This is very cool!
2012-01-21 17:22:05
18
Shovels along the trail......
Friends of the Riverfront have positioned snow shovels along the Hot Metal Bridge and along the Millvale Connector Bridge for use along the trail.
We have a half dozen or so riders who have been given the combination to the locks that hold the shovels in place.
If the snow interferes with your ride this weekend, and you think you want to be able to clear a section of trail next time you get bogged down, let me know. I can get you the combination. But, I need to keep track of who has access, so please don't pass the combination information to anyone without letting me know. (You can also go directly through FOTR, of course.)
Swalfoort at spcregion dot org, or PM me here.
2012-01-21 17:15:14
although the trails weren't clear this weekend, the city and/or cityparks did clear the eliza furnace and hot metal bridge by friday afternoon in response to Thursday evening's snow.
so we have that going for us, which is nice.
2012-01-21 22:48:08
Can someone please go over to the Second Ave ramp to the HMB and get that cleared off? Else that will be a solid ice pack if the temperatures stay cold a while.
2012-01-22 03:29:28
Well, since I am working at Ansaldo and my daily lunch hour routine usually includes walk from work and across HMB, I guess, I can spend an extra 10-15 minutes pushing snow aside. If you need some credentials and/or references then Stu should remember me (DXI).
2012-01-23 19:21:27
Mikhail,
I don't really need credentials as such. Just a record of who has access to the combinations.
Can you send me your name and email to Swalfoort at spcregion dot org? I'll send you the information directly then.
And thanks! That's a very nice thing you are offering to do.
2012-01-23 20:25:39
Wow, small world. And Mikhail, there are a bunch of people who might remember me from when I worked there about three years ago (Linda Falcione was my manager). Plus at least one transit person there that I met on Twitter (Joshua Penn).
2012-01-23 20:36:12
Linda had left the company shortly before I came in. Joshua is still here.
Someone vandalized one of the shovels located on the South Side end of the HMB. 
2012-02-07 14:58:49
whoa. i rode past there last night, at about 10pm and they were fine.
2012-02-07 15:00:43
Erok, it was yesterday around 12:30 pm when I walked past them. May be it got replaced?
2012-02-07 16:11:48
Thanks for letting me know....I'll share the information with Friends of the Riverfront.
2012-02-07 16:59:55
Just walked by.
2012-02-07 19:35:10
They were bent like that over the weekend, too (Saturday morning). I didn't really take a close look though - are they clearly vandalized, or could someone have hit them on a bike, or bent them trying to remove ice?
2012-02-07 20:39:18
hmm didn't notice. that bridge is also the party bridge walk of shame back to oakland, so my guess is a drunk college kid. i was kinda surprised at the placement of the shovels, honestly. thought they might have been better hidden, not in the path, especially since only those "in the know" have the combo anyway
2012-02-08 16:22:06
erok... always blaming the victim. 
2012-02-08 16:31:04
I saw that yesterday on my ride in. Saw the ones on the oakland side and thought "wow that is a great idea" saw the bent one on the SS side and thought "what a bunch of adams apples."
2012-02-08 17:01:40
Are those really plastic handles? Or aluminum? Or did someone really crank the heck out of a steel handle?
Where I come from (Buffalo), they don't sell shovels that can be ruined in 10 minutes even if you try.
2012-02-08 17:32:11
When I lived in Buffalo (years ago) they didn't sell shovels that can be ruined...
fixed that for you...
2012-02-08 18:24:59