Are They All Blind? Are They All Okay With People Falling On A City-Owned Sidewalk Just To Pay For A Parking Space?

 

10 days ago, near the end of the final meeting of the Ad Hoc Parking Study Committee (I will miss that name so much!), committee head Jen Belton had this to say about the implementation of the city's very ambitious parking kiosk project that she and the other committee members will not be a part of:  "Now it's in the hands of Doreen and Chief Franklin.  And I'm sure they're going to do a great job."  Doreen Danforth is the longtime Hudson Police Department clerk and recently appointed Parking Bureau Supervisor.  Chief Franklin is, of course, Chief of Hudson Police, Mishanda Franklin, who looks to be ready to give birth to her second child in two years.

Well, 2 weeks following the installation of a $10,000 kiosk just outside of each of the city's 5 parking lots, none of them have been unveiled (unbagged?) and put into service.  This horribly considered and planned -- and soon to be implemented? -- project will fail miserably.  There is no way on earth it can succeed.  You watch.  (HUDseen will check in on the kiosks in two weeks to see if they are still covered in plastic.) 

Any reasonable person involved with this project would have long ago demanded the following:  "Let's be smart about this; we need to get our ducks in a row!  The many signs for the kiosks need to be installed before the kiosks go out, not the other way around.  All of the parking meters that a kiosk will be replacing need to be removed first as well.  Do not install the kiosks until they are ready to be turned on within a day or two and everything else associated with them has been taken care of first.  There's no sense in having them installed on a sidewalk doing nothing for weeks or months while covered in plastic.  It's a dumb thing to do, it's not a good look, and we're just asking for trouble.  Prepare the table for the kiosks, so to speak, then install them and turn them on.  We can't approach this project backwards or we will stumble out of the gate and this whole thing will fail miserably.  First things first!"  

I have no doubt that the five $10,000 kiosks (11 more are patiently waiting in storage, as they have been for 6 months) were put out because the committee and HPD/Parking Bureau people needed to show that the project was moving forward to justify the money already spent on this project (including paying the parking consultant and the $140,000 for the kiosks).  "We need progress!  Bolt the kiosks to the concrete and let them sit covered in plastic!  Show the world that we haven't done nothing with them!"  But no one should be surprised if the five kiosks remain shrouded in plastic for the next 3 months or more while the other 11 wait their turn to sit in the rain (and snow?), covered in plastic, surrounded by spray paint, peed on by dogs, generally ignored, possibly vandalized and doing nothing beneficial for the city.  Doreen Danforth and Mishanda Franklin have an incredible amount of difficult work that will require their undivided attention to get this kiosk scheme up and running successfully.  Both of these people we are relying on to get this done right have plenty of law enforcement matters to tend do (don't they?), and one of them will soon be out on maternity leave.  Hmmm....

Where are the signs? 
(Any bets on how long Rob Perry's 
spray paint sticks around?)

The $10,000 parking kiosk waiting patiently outside the Union Street parking lot is a perfect example of how poorly thought out this whole project was and how things are not looking good at all for the first batch of 16 kiosks.  Talk about stumbling!  Both sides of the entrance to the lot are a pedestrian's nightmare -- particularly for anyone who is elderly, disabled or in a wheelchair -- where tripping hazards abound, and the nonexistent curb ramps are anything but ADA-compliant.  They're more like injury, death and lawsuit-compliant.  This is, of course, on city property, and Rob Perry was made aware of the situation by me at least 6 years ago at a council meeting.  He obviously doesn't give a crap how dangerous city-owned sidewalks or parking lots are. Do you think Doreen or Mishanda care how dangerous and full of tripping hazards the area surrounding the new kiosk on Union is?  Think Jen Belton, Mohammed Rony, Dewan Sarowar, Dominic Merante or Tom Depietro cares (or cared)?  Think "mayor" Johnson cares?  Think the city attorney cares?  It's difficult to imagine that Jen Belton and Mishanda Franklin aren't aware of the horrible condition of the sidewalks at the Union Street lot since they had to have visited the lot at least once before they decided where to install the kiosk.  How many tripping hazards did they step over in the process?  Every one of them?  Did they see both of the huge chunks of loose concrete against the fence that have been ignored by DPW for years?

A sign near the kiosk with these words would best reflect reality:  "Pay for your parking space over here using the kiosk, but please don't fall flat on your face and sue us.  We didn't have time to fix our own sidewalks as we have been too busy getting this kiosk thing going and figuring out how to tax property owners so the city can fix their dangerous sidewalks for them.  Have a good and safe day.  Watch your step, if you can.  And, please, visit Hudson again soon."

This has got to be someone's idea of a 
cruel joke.  A stupid, careless joke.

This is exactly why the U.S. DOJ forced a 
consent decree on us years ago.  And City Hall 
still can't get it right. 

It's not a curb ramp; it's a fucking death trap!
Break your hip, die in 3 months.  Hit your head on 
the pavement, die in the hospital.  Stumble in front of 
an oncoming car or truck, die in the street.

One of the worst tripping hazards in the entire city, meant
to fuck someone up bad!  Would former parking committee
member Dominic Merante, who is nearly blind, agree?

Former sign for another failed project! 

Just over two years ago, toward the end of then Police Chief Ed Moore's heartfelt and detailed farewell address to the Common Council, he had this to say about parking matters as they relate to HPD, one of several concerns he felt compelled to leave the council with.  Given where we are currently headed with the kiosks and who is responsible for them, it's an astounding thing to hear or read.  Ed would not be impressed one bit with HPD's recent takeover of parking matters.  You can't say he didn't try to warn his soon-to-be former employer.

"HPD must not be in the position of writing tickets, then receiving fine payments or even adjudicating tickets.  The city needs a Parking Bureau head and adjudication clerk, and their own departmentalized separate budget.  HPD should have a say in the parking officer's safety and performance only.  (Taken from the Youtube video of the meeting).

Was anyone listening to what Ed Moore had to say?