hazard to cyclists on southbound State St.

As I was riding south last weekend at the end of Open Streets, I noticed a nasty hazard.  



As you can see from the first picture, it's right in front of Magnolia Bakery at Block 37 (between Randolph and Washington).  I'd seen this previously and reported it, but apparently my 311 report went into a black hole.

There is a large rectangular hole cut in the street next to the curb.  It's a few feet deep, and covered with the steel plate you see here, which is a few inches too small to cover the hole.  Whoever placed this plate could have put the gap next to the curb, where it would be harmless.  Instead, they chose to put it in the middle of the curb lane of southbound traffic.

I'm glad that I spotted it before riding into it.  I hope that it doesn't cause anyone else a bad accident.  I've reported it again this week.  Could a few more of you help me make some noise about this so the problem gets fixed?  Thanks!

Views: 1193

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on September 14, 2012 at 3:15am

I've been riding past that for a few months now in the mornings.  Who's responsible for it (and for a lot of other pretty crummy patch jobs on that part of State)?

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 14, 2012 at 3:55am

Have you ever called 311 or used any other method to report?  I'm doing a little more investigating.  At a glance, I suspect that it's utility work.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on September 14, 2012 at 5:16am

Heh, Granville was torn up with a planer from Broadway to Sheridan and within a week it was all re-paved except for the bit between Kenmore and Sheridan, which hasn't been touched for weeks.  I often wonder why that part wasn't finished.  I suppose the same can be said for this hole in the ground.  Judging by the location of the plate and debris around it, it hasn't moved so it's not like some work's being done on the weekends or at night.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on September 14, 2012 at 6:56am

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 14, 2012 at 7:39am

That's exactly what I don't want to see happening to anyone.

Juan said:

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 14, 2012 at 7:42am

I've sent this to both Gabe Klein and Luann Hamilton today with photos.  Hopefully we'll see action very soon.  I went to take one more photo today, which will hopefully help them identify the responsible agency (which I don't believe to be CDOT, based on the letters on this plate).



h' said:

This looks like a bike-community emergency to me. Are people really riding by it for months without bothering to report it? Really?

Where's Mr. Super-Accessible Gabe Klein here? Can't one of the VIP bike bloggers pick up their red phone to him and get it fixed today?

Permalink Reply by william on September 14, 2012 at 2:57pm

I called 311 on that exact spot several months ago (March?). I see nothing came of it.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 15, 2012 at 12:46am

I reached out. So did Kathy Schubert. We'll keep on it.

FYI - Luann Hamilton is deputy commissioner.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 15, 2012 at 4:24pm

I got a response from Luann Hamilton earlier today saying that it's being fixed.

Permalink Reply by Brendan Kevenides on September 17, 2012 at 2:43am

Thanks so much for jumping on this Anne.  Can you confirm with photos when you have a chance to look at the fix?

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 17, 2012 at 3:00am

I've gotten 2 updates over the weekend.  On Saturday, a crew shifted the plate and used bolts to fix it in place.  Unfortunately, that fix did not hold, and the plate shifted by Sunday, presumably due to traffic.  I got a message yesterday saying that a crew would be out today to replace the too-small plate with a larger one that would fully cover the hole.  I'll take a look later today.

Permalink Reply by Brendan Kevenides on September 17, 2012 at 3:04am

Thanks again Anne!

Anne Alt said:

I've gotten 2 updates over the weekend.  On Saturday, a crew shifted the plate and used bolts to fix it in place.  Unfortunately, that fix did not hold, and the plate shifted by Sunday, presumably due to traffic.  I got a message yesterday saying that a crew would be out today to replace the too-small plate with a larger one that would fully cover the hole.  I'll take a look later today.

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service