Why Bother Informing Any Businesses That Their Customers Will Be Without Parking Spaces For Two Weeks?

 

As a follow up to a recent Hudseen article, I thought I should report what a business owner along the 700 block of Columbia might have to say about the National Grid gas line replacement work there, what with all the machinery, dump trucks, noise, dust, slow traffic, cones, off-limit parking spaces, and what not.  Today, I walked into a longtime business (with no available parking spaces out front anywhere in sight) and spoke with the owner.  Let's just say that the owner was a bit disappointed in how the roll out of the project was (not) handled.  Most of what the owner told me did not surprise me one bit.  This is, after all, National Grid we're dealing with here! 

The owner said that their business had received a post card (!) from National Grid in early June of this year, indicating that gas line replacement work would commence on June 28th.  Soon after that date, and with no work started, the owner called National Grid.  Guess what?  National Grid was no help, as "they had no idea what was going on."  The owner said that even some of their customers who work for National Grid had no idea why the work never started, or if it ever would.  That's National Grid for ya!

This week, National Grid began work on the 700 block of Columbia.  The owner told me that no one ever contacted the business to give them a heads up this time, not even to say that all the parking spaces would be off limits for at least two weeks.  The owner was told yesterday that the street was being prepared this week for next week's heavy work of gas line replacement.  National Grid was not working today, a Friday, and they won't be working tomorrow or Sunday.  But all those downtown metered parking spaces will remain off limits, and City Hall is fine with that.

I told the owner how odd it was that such a large infrastructure project could fail to be mentioned on the City of Hudson website.  The owner agreed with me, saying that "Rob Perry at DPW should have announced the project somewhere."  

That's Rob Perry at DPW for ya!  That's what $115,000 gets us.  NOTHING!  NOT A WORD!