Foxes Among Us (Though, Sadly, One Fewer).

I came across this roadkill between the lakes this morning.  It was definitely not a cat or dog, appearing to be a very young red fox.  I moved it into the shoulder. 

Speaking of roadkill on that stretch of road between two steep hills where HPD digitally reminds drivers headed out of town how fast they are driving but doesn't actually do any enforcement of the speed limit when drivers exceed it (in other words, no speeding tickets are ever issued in one of the speediest areas in town). 

During his April DPW report to the council and the public (via Zoom, of course), Superintendent Rob The Slob Perry announced that his department had installed two pedestrian crossing signals just south of the entrance to Oakdale Park, the kind you push a button to illuminate flashing yellow lights on both sides of the street before crossing.  They are known as Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB's), and several of them came to us as part of a grant from NY State, according to Perry, in the year "2021."  Yes, it took Perry four years to install the last pair of the RRFB's because "we had issues finding the final location for the last set.  It went on for a few years."  Years!   

Apparently, Perry finally decided that the crosswalk at the bottom of the 6th Street hill was the appropriate (or only) place for the last two RRFB's.  Of course, for four years Perry never once mentioned to the council or the public that he was having "issues" finding a workable location for the last two (of eight) RRFB's gathering dust in the DPW garage.  He had to put those two in the ground so that the city could show the State of New York that it was done with the project and could be reimbursed for the RRFB's. For four fucking years we haven't been reimbursed for 8 beacons because Perry didn't know what to do with two of them!  That admission of Perry's is frightening (and I doubt it was the whole, or even accurate, story)

Like the five pairs of RRFB's found downtown, the two on 6th Street are both powered by solar panels, though they are underneath heavy tree cover and can't possibly get much direct sun, which they need.  Pressing the button on the western pole does nothing for either beacon, and possibly never has since it was installed three months ago.  The one on the east side, which is in a whole lot more shade, was working fine a week ago.  Today I pressed its button, but the other beacon did not light up.  Go figure.

The new RRFB on the right is completely useless.

The other only illuminates itself, which means it is

half useful. Summer camp begins soon.

And let's see how long it takes DPW to make the bases of the two new RRFB's not look like shit done by amateurs. That is, if they ever bother to.

The concrete base should have been set 
completely in the ground so that all you see
is the metal pole.  This is the work of amateurs.

When will the paper form be removed?
When it falls off on its own?  This is the sign
of a slob with no sense of aesthetics.