What Have YOU Done Today?

[K'Tesh]

Was taking photos of the new buffered bike lanes on SW Barbur Blvd (between SW Hooker and the Naito/Barbur split) when I found it flooded.



In looking for the cause, I found it was due to the fall leaves clogging the drain.



I looked around and found a convenient advertising sign "stick", and after a few pokes was able to allow it to drain.




See Something? DO SOMETHING!!!

[Alan]

Good work, K'Tesh. Sheesh, November rain storms are a real mess! I cleaned out a few clogged drains on my daily rounds; used the toe of my waterproof boots to kick off the matts of leaves. The other day when it was REALLY pouring it was too deep for me to reach the drains at a flooded intersection--like half way up small car tires!!--so I left a message on the City of Vancouver webform*. I noticed a sweeper truck and drain cleaners patrolling the neighborhood the next day.

* http://www.cityofvancouver.us/servic...uID=17081&ss=1

[K'Tesh]

Caught a landscaper blowing leaves into the bike lane today... I asked him if he was going to clean it up. He got all pissed at me telling me that they will go away in a few weeks, and I should go and mind my own business... Guess he didn't know, my business is bike/ped/ADA advocacy. OOPS!

Unfortunately, my camera's battery dies if I leave it in the camera, so I wasn't able to photograph him.

I got the name of his company, called and complained to them. Went to the McDonald's restaurant that hired him, and complained about the mess, and how it's a hazard to cyclists (A LBS owner crashed when a hidden stick popped up and broke his carbon fiber fork once). Called Code Enforcement, and let them know about the situation.

I quickly heard back from Code Enforcement, that they've contacted McDonald's and advised them of the complaint and how they are liable for any crashes that result from people avoiding, or crashing due to the mess in the bike lane, and was working with the landscaping company to identify and "educate" the offending landscaper. I'm guessing that this guy's going to be coming back to work for them anytime soon.

At last check, the mess was still in place, but Code Services is on the case. I did manage one photograph of the mess though before the camera died.

[K'Tesh]

Stopped 6 drunks from driving home tonight. Today was the Superbowl. I'm not a big fan of football, so I took the time to go to my favorite study place and do some reading for tomorrow's class (midterms this week... oh Joy!).

While I was there, I witnessed several people who were quite unstable on their feet walk past (loudly talking with slurred speach), heading from the pub next door to their cars. Fortunately they were busy talking, but it was clear they were about to drive home in two cars. Having left my cell phone at home, I asked another regular at my hangout if he had a cell phone... Nope, but the off duty cop who walked in right after those people walked past did. He heard my request to call the cops, and went out and talked to them (just as they were backing up). He identified himself to them, and talked the driver into a quick field sobriety check. Everybody was happy (except for the guy who was backing the 49's), and they realized that they could get into a lot of trouble if they drove home. A few calls to the kids, and their new drivers arrived to take them home.

I bought the cop's meal as a Thank You, then took the back way to get home. Once there, I called the non-emergency dispatch to request additional patrols around the pub.

See Something? DO SOMETHING! (the life you save could be mine)

[K'Tesh]

Back in July, I warned PBOT about this grate at the corner of SW Barbur Blvd and SW Condor Ave.



It's a steep section of road that comes in at a really sharp angle. If I was riding down Condor, and needed to do a right turn, I'd pull over to the right and drop my foot to the curb to help keep me upright while I check to see if it's safe to do the turn. That grate prevents me from doing that.

So, PBOT went out and put a temporary flashing warning sign over it the next day...


something like one of these...

And it sat there until the repaving of Barbur was finished. However, they never replaced the grate with a bike safe one. A car has been parked over that spot for some time, so I wasn't able to see what or if anything was done, until a few weeks ago, when I saw that nothing was done. A few calls into the 24 Hour hotline, and last week I saw that it was replaced with one that has straps welded over the slots, thus making it safe for us to ride over. (Photo Pending)

On another occasion, I was in Pioneer Courthouse Square, and I noticed that there is a grate that isn't ADA compliant. (too wide of gaps, oriented wrong, and (probably) made from non-compliant materials (something ran over it, bending the whole thing). (Photo pending upload).

I added this to a continuing complaint about the non-ADAAG compliant grates at PSU, and yesterday, I noticed that hey had it cordoned off. Another grate just a few feet away was compliant, how they managed to get one right, and one wrong, I'll probably never know. (Photo pending upload)

Now, if PDX or PSU can only get the grates fixed on campus...

[K'Tesh]

It's been a while, but my old Swiss Army Knife that was damaged trying to clear the Fanno Creek Trail is on it's way home after spending some time with the manufacturer. According to FEDX it's on its way home today. (I'm broke, couldn't afford to send it in until this last January)


The tree that damaged it on December 2, 2009.


Here you can see the damaged Wood Saw, and chewed up Saw Liners (and the replacement knife in the background).

Can't wait to get home to find it on the porch.

After a few welcome home photos, it'll get a couple of extra's (I'm replacing the OEM Scales with Plus Scales and adding the Pen, Pin, and Miniature Screwdriver). Then it'll get a few more photos taken of it.

SAWed Something... DID Something!!!
K'Tesh

[Zymurgy]

I've made a few online repair requests in Vancouver for potholes, lights out, damaged crossings etc and the response time is 2-3 weekdays for a fix (pretty impressive). Lately I've tried out Portland's online form starting out with getting the lights fixed on the path/tunnel in the NE corner of I-5 and Marine drive. 17 days to fix. Not bad and it's a much better ride now. Today I reported the shoddy patch job left behind after some utility work on the path behind the Hayden Island Safeway (holes in the patch, ruts, and not filling in the cut out sections with enough asphalt). Let's see how long this one takes. UPDATE : Just a heads up for anyone heading through that area. The patchwork is sinking in and getting worse. More holes have developed over night and the ruts are getting worse as the asphalt settles in. The cracked section near the North end of Safeway is basically destroyed from the trucks driving over it making it narrow for users and there are several cones blocking the damaged section. Careful out there!

[K'Tesh]

Mixed bag today...

As I was coming home from going to the Orthopedic and Fracture Clinic (a pair of nasty bone bruises, but no fractures or torn ligaments), I noticed that ODOT had fixed the blackhole grates on SW Cedar Hills Blvd... Kinda.

I'm kinda getting tired of the word "kinda". I send my knife to Victorinox, and they kinda fix it (saw is still bent). I request that safety improvements get made, and they kinda get overlooked... You kinda get my drift.

In this old photo, you can see how the grate is really recessed due to overlays not bringing up the grate to the new street level.



Now, it's level, but Wait! What are those new gaps?!



Yup, they're wide enough to swallow my Ranger model Swiss Army Knife (and my knife is wider than a road bike's tires).




Close but no banana...

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by Zymurgy

I've made a few online repair requests in Vancouver

does the city of Vancouver have an Android app for that?

[Alan]

I'm not aware of any app for Vancouver street problems but I have bookmarked this page:

http://www.cityofvancouver.us/Online....asp?cat=81732

It links on to several categories with reporting forms, including Street Lights, Street Repairs, Traffic Light problems, Streets, Utilities & Public Spaces, and some others. Not as convenient as a app but it works on my 'droid. I'm satisfied with the response times when I've used it for burned out or flickering street lights, street sweeping and cutting back brush from sidewalks and bike lanes...within a week.

in case you need to type it in, given the way this forum hides long urls...
cityofvancouver.us/OnlineServices/default.asp?cat=81732