Smaller City, Smaller Hole. Equally Dangerous and Dumb.

Did you hear the recent story out of Manhattan where a woman stepped out of her car and immediately fell 10 feet to her death into a manhole missing its cover?  Unlike the pictures here, that incident occurred at night in the dark.

Dear Mr. Perry:

Don't you think you are making Hudson a less attractive city with your lack of attention to our fire hydrants?

The City's Latest Pedestrian Hazards, Weapons and Eyesore Distractions All In One! (And Red Flagged Unnecessary Expenses?)

 

Just in time for a snowy summer, several new metal fire hydrant markers have appeared around town where none (or few) previously existed.  If someone can give me a reason why we need any markers when snow covering hydrants is not an issue, I'd love to hear it.  Or does the Fire Department need reminding where their hydrants are located as they set up to battle a fire?  Typically, there are no more than three fire hydrants per block, almost always on the same side of the street.

Seen This Morning (and Far Too Often) On One Way South Fifth!

 

This morning at 8:27, preparing to turn onto South Fifth from Warren while riding MY BICYCLE, I saw a car turn left off of Union onto 5th and head my way.  The wrong way.  By the time the driver and her car reached me (it didn't take long!) as I was straddling my bike at the outer edge of a parking space on 5th near Warren, she was visibly angry that I was in her way telling her to turn around.  So, she drove around me, with just enough room to do so.  A second or two later, though, she had to stop her car to allow a family of four to make it safely across the crosswalk at Warren.  (The family had the right of way, I guess.)  The driver was probably angry about that delay, too. 

More Unforeseen Problems, Questions and Expenses Regarding Those $10,000 Parking Kiosks!

 

Who ever could have guessed that little plastic bags of dog shit on top of our precious $10,000 parking kiosks (blocking the solar panels) would be an issue that HPD Parking Captain David Miller would have to contend with?

Charging AND Charged ($15)!

This simply should never be allowed!  And there needs to be a parking ticket created to combat it.  It might be called DANGEROUS AND UGLY STUPID SHIT DISRESPECTFUL ELECTRIC VEHICLE PARKING.  $300!

Who Is The Slob At DPW? (Part Five)

Just over two months ago, much to Captain David Miller's delight, DPW did its best to rid the City Hall parking lot of any evidence that it once served its customers with good ol' fashioned parking meters (along with a big helping of what Tom Depietro twice announced as the city's primary malady: "The Tyranny of the Quarter").  I happened to be passing through the lot on a not-so-cold day in March when I came across a DPW crew of 4 or 5 guys filling the several holes (30, I believe) where the meter poles once stood on the black asphalt island in the middle of the lot.  They were using a grey product, likely a quick concrete mix of some sort.  I could see that the mix was too wet, and I knew that what was spilling beyond the holes would not be removed by rain or snow anytime soon.  They didn't seem to care they were making a mess, and since neither Rob Perry nor his foreman, Frank Rogers, were around to keep the results from looking too messy, I guess it didn't matter to anyone at DPW what the island in the city's largest and busiest downtown parking lot looks like.