What Have YOU Done Today?

[K'Tesh]

I PM'd our friend in PDXTrans on Tuesday... I forgot that it was a holiday. Here's the latest.

I asked:

Subject: So, have you heard about my NW Pettygrove requests?

Called in over a dozen drains on NW Pettygrove last Saturday... any news?

Thanks!

Last night got this reply:

Got quite a few requests for new node IDs for those inlets on Pettygrove and a few nearby.

My guess is that these will actually get completed somewhat slower then the last batch. I say that because this can be a hectic time for the Bureau of Maintenance as they to keep up with mother nature. They spend all day cleaning inlets to keep them flowing. Dangerous inlet grates are bad but so are ponds forming in the street. I'm not sure how they will rate their priorities, maybe its possible he can combine cleaning and inlet grate replacement, which might make them faster.

Let's hope so!

Then this morning:

well there goes that theory

My theory that these would be slower is out the window. At least for a chunk of them. The following inlets have completed work orders indicating their grates have been replaced with bicycle friendly ones. The work orders were all created 11/10/08 and completed 11/10/08.

SW Corner of 14th & Pettygrove
SE Corner of 14th & Pettygrove
SW Corner of 14th & Overton
SW Corner of 21st & Pettygrove
SE Corner of 21st & Pettygrove
NW Corner of 2nd and Ankeny
SW Corner of 2nd & Ankeny
SE Corner of 2nd & Ankeny

I should mention that the Bureau of Maintenance *always* has a back log of work that needs to be done. Sometimes years worth. The fact that these are getting done so quickly means, to me, that they take the issue of bicycle safety seriously. Of course it helps that they are fairly easy to do, not like ripping up a street to repair a section of pipe, but still I am quite happy they are getting done so fast.

Cool! Thanks!


The SW and SE corners of NW 21st and Pettygrove, before they were replaced.

And a Big Hand for Our Friends in PDX's Bureau of Maintenance.
K'Tesh

[K'Tesh]

I've said it before, I'll say it again... I hate old, bike/wheelchair eating, square storm drain grates.

I was doing a bit of exploring over the weekend, not actively looking for dangerous grates, but I found them anyway, and then I kept finding them... I rotated nine of these heavy bastards over the weekend.

There are many problems with the old square grates:

• First, they have slots large enough sometimes to swallow a bike nearly to the axle (like Mrs. OldCog's crash).
  
  
  
• The people who clean them, can (and often do), fail to install them properly.
  
  
  
• Property managers often do not (such as my apartment complex's) feel the need to fix/replace them (or are unaware of the danger)
  
  
  
  Or
  
  
• When they do have straps welded across them, they break, then are not fixed.
  
  Yeah, that's a bike shop in the background.

I haven't uploaded the images of the ones I turned, suffice it to say that most did not have straps welded at one time.

I hate old square storm drain grates, and I hope you do too...

See Something? DO Something!
K'Tesh

[K'Tesh]

Here's a couple of the ones I rotated this weekend...


Dead center of the driveway...


Gonna get hurt at the YMCA...

They're safer now than they were when I found them, but some idiot is bound to put them in wrong again unless they get replaced with strapped versions.

See Something? DO Something!
K'Tesh

[jr98664]

Map of 700 NE 136th Ave, Vancouver, WA

There's been some construction on this arterial now that they are building a new library. Right now they've got a steel plate in the road with the warning signs to go with it. Originally they were placed right in the middle of the 4'-wide bike lanes on this busy, five-lane arterial. I called up the city, who in turn talked to the contractor, who was then able to move the signs so that they were visible to motorists, but blocking neither bike lane nor sidewalk.

It looks like today's wind finally got to them, as when I was riding at about 7:20 pm today, they had accidently blown down into the bike lane. They were laying flat, completely blocking the bike lane, but in a way that they were hard to see.

Even though I was in a hurry, I made sure to get them out of the way, and two cyclists thanked me as I did. Mind you, it's normally a rare sight in Vancouver to see that many cyclists at once.

[K'Tesh]

Originally Posted by jr98664

Even though I was in a hurry, I made sure to get them out of the way, and two cyclists thanked me as I did. Mind you, it's normally a rare sight in Vancouver to see that many cyclists at once.

Thanks jr98664!

It's these little things that make it better for all of us!

My evening finished off last night by managing to extract a jammed in square grate that was upside down and misalligned in a new restaurant's drive thru (El Pollo Loco). The resturant is still under construction, but somehow some bonehead managed to install the grate upside down, and rotated in line with traffic, then with all the stuff that had been crushed into the gap, it was effectively cemented in. I spent some time with a pick and was able to free the grate then flip and rotate it... pictures pending.


Upside down, and inline with traffic, this could cause a crash.

Rubberside Down!
K'Tesh

[K'Tesh]

Nothing like rolling along on the MUP, minding your own business when you hit a pothole... Then you repeat it night after night as the damn thing seems to evade even the most dedicated searches for it before it gets you again. It knocked off my bike bucket once... Last night was the last straw...

I thought about taking a pic of the pothole before I marked it, but there really was nothing to see. Dry, it blended into the background so well that a pic of it was pointless. Wet, and you couldn't paint it.

A dry night, a little orange paint, some glass microbeads (a streetfind), and a couple of sheets of newspaper later...


Can you see me now? Good!

You don't have to worry about not being able to find it.

Do a nice job of it, and people won't even know it's not S.O.P.. Now if only they could get out there and fix the trail for real.

Looks like I got it just in time, it's raining now. After dark, with a wet trail, it would've been impossible to see with all the glare.

See Something? DO Something!
K'Tesh

[K'Tesh]

This is the underpass of the Fanno Creek Trail and Scholls Ferry Road in Beaverton...


Up Periscope...

Often this area floods during fall/winter storms. At night (even with bright headlights) it's nearly impossible to tell how deep it is until you're in it already up to your ass.

I recently crossed here in 18 inches of water... I had thought that it was closer to 8 inches going in.

I've added reflective markers at 1, 2, and 3 foot marks on three of the fence posts to help gauge the depth.

Prepare to surface...
K'Tesh

[K'Tesh]

I rode on the Fanno Creek Trail last night, and noticed that one of the fence posts that I marked with reflective tape was noticably dificult to see.

Seems that someone removed the reflectors on that one post. (met up with the un-do-er later that night)

I know that the bridge is video taped, and perhaps someone in a position of authority maybe removed it... but if that was the case, I'd suspect that they'd remove the reflectors on the other two posts.

This morning I came by and applied a layer of superglue to the other reflectors, in hopes that this will create a protective covering, preventing anybody from scratching it off (presuming that the glue doesn't somehow cancel out the reflective propterties). I plan to go and re-do the one post when I have more time.

I also noticed that someone has tagged the wall, so I'll call that in.

See Something? Do Something!
K'Tesh

[K'Tesh]

Ok, the Fanno Creek Trail is THPRD's from the east edge of the underpass at Scholls Ferry Rd. to the Washington County border.

From the west edge of the underpass it's the city of Tigard's.

Under Scholls Ferry, it's Washington County's...

After my call to THPRD, I then called Dick Schouten (County Commissioner and Alice B. Toeclips winner)... But he had to send it off to Gregg Leion (in planning?)... Now I've got a call into Keith Lewis (?? ??)...

All I want is a water depth gauge on three of the fence posts under Scholls. I also want it to be legit, so nobody (in a position of authority) will remove it.

Anybody got an idea on who I should call next if Mr. Lewis isn't the last in the line?

Rubberside Down!
K'Tesh

[K'Tesh]

Before witnessing the crash on SW 5th tonight, I met up with the person who had cleaned off the reflectors on the fence that I had put up on the Fanno Creek Trail to tell how deep it was when flooded. He's a reader here, but doesn't post often anymore... He declined my request to know his call sign, and I didn't get enough of a look at his bike to confirm my suspicions as to his identity (not that I'd have revealed it).

He said that he removed the reflectors because he is concerned that they will weather and eventually make it into the creek, and cause problems for the aquatic animals (microscopic glass beads suspended in plastic). He's also worried about the nasty things that might be floating in the creek at flood stage (which is particullary why I want to know how deep it is...) He didn't like the visual clutter caused by the reflectors, and he was upset by the tailings of the reflectors that I had inadvertently left behind (I tried to clean up after myself, I'm sorry I missed some of them...).

He wanted me to remove the remaining ones. I advised him that this will be rather difficult as I've superglued them to the post to protect them. They are not coming off without sanding, and I'm sure that the stream will get the worst of the debris. He told me I was being a selfish in applying them.

I'll admit, I'm not happy about this, and I guess you can't please everybody.

BTW, when I brought this up at the BTC meeting last night, there was an overwelming sense of appreciation for having added them.

So, what's your opinion?
K'Tesh

oh, yeah, the tagging was painted over....