Why was there an employee from the DEC Spill Response team in Albany watching over two employees from a private company cleaning up spilled oil on Front Street yesterday afternoon?
Because the new curb and street configuration at the intersection of North Front Street & Columbia Street makes the intersection so fucking narrow that a driver in a tractor trailer making the turn off of Columbia to head north on Front bounced up over one of the new tall curbs, dug a wheel into the mud and then scraped the oil pan off on a curb, spilling 12 or 15 gallons of engine oil into the street next to the 13-foot wide sidewalk and ridiculous 6-foot curb bumpout, that's why. This "accident" would not have happened 6 months ago prior to the new DRI work on Front Street that WILL NOT SLOW TRAFFIC DOWN, WILL NOT MAKE THE STREET SAFER FOR PEDESTRIANS TRYING TO CROSS AND WILL ONLY CREATE MORE CAR AND TRUCK "ACCIDENTS" AND CRASHES.
![]() |
Why on earth is this sidewalk so wide? So that it can make the street narrower AND MORE DANGEROUS! |
Because we have a much tighter intersection at Front & Columbia -- which is a turn in the truck route for trucks and tractor trailers trying to get to and from points north and south of the intersection (Dock Street, South 2nd extension, South Front Street, etc...) -- the Hudson Police had to respond to the "accident" and oil spill yesterday. They were likely there for over an hour after calling DEC to come have a look. And someone from the DEC in Albany had to drive all the way to Hudson (and back) to oversee the cleanup of a crankcase's worth of oil after calling a private company to come do the work! The two workers from that company had to drive to Hudson from who-knows-where to clean up 15 gallons of oil in the street BECAUSE THE INTERSECTION IS NOW SO FUCKING NARROW AND TIGHT THAT TRACTOR TRAILERS HAVE DIFFICULTY MAKING THE TURN SAFELY AND WITHOUT INCIDENT! And, of course, a tow truck had to be called to the scene to remove the tractor trailer from the scene, a sight which I arrived too late to see, unfortunately. (I was told by the DEC employee that the oil came from a tractor trailer. The woman also told me that the bill from the spill response company will be sent to the owner of the truck. In a fair world, that trucking company should send the bill to the City of Hudson c/o the manager of the DRI work, and the city should pay that bill. We caused that "accident" and oil spill).
There will be more crashes at this intersection, as well as the intersection one block away at Warren Street where bumpouts are also being installed. Include 2nd & Warren in the now-they-are-more-dangerous-not-less-dangerous intersections, too. THIS IS FUCKING RIDICULOUS! OUR STREETS ARE TOO NARROW FOR BUMPOUTS -- THEY NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED!
Presumably, the tractor trailer that could not navigate the turn onto Front from Columbia without driving over the new curb was headed to one of the businesses on Dock Street or, further away, on the 2nd Street Extension. Had the driver made the turn successfully without ripping off his oil pan, he would have immediately seen that Front Street north of State Street was off limits due to pipe work below the street, and he would have understood that turning onto Front Street had been absolutely no help and a waste of time. In other words, the city allowed a tractor trailer to turn onto Front Street with no way of reaching its destination by using the last portion of Front Street! Had the driver of that tractor trailer made the turn successfully, he or she would have been forced to turn off of Front onto State and then take a left onto South 2nd Street to head down one of the steepest hills in the city that also happens to be off limits to trucks. Luckily for the driver, and for us, the truck never made it to State Street or the South 2nd Street hill, instead spilling 12 or 15 gallons of oil along the new DRI sidewalk bumpout streetscape complete fucking shitshow.
Yesterday, a tractor trailer unable to make the turn, resulting in an oil spill. Tomorow, perhaps a dead child or two trying to cross the street. The following day, perhaps a totaled HPD cop car and an officer in the hospital. Yesterday was just the beginning.
No comments:
Post a Comment