Friday, September 9, 2011

Crosswalk Stripping


Since I became the City Liaison for the Armour Hills Homes Association, I have had the opportunity to work closely with the City's 4th District Councilmembers, in particular Councilwoman Jan Marcason and her staff. This exposure has brought great insights into the City, local politics, and for the purpose of this blog, the delivery of goods and services.


When I was working with the 4th District on their 2010 Public Improvements Advisory Committee (PIAC) grants, they mentioned a pot of money for crosswalk stripping. I had several ideas. At the 2010 Armour Hills Homes Association annual meeting, many of our members expressed safety concerns on Brookside Road. All of our members must cross Brookside Road to access the Trolley Trail.


I wrote a list of all the crossings in our district (from 65th Street to Gregory on Brooskide Road) as well as the speed bumps on Main Street and the crossing for Arbor Villa Park on 66th Terrace at Main Street, and they are now on the list. The crews came out last week to paint the speed bumps on Main Street and Edgevale Road yesterday, and they are back today to finish all of our requested crosswalks.

Fall Water Leak


For the past summer there has been a small water leak down the street from where I live. I have called it in several times to 311, but alas, nothing has been done. When I called it in again today the 311 operator told me that there is a work order out on this leak, but that it is a "cold" case. A "Cold" case is one of least importance.


The unusually hot summer has lead to some serious upheaval all over the City, and the old and worn pipes under our great City have been bursting all over. Just this morning a larger main break occurred on Main Street at Arbor Villa Park. Fearful that this would surely create a disaster for the Armour Hills Ice Cream Social tonight, I called that one in and they crew is already here working on it.

Priorities are a tricky matter in a bureaucracy.

66th Street Light Malfunction


In a time when every cent counts for all levels of government, I hate to see waste. Especially when that waste also contributes to energy consumption, the unnecessary burning of fossil fuels, and taxpayer dollars flushed down the drain. So when I noticed that the street light on 66th Street between Main Street and Edgevale Road, I called 311.
I noticed the same problem with a street light a few weeks ago just off Brookside Road. Let's see how long this one takes to fix. The clock is ticking and the dollars are spending...

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Busted Sign


While I have been pushing for months now to repaint several crosswalks and the speed bumps along Main Street, today I noticed that one of the signs had fallen into disrepair. It looks as if the top screw has rusted out completely. I find it hard to believe someone would want a 15 miles per hour sign when there are so many better ones to vandalize.

After a quick phone call to 311, and all the recent emphasis on Main Street, the City quickly responded to my requests, and finished this job while wrapping up the crosswalk and speed bump stripping work. However, a second crew came out not a day after they finished painting the speed bumps, shaved the edges down, and re-asphalted the sides. This, of course, ruined the newly painted stripes and the thousands of dollars of work that went into them. Can someone please coordinate these efforts!