The Small City With Too Many Ignored Hazards! Still!!

At about 8:15 yesterday morning, while in the 500 block of Cherry Alley, I watched as one of County Waste's enormous garbage trucks emptied a few wheelie bins with its mechanical arm.  The process of modern garbage collection is fascinating to me, particularly the mechanization of it. Sometimes, the process stops me in my tracks to just watch.  The collection of garbage all over the place -- from town to town, alley to alley and street to street -- can be done by a loud, wheeled metal monstrosity whose sole occupant, the driver, rarely has to step out of the cab to touch a garbage can.  The drivers don't even know what's inside the cans they are emptying.  They don't care.  A mechanical arm does all the work from the right side of the truck.  Is there a dead body or toxic material in the can?  Is the recycling inside full of contaminants?  Whatever!  Gotta keep movin' on!  More garbage ahead!  They even have a name for these garbage trucks:  Automated Side Loaders.  ASL's typically weigh anywhere from 25,000 to 35,000 pounds when empty and 50,000 to 72,000 pounds when full. The average SUV weighs between 4,000 and 6,000 pounds, and not much more when full.

As I prepared to leave the scene from behind the Second Show thrift store, thinking the massive truck with little room to spare in the alley was going to continue forward to empty more waiting full wheelie bines, I noticed the truck's reverse lights come on, though there was no beeping sound.  Now I was really interested.  I got out of the truck's way as it began rolling backwards.  Even in motion, there was no beeping sound to warn anyone of what was headed down the alley.  Thinking the driver was just backing up to get to a wheelie bin or dumpster he had passed by mistake, it hadn't crossed mind that he might back all the way up to the street he had just come from.  But that is indeed what the driver proceeded to do (and probably does every Tuesday morning).  

Now in front of the garbage truck as it backed away from me, the enormous 20-odd ton vehicle with blind spots galore backed up slowly all way to 5th Street, stopping for a moment at the pedestrian crossing area and looking into each rearview mirror at least twice before entering the street.  I could not believe it.  Talk about stupid, dangerous, reckless and unnecessary.  It probably took about 45 seconds for the driver to complete his short cut in reverse to arrive on 5th headed south moving forward.  Of course, the driver backed up all the way across 5th Street into the continuation of the alley so that he could turn his behemoth to head to Union.  

The enormous garbage truck crossed two pedestrian crossings in reverse, one that has the corner of a building creating a severe blind spot.  No cars, bicyclists or pedestrians got in the truck's way.  Short cut complete, arguably the most dangerous type of vehicle on our streets and in our alleys had travelled more than 300 feet, all of it in reverse.*  Who the fuck would even think of doing this in a car that weighs 5,000 pounds, let alone a garbage truck with no assistance from someone outside the truck's cab?  How often do County Waste garbage truck drivers drive in reverse for long distances in the city?  How about the other waste companies with their enormous garbage trucks trying to navigate our one-way streets and narrow alleys full of garbage and recycling?

Shouldn't there be a limit to the size and weight of garbage trucks doing business in Hudson? Perhaps none of them should be allowed in our alleys.  This is courtesy of AI:  One loaded sanitation truck inflicts the structural pavement damage of 1,000 to 2,000 passenger cars.

              

County Waste is among 6 or 7 waste companies that pay DPW one thousand dollars annually to be issued a Waste Hauler permit to do business in Hudson.  There is a list of 8 or 10 rules each permitted company must comply with, though it's been several years since I've looked at it.   As I recall, though, a rule prohibiting garbage trucks from driving in reverse in our alleys, on our streets or across pedestrian crossing areas is not one all waste companies must comply with when doing business here in Hudson. Of course, it should be.  And what I witnessed yesterday should be grounds for the revocation of any waste company's DPW Waste Hauler's permit.  Immediately.  

We don't fucking want you here if you are going to treat us all like garbage.  Sorry!  Leave now and do not return.  Apply for a new permit next year.  Maybe you will be issued one!

You gotta wonder what, if anything, a Hudson cop would have done had they come across that garbage truck backing up for 300 feet in Cherry Alley.  Or how about Rob Perry?  How about our "safety" mayor, Joe Ferris?  And what if that garbage truck moving backwards had run over a child (or child and adult) in one of the two pedestrians crossing areas across Cherry Alley at 5th?  What if the driver were to explain to the cops that the people he ran over and killed "just came out of nowhere," as if that were some sort of acceptable explanation and deflection of blame?  What kind of traffic ticket would HPD have issued the driver?  What would Rob Perry have to say?  What would mayor Ferris say?  "This never should have happened"?

6 months ago, a city resident in the crosswalk at the Warren Street end of Park Place was run over by a turning vehicle.  She survived but suffered a badly broken leg and has PTSD.  At least one wheel ran over her leg after she was struck by the body of the vehicle.  I saw her this morning near the intersection, walking very slowly, now without crutches, and we chatted for a bit.  The driver of the Jeep Wrangler who ran her over was not issued a traffic violation ticket by the Hudson police officers who responded to the incident.  That's the thing that bothers her most about the incident.  That, and the fact that the city still hasn't done anything to make any improvements for pedestrians at the busy intersection at the turn in our truck route.  Who wouldn't be furious and feel ignored?

I haven't heard one peep out of anyone on the so-called SAFETY Committee to make that intersection safe for pedestrians.  Have you?

Last week, for the second consecutive meeting of the so-called SAFETY Committee, HPD Captain David Miller was asked by a Warren Street resident about speeding ticket data specifically on Warren Street.  Miller said exactly what he had told the resident the previous month:  "I DON'T HAVE THAT DATA WITH ME."  That was it, no apology included.

Safety Committee chair Henry Haddad then asked Miller if he would bring that data with him to the following monthly meeting, something he did not bother doing last month but most certainly should have.  Miller told Haddad that he would.  Can you imagine?  We have to force this shit out of them.  Like pulling teeth!

* A bicycle wheel is a great long-distance measuring tool!