Street Reconstruction Part 17 & More

Yesterday they installed two No Parking signs near the top of our street and the next one over.  Today they installed more down both streets, but spaced further apart.  There is a sign two houses up and two houses down from us, which makes me happy we don't have one on our terrace to mow around.  So rather than take a picture of one of the signs in front of a neighbor's house, here is a stock photo of what they look like.

I'm thinking all that is left is for the extra poles to be removed and trees planted in spring, but they may surprise me with something I didn't think of again.  Happily, it appears people are heeding the signs and only parking on the other side since I'm not sure how many neighbors looked into the work to be done as I did and knew about this change.  And while I'm happy parking is on the other side, that means I'll have to back out a bit more carefully on this narrower street since we're pretty much guaranteed to have a car across the street now, and it may be my wife's at times.

When I got home from my Mom's on Thanksgiving Day I caught this fat squirrel eating from the frozen pumpkins on the stoop, picture taken from the car.  Well, they lasted out front for about a month and a half, through Halloween and Thanksgiving, so it was time to put them in back and let them decompose or be eaten.  

I've had trouble with my display driver on this computer so haven't used the trail cams lately as reviewing all that video does bad things, but you can still see the squirrels eat up our pumpkin from a couple years ago here.  Question:  Does anyone know if you can download a new display driver?  I haven't found anything when I looked, so I fear I may need to get a new computer to fix the issue.  And yes, the driver is fully updated.

I placed the pumpkins on the rotting stump in back, near the frozen bird bath.  (We've been below the freezing point for several days now, though we might manage to get just above tomorrow so we can get some rain that can then freeze for us.  Wonderful.)  Whatever the squirrels leave of the pumpkins can help nourish the wildflower seeds we plan to spread on the stump again next year.

After the break is just some recent baking, if interested.

Street Reconstruction Part 16 & Miscellaneous

 It's late, but I wanted to share the latest update, however small.  Yesterday, temporary no parking signs showed up all along our side of the street.  Apparently to give the regular street sign installers more time?  Who knows.

First Snow & Street Reconstruction Part 15

Our autumn has been mild, overall, and I think I heard the mildest on record.  We started yesterday with a wintry mix (slush) that turned to light, wet snow, then more overnight to officially get our first snowfall of the season.  Below is what we had before I left for work this morning.

It continued with sideways, wet snow all morning with temperatures just above freezing and sustained winds 20 or more miles per hour, but by this afternoon it warmed up a few degrees and turned to a light rain.  Temperatures are expected to remain several degrees above freezing while the wind dies down overnight, so I don't expect to see much snow, if any, left tomorrow.  The foreseeable forecast has temperatures just above and below freezing, day and night, but I do see one day where we are not expected to get above freezing all day.

I'm not ready for this, but I never am.

I believe the same day of my last Street Reconstruction post we received a letter from the city that the contractor had completed their work.  Yesterday morning as I left, though, there were two of them out front; they had come back to try and connect my cable back to the top of the pole so they could get their pole holding the wire over the street, back.  From what I saw this afternoon, the newly-kinked coaxial cable is now pretty useless and would need to be replaced anyway, if we have a need for that again.  I should have just cut it off the house when they knocked it loose.

We got another letter today with a bit of information on caring for the grass or native plants, depending what the homeowner chose, and saying any trees would not be planted until spring.  Still no word on the unnecessary footbridge over the creek yet.  A waste of money, and this last election day a city referendum to raise our property taxes over state limits passed, inexplicably (who are these people voting for this crap?!).  We'll now have to pay a few hundred dollars more per year - with no end date - to see our money wasted on projects like that.  Ugh.

Moving on, there's now a new sign at the top of the street showing a 20 mph speed limit, but not any no parking signs on our side of the street yet, so everyone is parking as they had before but now on a narrower street.  I'd think with winter coming the signs would be a priority, and I expect to see them soon.

I'll continue with updates as they happen, but surely fewer and farther between now.  All in all, this went smoother than expected and we're glad the worst is over.

Street Reconstruction Part 14, And A Surprise Text

Since late last week they started filling the terraces and other areas with dirt, and when I got home today we had all the dirt, seeded and covered with a straw mat.  I do have grass growing in a spot I seeded in the back just a couple weeks ago, so maybe there is time yet for a little growing before winter.

As far as I can tell, signs need to be installed and the cable company must move wires so some poles can be removed.  Not sure if anything else is left.

As I sat to write this my phone made a noise... after the break!

Street Reconstruction Part 13 1/2: A Different View

I noticed today the gap between the base of the tree and where it was growing over the old curb and now with the new curb and thought to provide a different view here.  The street is one foot narrower on each side now.

Street Reconstruction Part 13

There hasn't been any big updates lately, they've just been cleaning up the terraces and where they had to dig out for new sidewalk to a depth of so many inches, presumably for fresh soil to plant grass and trees.  They've also been raising/replacing the water valves (blue marker) to be at the height of where the ground will be.  I don't believe they had to do ours as it is close enough, I guess.

I'm afraid this series will last until spring for the planting of the terraces, but we'll see what happens.

Street Reconstruction Part 12, & Car

The work this week consisted of wetting, grading and compressing the gravel, and raising the manholes to the new street level (the orange barrels in the middle of the road).

 Then on Friday they laid down two layers of asphalt.

So by the time I got home from work we had a completed street!

There are still wires to move, poles to remove, terraces to finish, trees to plant (next spring?) and signs to put up, but the worst appears to be behind us and the end in sight.  We've been parking a block and a half away for quite some time now so it will be nice to park at home again - though we may not be able to some days due to the continuing work.  And I'll have to have the local second hand shop pick up a dresser in the garage so I can park in it again.

As for my car, I talked to the shop first thing Monday and they were booked for the week.  I've been taking my car there for 15 years and trust them, so do I wait or try to get it into an unfamiliar shop earlier?  I chose to wait, but did have it towed to the shop that day as they said if they had a cancellation or extra time they may be able to look at it earlier, otherwise it's scheduled for Monday.  Well, I heard nothing from them all week so I assume they never had a chance to check it out.  I have the rental car through Friday though I hope to be able to return it sooner.

Street Reconstruction Part 11, More

It appears we're ready to have a new street installed very soon.  There's not been a whole lot of activity lately other than grading and compacting the gravel.  They didn't work at all over the weekend, so maybe Monday.

I've not had many fires this year, and I've kept short the few I've had.  It was either too hot, too windy, or I was just too tired on weekend evenings.  Now, with cooler weather and an earlier sunset I may get out there more.  I did get out there for a bit on Friday evening.  It was nice, but I did build it up and let it burn down in just a few hours rather than spend all night.

And Basil got a visit from a neighbor cat.  People aren't supposed to let their cats out here in the city but many do, even despite the construction and large machinery going back and forth all day.

On my way to pick up groceries this morning I noticed an odd sound as I arrived.  I didn't see anything outside the car so kept the radio off and paid close attention on the drive home and I heard horrendous noises coming from the car.  I'm not sure what's going on, but first thing in the morning I'll have to try and get it into the shop.  I can use my wife's van sometimes, but I need my car.

Street Reconstruction Part 10

First order of business on Friday morning was pouring our driveway apron.  I hadn't left for work yet and they got started.

When I got home on Friday they had the steel plate over the new apron.  I thank them for the trouble but we never used the steel to enter the driveway.

No work happened over the weekend, but today (Monday) we got our terrace walk poured.  They've been working on all the concrete work and might be finished with it today or else very soon.  I did park in the driveway this afternoon.

The pole you see in the pictures is propping up our cable from the pole across the street.  It had been attached at the top of the pole but was knocked off early on, so is attached much lower and would hang too low over the street.  Apparently the cable will be moved to the new pole toward the end of construction.  We don't use the cable at all anymore, but the wire is still there and I don't want it to be hit and pull siding off the house or anything like that.

Aside from the construction it's really been life as normal, though it is starting to feel like the dog days of summer.  I started to do some fall yard cleanup last weekend and my to-do list has grown, but all in due time.

Street Reconstruction Part 9

Curbs and gutters were installed yesterday, an interesting process.

Yesterday I had off, so I was able to watch the progress made in front of our house.  They spent the morning on the other street, likely doing curbs and gutters, before moving to our street.

They gave our house driveway access at the end of the day, but we won't be using it.  Not all houses were given this treatment, curiously.

Today they appear to be working on finishing the sidewalks on both streets.  I'm not sure they'll finish, but probably tomorrow.  They're also framing up the driveway aprons, though ours still has the steel plate over the new gutter for access.  It may take a few more days to finish up all the concrete work, but we're still pleased with the progress so far.

My wife just popped in, we just had a knock on the door and she was told we would have our driveway apron installed tomorrow and we should be able to drive on it by Saturday.  Good news!  We think they may be prioritizing some over others as a few older and disabled people seem to be getting the same treatment.  And they may have noticed the wheelchair lift in my wife's van, so...

Street Reconstruction Part 8

As work on the roadway continues, we still had a driveway apron for the weekend, though we began parking elsewhere.

The driveway apron was already removed by the time I left for work this morning, just broken slabs to be hauled away now.

But they built us ramps to our driveways, so technically we still have access.  Overall, we're pleased with the progress so far.

Street Reconstruction Part 7

Working Hard?

Or hardly working?

Really, though, I think they have been working hard.  Everyone gets a break now and again.  Oh, and they were parked, not driving along like that.

Street Reconstruction Part 6

Since my last post they had continued up the middle of the street then started replacing sewer lines to the houses.  they seemed to do a few randomly on the street first, though there must have been some reason, including our new neighbor's to the right.  Now, they seem to be moving up the street in order.  We got a knock on the door early this morning, they were about to start on ours and yes, we both needed to get our vehicles out first.

By the time I got home, ours and neighbor Jane's were done and they were starting on the next neighbor up the street on this side.  So, today is the third day without driveway access.  Like the first day, I got kind of lucky with a parking spot not far away down the bike path.  My wife, meanwhile, had to park way up the street and around the corner when she got home this afternoon.

And below is our view out front after I got home.  The last couple days before today have been extremely hot so the workers knocked off early, but otherwise there hasn't been time lost due to weather.  Maybe one rain day, I can't remember for sure.  We've had no interruption of services, including sewer today, except for losing water for a short time when they broke that pipe accidentally, same day but after I posted last.

Other than the construction, life goes on.  There's been nothing really notable happen that I wish to discuss here.  I got the call about the beef yesterday but they're okay with me picking it up this weekend, as expected.  Coming up is a three day weekend for Labor Day on Monday, then after the short work week I'm finally on vacation for a week.  One of the first things to do is take a trip to see my Mom, then I have a list of things to keep me busy with my time, including cleaning out the garage and cleaning up my basement workbench.  I badly need the time off, and they both badly need the attention.

Street Reconstruction Part 5*

We got a knock on the door early this morning.  They were going to start digging on our street and weren't sure if we'd have driveway access this afternoon, but surely not tomorrow.  More notice would have been nice, but we could manage this.  My wife doesn't need her van out until Wednesday, and told them so, and I ended up parked a street over this afternoon.  I got lucky with a spot pretty much around the corner, but it could be much further next time.

Neighbor Cindy, the one I call "Princess," apparently didn't answer her door this morning, then early this afternoon came out and told the workers she had to get her car out.  She always acts so uppity and entitled, thus my nickname for her.  Anyway, the workers accommodated her by moving a few pieces of equipment but she still had to drive over her front lawn to get out.  I was at work, this was relayed by my wife.  We'll be texting again tomorrow afternoon to see if I can get to the driveway then.

When the beef is ready I think we should have driveway access as even if they called tomorrow they understand their customers have jobs and other things to do so I'll pick it up on the weekend, and construction crews normally wrap things up pretty good for the weekends.  We were planning to get a grocery order for tomorrow afternoon but now will wait until later in the week.

I just went out for a look before posting this, and this (below) would appear to be the last section of pipe they'll be installing today.  

I'm not sure how late they'll work tonight or how they'll wrap things up for the day, but there may be another update very soon.

*Update after the break.

Street Reconstruction Part 4 & Sunflower Update

Yesterday we noticed that they were clearing our street somewhat, and today they had removed the top layer of asphalt.  This is our view out the front door:

Most of the real work has been on the next street over.  They started by removing that street surface and I've seen then digging in the middle of the street when going to work in the mornings.  They've usually been done with the digging by the time I get home, to leave no holes overnight for safety reasons, I imagine.  So with them starting to remove the surface of our road today I would guess they'll be starting on the sewer work under the middle of the street here soon.

We don't know when we won't have driveway access so have been stocking up on groceries and paper goods recently.  We also ordered another split half of beef and I really hope we have driveway access when that's ready.  I imagine we'll mostly not have driveway access when they are working on the terraces, curbs and driveway aprons toward the end but before putting down the last layer of the new street surface, but that's just me surmising.  I do hope we get some kind of notice, though.

Here's a look up the street, below.  I didn't venture far for pictures today but this gives you an idea of what I see.

I'll try to get better about updates, but much of the work for the day is getting done by the time I get home, and most of the actual changes so far are underground. 

Sunflower drama after the break:

Street Reconstruction Part 3 1/2

A look up the roads of our horseshoe where the work is to be done.  The street by the creek isn't getting done, but links the two that are and provides storage.  It's also part of the bike path that has been detoured though is still used.

Street Reconstruction Part 3 And More

Work has begun on the next street over while our street has become the storage for that work, with piles of dirt, sand and gravel with storage trailers and equipment along the whole block.  Not a whole lot to report yet, but for the sound of machines every day and one rough lane to get in and out of the neighborhood.  And it's a long time until November.

Meanwhile in the gardens, the garlic was ready so was pulled a few days ago and my wife is cleaning them up now.  The two jalapeno plants have more peppers than we know what to do with.  The raspberry bushes are done and we got about a pint again this year.  Next spring we will try removing the fence to let them spill out.  The basil and sage in with the mostly gone strawberry plants are doing better now that they're not drowning with all the rain we had.  And the sunflowers are still growing, looking like wet dishrags per usual due to our very high heat and humidity currently.

And the wildflowers growing out of the old stump are coming into their own quite well, well enough we discussed doing it again next year.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.  We'll be hiding mostly indoors in the air conditioning.

Street Reconstruction Part 2

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.

And, knowing full well of the upcoming work, a crew came through about a week and a half ago to do some spot patching on the street.  Despite this being a complete waste of time and money, they even ignored the bigger potholes for smaller, inconsequential patches like this one in front of our driveway. 

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.

Street Reconstruction

I believe I mentioned that our street is due to be reconstructed this year, and that I had some issues with their plans.  For the first time, I spoke to the City Council during their meeting tonight on this agenda item.  The meeting started at 6:30 pm, and I just got to speak about 9:30 pm.  I had 3 minutes to get my point across.  I was told my 3 minutes were up right before I said thank you at the end.  Pretty good timing, I'd say.

*               *               *

Good evening.

My wife and I are residents of Xxxxxx Street since 2009 and I wanted to speak tonight because while we agree this part of the street needs reconstruction, some of the data used for planning appears inaccurate and other factors not considered at all.

The data that notes this block of Xxxxxx Street averages 6 vehicles parked overnight and 5 during the day is highly inaccurate.  Since we saw that, my wife and I have been counting at various times of day and found that on weekdays we average 13 vehicles parked on the street overnight and 8 during the day.  These numbers increase significantly on the weekends to 12-15 vehicles parked on the street at any given time.

Per the Parking Exhibit PDF on the city website, Xxxxxx Street is due to have parking on only the north side with just 17 parking spots available.  This is also inaccurate as 3 vehicles will not reasonably fit between any two driveways, and keep in mind that city ordinance requires no parking within 4 feet of a driveway and 2 feet between cars.  This means only 15 parking spots, which is pretty close to 1 spot for every 2 houses on the block.

It’s a pretty long block, so this is problematic for several reasons:

    1. In 2019 you built a canoe slide at the end of our street and it gets used, mostly on weekends, and they arrive in vehicles that need to park somewhere.

    2. For years now on Saturdays a house near the creek is a pickup site for CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes.  So there are many people coming and going, all needing somewhere to park.

    3. Work vehicles for necessary house repairs and maintenance also need to be able to park near the residence where the work is to be done.

    4. But lastly, and I think most importantly, we don’t have reasonable nearby options for parking.

        A. Xxxxxx Street residents already sometimes use our street for overnight overflow parking.

        B. There is no parking on Xxxxxx Avenue.

        C. Xxxxxx Street will likely have the same issues we will because they are due to get even less parking than Xxxxxx Street with this project.

        D. And Xxxxxx Street is hundreds of feet away for most of the houses on this block, and they have their own residents who park there.

Please listen to these concerns and reconsider these plans for a more reasonable and flexible parking solution for our neighborhood.  We love living here and would like to continue to be able to host friends and family now and again - and be able to park close to our home when it’s necessary to park on the street.

Thank you.

                                                                  *               *               *

Good night.