new pedestrian hazard on State St.

Sidewalks on State St. in the Loop were recently coated with a substance that I assume was intended to seal them and make them easier to clean.  I discovered this afternoon that this coating has an unintended consequence: it's slippery when wet.  

This was the first time I walked on it in the rain, and it was not fun.  I was having trouble, and I'm wearing shoes with semi-sticky soles.  It was almost like walking on icy sidewalks in winter.

During a 2 block walk, I saw 3 people slip and fall.  One was an old lady who slipped and landed hard at the curb ramp - right in front of the bus.  Fortunately the bus was stopped, and the driver saw what was going on and waited as a few of us helped her get up and made sure she was okay.

I'm not sure how many other streets have this stuff, but it's bad news for peds.  Be careful out there.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 9, 2012 at 1:54am

We've got rain in the forecast again today.  Stay tuned...

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 9, 2012 at 2:26am

Another good reason not to ride on the sidewalks.  If one has a hard time walking on it when wet imagine how slippery it is to roll a bike onto.   Hopefully someone will fix this mistake soon before someone gets hurt.  Usually these types of things only get fixed AFTER someone gets hurt -and sues.

Welcome to the world of stupid humans. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 9, 2012 at 2:58am

I saw lots of potential lawsuits out there yesterday.  In addition to the falls I witnessed, there were plenty of other folks slipping and almost falling like I did.  Today could get ugly.

Usually these types of things only get fixed AFTER someone gets hurt -and sues.


That's exactly what I fear in this situation - someone getting badly hurt, then more people getting hurt until a lawsuit forces TPTB to fix what they messed up.

Permalink Reply by Jenn_5.5 mi on August 9, 2012 at 5:55am

Guess who slipped and fell?! Even after knowing... I still slipped. Thanks to the Visionary who thought this one up!

I can't put my shoes back on because that is where I got the worst of it... Stupid Sidewalks!

Permalink Reply by Jenn_5.5 mi on August 9, 2012 at 6:17am

I walked from Monroe to Washington... Stupid City Target was calling my name!

 

Btw... Thanks Chris! Make a girl feel better after she bust @ss! Gold Star in my book!

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 9, 2012 at 6:41am

I've seen this coating on State Street from Congress up to Lake.  I don't remember noticing if it extended all the way to Wacker.


It ends at the building facades as you turn onto any of the east-west cross streets.  The textured sidewalk surfaces were slick yesterday after it had been raining a little while.  I saw people wiping out when they made the transition from textured surface to smooth concrete.

Just made a report.  And it started raining again a few minutes ago.

h' said:

Do we know exactly what part of State street is involved? At the very least there should be a few 311 reports.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 9, 2012 at 6:47am

That really sucks.  I'm sorry to hear it.

Jenn_W said:

Guess who slipped and fell?! Even after knowing... I still slipped. Thanks to the Visionary who thought this one up!

I can't put my shoes back on because that is where I got the worst of it... Stupid Sidewalks!

Permalink Reply by S on August 9, 2012 at 7:04am

The Hubble main mirror (not lens) was tested before it was assembled and launched.  However, the test instrument was assembled incorrectly causing the mirror to be ground to the wrong shape.  The tests with the secondary test instruments were ignored since the company building the main mirror thought the primary test instrument was more accurate.

Chris C said:

When I first read this I thought it was a prank by a bunch of teenagers or a frat or something.   What an epic failure.  It's up there with testing the lens AFTER the satellite is in space.

Sorry about the injury.  Nice gam btw.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 9, 2012 at 7:37am

Howard - You may be right about that.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 13, 2012 at 3:38am

Since Thursday, I've been in contact with folks at Active Transportation Alliance.  They are following up on this problem.


I don't know how heavy the rain will get today, but I'll be walking carefully out there.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 14, 2012 at 1:04am

I've got an update.  Ron Burke from Active Transportation Alliance has been in touch with the folks at Chicago Loop Alliance, who have gotten a number of complaints about the slickness of this coating when it's wet.  I've also heard from a friend whose 83 year old other took a fall on it.  (Fortunately she was not seriously injured.)

Ron relayed the following message: They re-seal the sidewalks every 6 months.  This was a new type of coating compared to previous applications.  They did not expect it to be this slippery.  Power washing was scheduled (and has presumably happened by now).  If conditions don't improve after power washing, they'll have to try something else to improve traction.  They will NOT use the same coating again.

To those of you walking on State St., post here about your rainy days observations in the coming weeks.  Is it less slippery or just as bad?  Did anyone walk there last night after it started raining?

I'd like to say thanks to Ron Burke for his help in getting answers on this and letting them know how much of a problem this has become.  Hopefully it will be less slippery from now on.

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