail, near Leavitt:

Moving metal monsters

Permalink Reply by Michelle Gregorek on November 21, 2011 at 5:11pm

Hey Howard!  I don't ride near the area.  Any update on this?

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on November 21, 2011 at 7:33pm

Thanks, Michelle.

I just checked an hour ago-- no change.

I did in the process learn that LG Octane phones occasionally lose the ability to save photos and that a reboot fixes the problem though, so it hasn't been a completely unproductive evening.

Permalink Reply by Michelle Gregorek on November 22, 2011 at 1:39am



h' said:

...

I did in the process learn that LG Octane phones occasionally lose the ability to save photos and that a reboot fixes the problem though.....

 

What in the h' are you talking about, HAHA   ahhh, that's funny, but I am sure very important if you know what an LG Octane phone is.

Permalink Reply by Mark on November 22, 2011 at 11:48am

Not that this should matter, but the north half of that intersection is in the 28th Ward, while the south half is in the 12th Ward.

Good luck.  I hope it is repaired soon.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on November 22, 2011 at 12:20pm

Thanks Mark-- you're exactly right. The plate in question is on the north side of the intersection.

Mark said:

Not that this should matter, but the north half of that intersection is in the 28th Ward, while the south half is in the 12th Ward.

Good luck.  I hope it is repaired soon.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on November 23, 2011 at 8:13am

Thanks to all-- it was fixed yesterday (new plates, again 'locked' in place with asphalt.)

I received a message last night from Alderman Irvine stating that he'd been informed it was fixed and checking for confirmation.  Great follow-up.

 

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