And it begins... or is about to begin, anyway. (See first post from April here.)
Signs were put up yesterday on the whole block. No street parking between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. except on Sundays, starting this Wednesday and going through November 15. So, instead of the two months indicated during the planning stage it appears the work will take up to four months. I can only hope that it's doubled because they will do one block at a time and starting with ours, so our street will mostly be completed in 2 months. Stay tuned, we'll find out.
This work, which will remove half of the parking on both our street and the next street over, seems to fall in line with the new Bus Rapid Transit System that has been being built in the city for more than a year now. When finished, there will be a dedicated bus lane on those busy thoroughfares, meaning one less lane for regular traffic. It seems obvious the city is trying to make its citizens get rid of our cars and use their public transit. Perhaps a nice, green idea, but good luck trying to get people away from their cars. I just don't see it happening.
12 comments:
Your comment about the crew turning up to mend small potholes prior to the road coming up made me chuckle. Not just in the UK then!
And done in the same poor way as in the UK! I once heard that potholes should be fixed in the same way as decayed teeth - drill them out, clean them out and then fill and then tamp them down carefully.
I would say, though, that there is no way they'd ever be allowed to have a residential street closed down for 12 hours every day for 4 months. Good luck with it!
It shouldn't be completely closed down during the day, we were told we may not have driveway access for up to 20 days, though. I'm trying to think of a good place to put the trail cam to take a time lapse. But it must be hidden/secured so it doesn't get stolen!
Holy god, what are they doing - 20 days unable to access your own driveway?! Time-lapse trail cam footage would be most enlightening!
It's not just updating the road surface, but all the sewer and utilities underneath the road, plus rebuilding sidewalks in areas, all terraces, driveway aprons, etc. Unfortunately placed underground work and driveway apron/curb replacement will affect our access, as will the street surface finishing, itself.
When frustrated, we'll just have to remember how much this will increase our property value, already so much more than I would have imagined when we bought the house.
After thought, a time lapse may not be feasible with all the off time to review/edit out. I think the more likely option is just sharing pictures when milestones happen.
You'd mever get that in the UK! It's just all done piecemeal - usually when there is an emergency in one of the underground utilities - without any thought or continuity.
For instance, the council might top dress the whole road surface one day and the water company dig it up and then patch it (badly) the next.
But, we wouldn't be expected to pay anything towards any of it (other than what we pay anyway through normal taxation).
And we will have a sizable bill when all is done, almost 5 grand. But, like I said, it will help the property value so we'd get it back if we sold.
What happens if someone refuses to pay or really can't pay?
What happens in poor neighbourhoods - do they just never get any work done?
Good questions for which I don't have an exact answer. Thankfully, we can pay in one lump sum, but 8 monthly payments is offered. I imagine it would treated as unpaid municipal property taxes or water bills. Per the internet, in Wisconsin you get two years to pay plus penalties and interest before they can start the process to get the title to the property.
Interesting, thanks.
I think I prefer our system where this sort of thing comes out of general taxation, so people pay according to their means, which seems much fairer.
I am unsurprisingly with BW on this as I find that quite shocking, particularly in these difficult times where money is tight for many people. Perhaps it varies from state to state?
Details will vary and there are always exceptions, but for the most part I would assume this to be pretty normal in most states.
And the amount we owe will vary a bit for each property, due to certain factors that I can't seem to locate at the moment.
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