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Have you made your 311 complaint this week?

Let's face it there's a lot of work that needs to be done in this city as it pertains to bikes, peds, transit, and cars. I want to challenge folks on this message board to submit one complaint a week for the rest of the year. They can range from missing stop signs, faded crosswalks, potholes, lack of bike racks, lack of bike lanes, illegal parking, motorists driving too fast, poorly designed streets, dangerous grates, dangerous intersections, unmaintained shoulders... the list goes on.


Anyway, I want to make sure that 311 has no shortage of bike/ped issues to work on. The system seems to work for the most part, and things get done even if you have to followup 3 or 4 times.


So please keep submitting your 311 complaints: http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/mayor/html/311_request_form.html


scott
2010-10-22 19:10:37

I recently 311ed about cars parked on the sidewalk of Greenfield Ave. A week later, they replied and said they were going patrol for cars parked on sidewalks, a couple weeks after that, I biked up the hill when there was only ONE car parked on the sidewalk (down from about 20). I can now safely bike up the hill on the sidewalk most days.


The condition of the sidewalk is pretty lousy, but 311 told me the people who own the property are responsible for the sidewalk. If you are complaining about a hazardous sidewalk, you need to include an actual street address for the dangerous sidewalk. Most of the crappy sidewalks are in front of lots with billboards. Not sure what the address of a billboard is.


dwillen
2010-10-22 19:37:46

Give me a Google maps location and I'll check the county real estate records for the owner's address and re-post the info.


sloaps
2010-10-22 19:58:32

There are so many different properties. They need the address where the sidewalk is, not where the owner is. I guess they send out some building inspector to look at the sidewalk, who tells the property owner they need to fix the sidewalk. This is what I made for 311, which I guess is useless: http://omitted.net/images/greenfield_ave_sidewalk.png


I suspect the whole process of giving them an address to getting a new sidewalk probably takes a decade anyway.


dwillen
2010-10-22 20:52:29

This is to acknowledge that the City of Pittsburgh has entered your Service Request.

The Service Request ID is:209906

If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please refer to that number.

We will inform you when this request has been completed.

Thank you for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.

10/20/2010 08:24:03


Summary of Service-Request:


The pavement on Forbes Avenue between Bigelow Boulevard and Craig Street in Oakland, ESPECIALLY right in front of the Carnegie Museum/Lecture Hall, is in TERRIBLE condition. Right now there is a square utility access that is recessed by easily four inches, by Bellefield Avenue. I ride my bicycle on that stretch of Forbes Avenue every day and it is a serious problem and safety hazard to me and other cyclists. The right two lanes, generally, are in great need of maintenance, apart from this and the other potholes--the pavement surface is VERY uneven. Please send a crew ASAP.


ieverhart
2010-10-23 04:54:26

I reported the grate gap & walnut zone in the Forbes/Homewood Cemetery lanes. Am hoping some other Park Place / Regent Square folks will do it, too.


pseudacris
2010-10-24 14:46:16

Done.


The bike lanes on Forbes Ave (inbound & outbound) are collecting debris again, notably walnuts along the Homewood Cemetery side.


The previously reported Metal Cylinders of Peril that jut from the asphalt just before the Cemetery entrance at S. Dallas and the Stormdrain of Doom immediately after it, remain issues as well.


kxm
2010-10-24 18:32:29

Topic: Debris in Bike Lanes & Cyclist Safety Issues


Concern: The bike lanes on Forbes Ave (inbound & outbound) are collecting debris again, notably walnuts along the Homewood Cemetery side. The previously reported Metal Cylinders of Peril that jut from the asphalt just before the Cemetery entrance at S. Dallas and the Stormdrain of Doom immediately after it, remain issues as well.


Address of Concern Forbes Ave btwn S. Dallas & S. Braddock, both sides


Reply Thread

311 reply: 10/25/2010 @ 9:19 am


We have notified the appropriate personnel about this issue.


Regarding the clearing of debris, the Service Request ID number associated with this request is 210348.


Regarding the grate patching, the Service Request ID number associated with this request is 210357.


Thank you for contacting our 311 Response Center!


kxm
2010-10-25 13:28:20

Hey, we got the same numbers! Maybe something will actually happen?!?!?


We have notified the appropriate personnel about this issue.


Regarding the clearing of debris, the Service Request ID number associated with this request is 210348.


Regarding the grate patching, the Service Request ID number associated with this request is 210357.


Thank you for contacting our 311 Response Center!


pseudacris
2010-10-25 13:34:08

if you can't call, there's an online form ( http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/mayor/html/311_request_form.html ). I've tried putting one through on street sweeping ARB, but I'm not sure if it worked, when I click submit all I get is an error page ("IE can't display page", it's a .php page). I tried again in Firefox, it worked there.


here's what I typed " please clean the shoulder of the portion of Allegheny River Boulevard (and Butler Street) that is within the city of Pittsburgh's boundaries. Cyclists use that shoulder and if there's gravel and broken glass there, it's dangerous - it causes them to weave into traffic or risk a blown tire. I'm also working with Penn Hills to get them to clean their part. It would go a long way towards making a marked on-street bike route actually safe to bike. It needs a regular cleaning schedule, not just a one time shot."


fingers crossed!


ejwme
2010-10-25 15:33:08

STORMDRAIN OF DOOOOOOOOOOOM


caitlin
2010-10-25 17:47:14

I just wrote to 311 to ask where are the new bike lanes. You should too.


From the front:


"Over the past year, we worked diligently with the City of Pittsburgh to plan for and design over 12 miles of new bike lanes that we have been waiting patiently to see installed. The City’s contractor was supposed to install these markings last week, but didn’t. We are on the edge of our seats because the end of painting season is fast approaching.


Will we see these new bike lanes and sharrows go in before it’s too late?


And will the City be able to get all 25 miles of new lanes in that the Mayor pledged by the end of next year?


Stay tuned. Same Bike-Time, Same Bike-Channel.


Click here to send an alert to the Mayor’s 311 line asking “where are the bike lanes?”


lolly
2010-10-26 15:49:34

doesn't/shouldn't Bike Pittsburgh have a more direct channel to public works than 311? or is this a supplementary thing?


salty
2010-10-26 22:16:41

But what do you do when the direct channel says "yea, yea, we'll paint those next week!" for the past 7 months?


dwillen
2010-10-26 22:40:45

apparently, this :)


salty
2010-10-26 22:58:38

Well, they have until Nov 2 to get it done, else mad cyclists will revolt in the voting booth citywide!


pseudacris
2010-10-27 00:29:23

We have a very direct channel, but 311 is actually a great way to assign a job # and responsibility to people to complete a specific task.


311 isn't the greates for general inquiries/complaints, but is very good for specific things like filling potholes, removing debris, etc. Still, it's great to get people putting bike-related items in the system.


scott
2010-10-27 17:08:21

I've been sitting on my ass complaining about the same big pothole across from Leslie Park on 46th for about 3 months now. Whaddya know - I put in a 311 request Sunday night, and they patched it within 24 hours! Thanks for the reminder. I think they might start hearing from me a bit more frequently...


mdabkowski
2010-10-28 01:23:14

Is iburgh still a black hole for complaints?


I sent two in via iburgh: a cracked step up the st. thomas steps by my house and daycare vehicles blocking fifth avenue sidewalk in uptown next to where the auto dealer, who everyone has griped about, wasn't.


I get a receipt when I submit via the 311 website, but nothing from the iburgh thingy.


sloaps
2010-10-28 17:11:14

I'm not sure about iburgh. i stopped using it, but i did hear that they ironed out the technological wrinkles.


scott
2010-10-28 19:56:12

I sent one in about josephine st, between salisbury and 27th specifically. I've had my hands come off the bars from hard bumps.


rubberfactory
2010-10-28 23:06:05

re: iBurgh


At one point, I did get a notification when I submitted something through iBurgh, but haven't received anything since. It also doesn't let me use pics I take with the app. I take the pic, click on use this, but then it won't move to the second step, so I just use the regular camera function and then select it from the library....that is when I bother to use it since it seems, yet again, useless.


kxm
2010-10-29 03:21:14

Hey, wow, look what I just got!

>This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.


This is RE walnuts & pothole around the grate next to the Homewood Cemetery entrance. I have not been able to go past it for a couple of days.


pseudacris
2010-10-29 16:11:28

I'll probably be headed up Forbes tomorrow. I'll be interested to see if they did anything about the Cylinders of Peril as well.


kxm
2010-10-30 04:56:01

The Cylinders of Peril remain perilous. The Stormdrain of Doom has been downgraded to "Still Probably a Bad Idea" status. They did patch the holes between the asphalt and the grate, so now if you hit it, you'd just have a bad bounce (it's still set below street level and at an angle, and, you know, it's on a grade...)--assuming you are going faster than I ever am by the time I reach it, whereas before it probably would have lept up, tossed you to the ground and kicked you for falling. No, I do not have an overactive imagination. O:-)


Walnuts were gone, but the leaves are starting to pile up on the grates again. Heh.


kxm
2010-11-01 00:51:52

I submitted a 311 online, and never got an email confirmation or anything. Wondering if I should use a city resident address - are only residents allowed to use 311?


ejwme
2010-11-01 16:45:55

I was under the impression that anyone can make a complaint. They're spotty on responding, frankly.


kxm
2010-11-03 04:34:02

The first email you should get is sent automatically without human intervention. It's unlikely their automatic system was intentionally set up to discard any requests before a person even sees them.


My guess is either the city's replies were eaten by your spam filter, or else there was some other email problem. I've submitted half a dozen requests online, and got a full set of email replies for all of them, I think. (After the automated reply, you should get a reply early the next business day when a person reads your complaint and enters it into the city's system, and then another when the problems is resolved.)


Try calling them and see if they can search their 311 database using your name, phone number, or the problem location. My guess is your report is there, and it's just an email problem.


steven
2010-11-03 09:52:01

thanks Steven. It'd be easier at this point to just enter it in again, and see if I have better success. It did take me a few tries to get it to work. I checked spam filter first to see if that was it, no spam yet (miracle of miracles).


ejwme
2010-11-04 08:48:34

Just submitted the Railroad St manhole/drainage grate complaint. Also asked if a policy could be instated to 1. bring these types of things up to street grade any time a street is paved and 2. always install/replace bike-unfriendly grates with bike friendly designs. I hope to start a larger conversation with PWSA about this.


scott
2010-11-04 14:23:51

I'm about to report this one:





right by the gas station/parking garage on e carson/station square - I've hit those 7 grates that are down lower than the rest before, and even though I saw it coming and anticipated them, it was still very unpleasant. Imagine hitting that when it's covered in snow, so you can't see it and your hands/brakes/road/grates are wet and slippery. Ouch.


rubberfactory
2010-11-04 23:58:52

As a matter of fact, I have (made my 311 complaint this week). I sent this to http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/mayor/html/311_request_form.html:


----

The sidewalk on the 40th St Bridge needs to be cleaned of glass! It's a hazard for bicyclists and pedestrians! Imagine taking small kids on a stroll across that bridge - what a tragedy to spoil a beautiful bridge and a beautiful view of Pittsburgh with piles and piles of broken glass! Please send street sweepers to the SIDEWALKS of that bridge several times a year. See picture at http://picasaweb.google.com/pheckbert/BicycleHazardsInPittsburgh#


And clean up the sidewalks of the Glenwood Bridge and Homestead-Grays bridges, too!

----


paulheckbert
2010-11-10 17:21:55

Regarding my complaint (see 1 week ago) to the city's 311 web system about glass on the 40th St Bridge sidewalk, I got an email that this is county-maintained.


So I sent my complaint to http://www.alleghenycounty.us/feedback/index.asp


Is the county responsive to requests there?


paulheckbert
2010-11-17 19:42:27

if anyone wants to join my complaint crusade to get cars off the sidewalk on black st, that would be awesome. I know enough people complained on main and fisk and it worked. people FLY on black and mossfield, and having cars parked in the street like they belong would maybe slow them down.


but my main issue is that the cars are on the sidewalk and its a dangerous place to walk--so we NEED the sidewalk to be clear, not to mention there is no way to get around the cars if you are handicapped.


thanks yall!


caitlin
2010-11-23 17:50:02

also, how many times should i do this? once a day til it is taken care of?


caitlin
2010-11-23 17:54:39

you can't walk on the sidewalks in Arlington because of the cars on the sidewalk, too...


and even on the sidewalks, half of their mirrors are torn off.


rubberfactory
2010-11-23 20:02:10

Caitlin, I think it isn't so much 311, but what station is responsible for ticking those cars.


There were cars parked on Greenfield Ave all summer. I eventually got tired of it, and filed a 311 complaint, only once. They replied after about a week or so that all three shifts would patrol for illegally parked cars, and the cars were all moved a couple weeks after that.


dwillen
2010-11-23 20:33:09

sweet dwillen, i look forward to that day :)


caitlin
2010-11-23 20:39:07

I reported the cars on arlington and josephine when I was walking on the sidewaqlk between an SUV and a fence, and someone had to walk around the car on the street side.


rubberfactory
2010-11-24 21:15:24

i received a notice that they are monitoring and citing this week. which is great because i walked the damn street to get to work and mossfield/black street is not fun to walk on :(


caitlin
2010-11-29 17:55:46

In case anyone else has run into this: I just submitted a request to have the bike lanes on S. Millvale Ave swept. As of 9:00 last night, lanes in both directions were littered with either shattered glass or plastic - either way, it looked unfriendly to tires.


mdabkowski
2010-11-30 15:26:21

Cars started to creep back on the sidewalk on Greenfield Ave as of last night. Whatever the fine is, it doesn't seem to be enough to deter people after having received a ticket or two.


dwillen
2010-11-30 15:34:57

IIRC blocking a sidewalk with a car is $15.


ejwme
2010-11-30 15:45:34

I believe blocked sidewalks are an ADA violation. A civil suit for that could cost a bit more than $15.


Someone should put together a nice ticket-sized pamphlet explaining such, and tuck them under the wiper blades of the scofflaws.


dwillen
2010-11-30 16:06:41

I would take many of them and tuck them under the wipers on my way up arlington/down josephine.


rubberfactory
2010-11-30 18:23:49

[submitted to 311]


Topic of Concern: Dangerous path behind Reizenstein


Message: The end of Putnam Street, just before it dead ends into Social Way has two dangerous spots: a large gaping hole adjacent to a fire extinguisher. The hole appears to be a failing sewer pipe and is large enough for a bicyclist or pedestrian to fall into. There is also a large, impassable puddle across the entire road with potholes at the bottom. This area is poorly lit at night and is a popular path between shadyside and bakery square/mellon park for pedestrians, bicyclists, and park users. Very dangerous.

Incident Address: Putnam St @ Social Way, behind Reizenstein


pseudacris
2010-11-30 20:58:24

[ok, pseudacris' report and the jab in the other thread finally motivated me...]


I commute by bicycle daily from Squirrel Hill to Bakery Square via Social Way, making a right onto Putnam St. Several of my co-workers also use this route by bicycle and on foot.


A month or so ago, a very large hole opened up in the street near the fire hydrant. The hole is several feet wide and deep and someone could easily fall into it and be injured.


Although the street is closed to traffic, I assume it is still a valid pedestrian route and should be maintained. It is a vital link between Shadyside and East Liberty.


salty
2010-12-01 16:53:52

[response]


This hole was reported yesterday, and the appropriate personnel has been notified. We appreciate your patience in this matter.


Thank you for contacting our 311 Response Center.


salty
2010-12-01 17:52:22

Your submission has been assigned a Ticket ID number: 12133. (12133!? wow. my last one from april was 6213.)


Topic of Concern: Holes in Bridge Walkway


Message: This afternoon, as I was biking across the upstream side of the Smithfield Street Bridge pedestrian walkway, I observed 1" to 3" wide holes in the decking. There is significant corrosion at nearly ever butted joint between the steel deck pans. The joints have corroded, broken through the wearing surface and are exposed to the elements. This is at least a tripping hazard and at worst a not so subtle preamble to eminent collapse of a walkway section. Please Fix. Happy Holidays.


Incident Address: Smithfield Street Bridge Upstream Pedestrian Walkway


sloaps
2010-12-07 00:12:36

I've been meaning to report that for weeks.


rubberfactory
2010-12-07 02:18:12

I got a response to a recent 311 that included a link to an online tracking system. It isn't linked from the normal 311 form, and I haven't seen it mentioned here.


The coolest thing of it is, they keep track of all 311 submissions from my email address, all in one place.


http://dev.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/feedbackcenter/


They seem to include the initial response, but any followups after that are not attached to the submission for some reason.


Also: slightly creepy, but you might not want to post ID numbers on here anymore, or maybe mask them slightly. That or use an email address people could not easily find online. If you have a Ticket ID number and an email address the person used to submit the ticket, you can view all their tickets and submit replies.


dwillen
2010-12-07 21:54:25

Your submission has been assigned a Ticket ID number: 12164.

Topic of Concern Bike Lane


Message On Tuesday, I was walking through Schenley Park and noticed that the equipment used to clear the sidewalks was using the bike lane to go back up the hill. He had his sweeper in the "up" position. Since he's using the lane anyway, is there any reason why he can't clear that lane of debris. It rarely gets cleared, and when people ride on it, they are forced to go out into traffic


iloveclones
2010-12-09 16:45:01

called in the sidewalks on penn ave this afternoon. Told them about how there's not enough room between vendors for pedestrian traffic to flow. I stressed that I like the vendors, I'm glad they're there, but they make it extremely difficult to get to them.


they said they'd send building inspectors to investigate that (because that's what the sidewalks of the business district fall under). I said, "It may be hell to do so, but see if they can't go on a saturday - that's when the real problems occur.


I pointed out two in particular that I had trouble with today as well.


rubberfactory
2010-12-10 22:55:30

There's a huge puddle that forms at the corner of Forbes at Oakland Avenue, at Joe Mama's, whenever there's rain. I submitted it a few weeks back and again now.


ieverhart
2010-12-13 20:52:47

That puddle allows me to hone my long jump. Until the day comes when I land on a big ice patch, then it just gives me a really awful story to tell when everyone who asks why my arm is in a cast. "well, you see, there was this big puddle near Joe Mama's..."


dwillen
2010-12-13 21:02:42

called to see if someone could plow the parts of spring way in the strip that have a few inches of snow on it. They said they'd send someone out, since the plows were still roaming around.


rubberfactory
2010-12-14 20:19:12

Message sent to 311 a week ago:


"Approximately one month ago, bike lanes were installed on Wilkins Avenue. I specifically want to comment on the intersection of Dallas and Wilkins where the road significantly narrows at the turn.


I do not ride this route on my bicycle every day but on every day that I have in the past month, both early in the morning and in the evening, a vehicle has been parked in the bike lane.


It is a dark Chevy Trailblazer LT, with PA plate HDZ-7070, I would guess parked in front of his own home rather than in the driveway.


Because of the alignment of the bike lane and the place where this vehicle parks, the bike lane is squeezed to approximately half it's width. As cars and buses typically come around that corner with little diminishment in speed, it is very dangerous for any cyclist attempting to use this bike lane as there is no room for all three vehicles. In any conflict for space, the cyclist will loose. Perhaps catastrophically so.


I suggest that the owner of this vehicle be contacted to, at a minimum, move his vehicle forward where there is ample space for parking or even put his vehicle in his driveway. Parking in the bikelane here is unacceptably dangerous."


Response from the city:


"Summary of Service-Request: Car parked in bike lane on Wilkins at Dallas, causing narrowing of bike lane at corner. Cars/busses turn and push bikes off the road. Not enough room with car parking there. Please ticket cars parked in bike lane here."


kordite
2010-12-21 12:52:04

Kordite - is that on the inbound or outbound side of Wilkins?


ejwme
2010-12-21 13:27:15

I found this response kind of funny, because isn't ALL snow removal pushing it from one place to another...I guess this falls under the heading of, "God hears all you prayers, but sometimes the answer is NO" file:


This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.

The Service Request Identification-Number is: 215004


Summary of action taken:

Per DPW 3rd Div:

I believe what he's talking about is our steiner with broom, it is used for snow removal, clearing the sidewalk.

If it is used on the bike lane all I will be doing is pushing is from one place to another.


Summary of Service-Request:

Per complainant:

"On Tuesday, I was walking through Schenley Park and noticed that the equipment used to clear the sidewalks was using the bike lane to go back up the hill. He had his sweeper in the "up" position. Since he's using the lane anyway, is there any reason why he can't clear that lane of debris. It rarely gets cleared, and when people ride on it, they are forced to go out into traffic."

Please clean debris from bike lanes in Schenley Park.


iloveclones
2010-12-21 17:29:04

iloveclones - unlike God, the city of pittsburgh is accountable to the good citizens of pittsburgh. you're right that snow removal is just pushing snow from one place to another - this person has just decided that it's not worth it. Seems as though additional 311 complaints are required to recallibrate him/her.


kordite - thank you! I thought the lane just dissappeared there, I didn't realize that it went under the parked cars.


ejwme
2010-12-21 18:45:14

During street sweeping season, the bike lane on Greenfield is kept surprisingly clear. I don't know how often they come through, but crap doesn't hang around for more than one day, usually.


Now that sweeping season has ended, there is a good bit of leaf litter and other rubbish in the lane. Not sure if the plow-brush thing would be able to remove that stuff or not. I know when they brush the sidewalks, the snow is blown off the side. In the bike lane, they would have to brush the snow up a hill. Maybe that is what the guy is talking about? Can their machine actually toss snow, or does it just brush it to the side?


Maybe he/she misunderstands and thinks you want him to brush the snow off the edge of the road back onto the sidewalk? "pushing is [sic] from one place to another." If the sidewalk and bike lane were actually on the same side of the road, this statement would make sense. Brush snow into bike lane, then brush it from the bike lane back to the sidewalk?


dwillen
2010-12-21 19:18:59

Biking in conditions like this, I don't know if I have enough hubris to infer that City of Pgh is more accountable than God....


I actually just posted it because I thought the response was kind of funny. I can imagine having a conversation with the guy sweeping it:


Me: Would you mind using your wonderful machine to remove the snow from the bike lane?


Sweeping Guy: I can't. There's debris preventing me.


Me: Wellllll, then would you mind removing the debris?


Sweeping Guy: Sorry. Call 311. That's another guy.


The debris in the bike lane (also on Forbes Ave bike lane) is actually more of a concern, as you have to go out into traffic to avoid it. And cars tend to cut into that bike lane, either going around the bend, or when left turning traffic stacks up at the top of the hill.


iloveclones
2010-12-21 19:50:59

topic :snow covered bike trails

Concern

I keep hoping this will be the day the bike trails get cleaned - a quick brush would do wonders to make them safer to ride on. Will these be done at all this winter?

Address of Concern


Reply Thread

311 reply: 01/10/2011 @ 2:48 pm

Please specify which trail needs cleared off. Where is the snow build up that needs removed on the bike trails?


Thank you for contacting our 311 Response Center.


I replied that the entire Jail trail and Panther Hollow trail were covered in snow and it appeared they had not been cleaned since it snowed last week.


helen-s
2011-01-10 21:00:30

Include Hot Metal Bridge and Southside trail, if they call back.


sloaps
2011-01-10 21:31:30

I'm leaving work now, so I'll make a loop and send one in. they haven't responded to my Smithfield Street Bridge rusty holes report from a month ago, hope the nonresponse isn't a pattern...


sloaps
2011-01-10 21:40:40

just 311'd the snow on the bike lanes on liberty and all over spring way.


I tried calling, and their hours for the day were done with, so I tried to leave a message but after it said the leave the message at the tone, it then said "I'm sorry, we are unable to do that" and hung up.


rubberfactory
2011-01-11 22:54:42

I just put in a request to clear the Panther Hollow Trail and the south side sidewalk along Fifth Ave from Birmingham Bridge to Craft.


Would someone else out there be willing to put in a request to clear the bike lanes on:


1. Liberty

2. Wilkins

3. Dallas


I'm not sure how they are on the other streets, but I know for sure the snow is piling up in these.


scott
2011-01-14 19:11:31

Submitted 311 request:


Please clear the following bike lanes/paths of snow as soon as possible.


-Forbes Avenue from S. Braddock to Dallas

-Dallas bike lanes

-Panther Hollow trail

-Eliza Furnace Trail.

Lots of folks are commuting by bicycle year round. Please also ask the person who clears the sidewalks around the Parking Garage exit on 2nd avenue not to block the sidewalk leading to the Eliza Furnace Trail with the moved snow. All the snow was pushed into a big heap on the sidewalk near the bike rental place, preventing access to the trail. Thanks for all your hard work: I appreciate the 311 service and being able to use bicycles throughout the city. I would only anticipate bicycle use to go UP as the transit faces more cuts. Thanks again for your attention to this matter.


pseudacris
2011-01-14 19:23:26

This morning I followed behind a Pittsburgh public works truck down Panther Hollow Rd past Phipps into Oakland. He had a plow and salt spreader. He didn't do anything until we got to the bridge between the library and Phipps, where he dropped his plow and started spreading salt on the shoulder of the road, where those white hash marks are, and where most people would bike. The driving lane was entirely clear, so it was cool to see they go back over it and clear the sides too.


dwillen
2011-01-14 20:55:09

According to @pghtrails twitter feed, Panther Hollow Trail was plowed after our 311 request. It seems to be working. Keep speaking up.


@Hyla, let us know how Forbes & Dallas looks today?


scott
2011-01-15 15:09:03

The inbound bike lane on Forbes has *not been plowed as of noon-ish Saturday. The sidewalk *has been marginally plowed but not salted. Helpful to pedestrians but looked pretty useless for my Vittoria Randonneur tires. I took the lane.


I'll check out Panther Hollow & at least part of Dallas on my way back.


pseudacris
2011-01-15 18:36:32

These things looked worse than your average pothole, they're really deep - pretty much as soon as you cross Forbes and start going up the hill. I was in a car when I saw them and there's at least one on each side so also watch for people swerving to avoid them.


----


Heading North on Wightman, at the start of the 1600 block just North of Forbes, there are 2 or 3 large and very deep potholes. I saw them yesterday (1/23) around 2pm.

----

We have notified the appropriate personnel about this issue. The Service Request ID number associated with this request is xxxx.


salty
2011-01-25 14:23:10

hit up the middle of market square which was all slick today, but you couldn't see which parts were going to be. Also sent in reports of the potholes between downtown and the strip on penn, and a torn up sidewalk corner on liberty and 36th. I'm feeling productive.


rubberfactory
2011-01-26 23:33:09

I called in to 311 yesterday to ask the city to fill in the craters where Wightman crosses Forbes. I've been down with flu so it was a big disappointment when I got out for the first time in weeks and saw that these potholes haven't been dealt with yet. The biggest one, being right at the end of the bike path, is downright deadly...so watch yourself.


meaculpa
2011-01-29 20:36:49

Thanks meaculpa. Let us know when they're filled in.


scott
2011-01-31 19:58:06

the 4 inch deep pothole outside of eide's entertainment on penn has been filled in :)


rubberfactory
2011-01-31 22:48:36

I just 311'd the lousy pavement patch at Forbes and Bouquet.


ieverhart
2011-01-31 23:51:54

Summary of action taken:

Per DPW 3rd Div:

Street was patched 1/26/11.


Summary of Service-Request:

2-3 large potholes on Wightman at 1699 Wightman. This is near the start of the 1600 block of Forbes,.


salty
2011-02-09 18:25:00

You reported it on 1/24 and they patched it on 1/26? That's pretty fast action.


steven
2011-02-09 18:54:37

Summary of action taken:

Per DPW 3rd Div:

We don't do winter maintenance on trails 1/20/11


Summary of Service-Request:

Please remove snow from bike trail:

"The entire Panther Hollow trail is snow covered. I am a bit suprised you need to ask- it appeared none of these had been cleared since it snowed last week, although I was out of town Friday and Saturday."


Interesting response- maybe they thought I was talking about the non-paved foot trails? Was I supposed to write paths instead?


helen-s
2011-02-09 19:40:40

Steven - I didn't notice the date but I'm not sure that's accurate. I am pretty sure I was through there on the evening of the 26th or 27th and the holes were still there, though I haven't been back since to check. I also don't recall when 'meaculpa' made that post about what may be the same holes (I wish this board gave you a date instead of or in addition to the vague timestamps).


Of course, all this assumes that DPW patched the same holes I reported - note that my oriignal description (which itself probably could have been more precise) got transformed into something else.


salty
2011-02-09 20:12:47

helen s. that is inaccurate. they do snow removal on the trails, and it's supposed to be done as soon as the streets are cleared.


I would do a followup to that service request number and kindly say something like "this response is in contrast to what DPW Director Kaczorowski told the cycling community this year - that the trails are supposed to be maintained after the streets have been plowed or salted. Many people depend on this trail for transportation and recreation and not maintaining it is simply unsafe."


scott
2011-02-10 12:22:20

I got the same "we don't do" response as Helen did.


Scott, I'll follow your advice as well.


pseudacris
2011-02-10 14:35:53

City wants to know location of potholes

Thursday, February 10, 2011

By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city of Pittsburgh wants to know about those potholes.


Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski today asked residents to report potholes at www.pittsburghpothole.com or the 311 line. Non-residents may call 412-255-CITY.


Complaints should be as detailed as possible; street addresses, intersections and landmarks will help workers get to the right places.


The city said it will attempt to address complaints with five days, but hopes to respond to many within 72 hours. Public works crews on two eight-hour shifts will be filling potholes as long as the weather cooperates.


"Residents need to be aware that crews can only use cold-patch material in this weather, which means that potholes will only hold the fill if they are two-inches deep or more," Mr. Kaczorowski said. "As soon as the weather gets warmer and more durable hot-patch becomes available, we will be able to more effectively fill all potholes."


Potholes top the list of complaints to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's 311 line. As of this morning, public works had handled 234 pothole complaints for the season.


If the city receives a complaint about a pothole on a state road, it will refer the caller to PennDOT.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11041/1124472-147.stm#ixzz1DZeMXz5L


caitlin
2011-02-10 16:28:17

I did write back, pointing out I was referring to the Bicycle Path, which does get cleared with some regularity.


helen-s
2011-02-10 16:35:44

sent in a report regarding the enormous ice patch at spring/22nd by leaf & bean today.


rubberfactory
2011-02-10 23:04:13

^ I just passed that monstrosity -- thanks for reporting it!


pseudacris
2011-02-11 03:53:08

The ice sheet was being drilled away yesterday morning, they actually blocked off 22nd street to do so, and now it's 90% gone - much safer to ride/drive across than it was. I'll probably email 311 to give an acknowledgement/thanks of the action being taken so quickly.


rubberfactory
2011-02-12 20:30:14

Question.... can one ask the city to "sweep" a street because it is unsafe?


There is a group of blocks on Penn Avenue before one gets to the Strip District that are filthy with metal-like objects where the City/whoever has been doing street work?


I got a flat tire once-again on that area yesterday -this time a 2" nail that went through entirely. Before that a couple of months ago it was a piece of sharpnel about an 1" long, and before that another piece of sharpnel about the same size.... it is always between the blocks of 31th & Penn, and 26th & Penn on the Bike Lane...


Thoughts?


bikeygirl
2011-02-16 19:56:20

oops - double posting again... this is happening too often now... could the board be 'breaking down'??


bikeygirl
2011-02-16 19:56:23

Yeah, the bike lanes on Beechwood could use a good sweeping. in fact... submitted!


PS: dumb question, but are you possibly hitting 'send post' twice?


salty
2011-02-16 20:09:22

wow, that was the quickest 311 response ever... it was so fast i was afraid it was going to be bad news, but alas:


TOPIC

stones/debris in beechwood bike lanes


CONCERN

I ride on Beechwood Blvd between Wilkins and 5th daily in each direction. There is a lot of stones and other debris in the bike lanes, can that be swept up?


ADDRESS OF CONCERN

1000-1400 Beechwood Blvd


Reply Thread

311 reply: 02/16/2011 @ 3:11 pm

We have notified the appropriate personnel about this issue. The Service Request ID number associated with this request is xxxxxx.


Thank you for contacting our 311 Response Center!


salty
2011-02-16 20:16:37

I expect they wont sweep it until sweeping season, whenever that starts.


dwillen
2011-02-16 20:36:29

I thought the same thing (which isn't until Apr. 1) - but I saw a sweeper out and about somewhere last week, so maybe there is hope.


salty
2011-02-16 21:28:24

I saw a street sweeper out today. Cannot remember were it was, but I did see one. There was a lot of dust coming up around it.


shel
2011-02-16 22:15:18

Sweet. The Panther Hollow Rd underpass coming off the bridge is like a gravel pit. I will submit a 311.


dwillen
2011-02-16 22:25:27

reported the group of potholes around the manhole cover at penn/12th outbound yesterday and got a response this morning.

I also left a voicemail about cars on the sidewalk on liberty/herron


rubberfactory
2011-02-16 23:25:26

Sent my 311! Hopefully I'll hear back soon! :)


bikeygirl
2011-02-16 23:26:53

reporting spring way.


If anyone here takes that street, I'd avoid it today, unless digging shards of broken glass out of your tires is how you usually spend a sunday night...thankfully I have knobby tires and went looking for glass before they caused me to flat.


rubberfactory
2011-02-20 15:34:52

In December I reported to PennDOT the broken glass on the 40th St Bridge sidewalk:

---

Date: 2010/12/10 10:18:41 AM EST

PennDOT reference number 20101210-D11-8BZKVN


The sidewalk on the 40th St Bridge needs to be cleaned of glass! It's a hazard for bicyclists and pedestrians! Imagine taking small kids on a stroll across that bridge - what a tragedy to spoil a beautiful bridge and a beautiful view of Pittsburgh with piles and piles of broken glass! Please send street sweepers to the SIDEWALKS of that bridge several times a year. See picture at http://picasaweb.google.com/pheckbert/BicycleHazardsInPittsburgh#




---

Three months later, I got a two word response from PennDOT:

---

Customer complaint/issue concern from Paul Heckbert has been resolved.Resolution: cleaned areaThe following complaint/issue concern has been resolvedReference number: 20101210-D11-8BZKV

---

I wonder if they noticed my request for cleaning on a regular basis?


paulheckbert
2011-03-03 15:28:00

just got this email:

This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.

The Service Request Identification-Number was: 222575

If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please refer to that number.

Thank you again for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.

03/04/2011 11:12:23

Summary of Service-Request:


On the southeast corner of penn ave at 12 street in the strip district, there are several potholes surrounding a manhole cover, some of them 2 inches deep, including one that is less than 10 feet up the road (heading outbound)

Summary of action taken:


Per DPW 6th Div:

Patched 3/2/11


I'm gonna go out of my way tomorrow to see it. I've been griping about that pothole forever, it seems.


rubberfactory
2011-03-04 21:06:02

Just reported the man-eating pothole on Roup between Baum and Negley heading south.


scott
2011-03-07 12:38:57

I just reported this one: If you're eastbound on Forbes Ave in Frick Park, there's a very deep pothole where it bends to the left 2000 ft after crossing Dallas Ave, in the right lane. A bicyclist riding near the bike lane could crash due to this pothole.


paulheckbert
2011-03-16 15:35:23

fwiw, still no sign of that street sweeper on beechwood. but at least there's kind of a path through the debris, and NO POTHOLES in the bike lane.


i also have no idea if they ever fixed those potholes on wightman @ forbes - there are so many damn potholes everywhere it's hard to keep track. i hit a pretty nasty one tonight on millvale before the bridge on the bloomfield side.


and of course the gaping hole on the "northeast passage" is just getting bigger.


so, i'm 0/3 on 311's - not particularly encouraging me to keep at it.


salty
2011-03-17 02:47:17

Forbes inbound near the cemetery was being patched this morning. Woo Hoo!!!


pseudacris
2011-03-17 16:12:43

Reported branches on Forbes outbound, east of Beechwood. Requested a sweep of bike lanes in both directions.


Also requested that the sucker growing out of the Plane tree @ Ellsworth & Aiken be trimmed by an arborist.


pseudacris
2011-03-17 17:15:23

The city swept the forbes bike lanes and today I received this update about the branches:




:-D


Too bad they don't just keep a little bypass pruner in their glove box.


pseudacris
2011-03-30 01:50:26

TOPIC

cars parked on the sidewalk


CONCERN

Everyday B Fields Motors (2340 Fifth Avenue) parks cars on the mixed use (Bike/Pedestrian) sidewalk along the south side of 5th Ave. Today (4/6/11 - 1:30pm) I biked past and an employee and a man with City of Pittsburgh Police uniform were outside, so I mentioned to them that it was illegal to park and block the whole sidewalk. The officer yelled at me that I should "go suck my own dick". Real professional.


ADDRESS OF CONCERN

2340 Fifth Avenue


dwillen
2011-04-06 21:20:10

RESOLUTION


Dispatched DPW worker to your residence to assist with autofellatio. Thank you and have a nice day.


salty
2011-04-06 21:26:17

Serious. What hope is there when some cop is standing right there, and cusses you out when you point out someone is breaking a law. I really wish I had a camera.


Really makes you lose all hope that anything will change or you will be treated fairly under any circumstances. Are these people paying off the police to park on the sidewalk or what?


dwillen
2011-04-06 21:31:54

@dwillen, did you happen to notice the officer's name?


pseudacris
2011-04-06 21:48:22

@dwillen "go suck my own dick".


Take pics or it didn't happen.


mick
2011-04-06 22:07:04

@Pseudacris: No, we rode away. I didn't care to hang out when someone on a power trip yells something like that. At first couldn't believe he was a real cop, but the person I was riding with swore it was a legit police uniform.


dwillen
2011-04-06 22:07:30

That would have beyond beyond beyond awesome to get on helmet cam. Youtube Gold.


edmonds59
2011-04-07 00:37:42

Cop car just ran a stop sign from my left and nearly clipped me. I had already stopped and was starting to go again, crossing in front of him. He might have slowed down to 15mph so I'm sure it would have only hurt a little. I tried to give him the suggestion the other cop gave dwillen but he must have been out of earshot by then. Or maybe it was a lady cop and i had the genetalia wrong. In either case, it was really nice, no wonder no one else cares about traffic laws - I mean, as long as it's not a cyclist breaking them, of course.


salty
2011-04-08 01:32:57

The city emailed me to say that, yes, they would trim the suckers from that plane tree @ Ellsworth + Aiken, they're just not sure when.


pseudacris
2011-04-08 13:04:55

They emailed me that they forwarded my complaint to police. I'm sure someone will get a few pats on the back as that is passed around the precinct.


Totally useless process, as if nobody has ever complained about cars parked on that sidewalk before. When you're buddies with the guy who is supposed to write you a ticket, do you really think you'll get a ticket?


In my dream world a litigious wheelchair user sues them for ADA compliance issues. Anyone know someone like that?


dwillen
2011-04-08 14:44:27

When the police union is stronger than the civilian review board, there is a structural problem.


mick
2011-04-08 15:06:04

I've made a point to cal 311 twice regarding the cars on the sidewalk on liberty/herron by that bar and auto body shop since you posted that.


Those cars force me to walk dangerously close to speeding cars driven by people on cell phones pretty much every day.


rubberfactory
2011-04-09 07:54:38

I just reported this to 311:


Pothole on the Duck Hollow Trail (bicycle trail). Reachable by car but only if you have a key to the gate at the Duck Hollow Parking Lot.


There's a 2' deep pothole / crack in the asphalt trail where water erosion undermined the trail. Very serious! Some bicyclist could get hurt here: imagine a young child blundering into this 2' deep hole. Location: directly across the river from Costco.


paulheckbert
2011-04-22 06:03:14

Woah, did you get those tick marks correct (two feet deep)? I might have to take a ride out there and check out the duck canyon.


dwillen
2011-04-22 14:33:02

I assume this only works for the city proper and not townships with "Pittsburgh" mailing addresses?


orionz06
2011-04-27 13:50:11

"this"? You mean fixing problems, or residency status for reporting them? Anyone can report a problem. If it isn't the city's responsibility, they often forward your issue to the appropriate party (or tell you who that would be).


dwillen
2011-04-27 15:33:00

Yes, by "this" I implied the 311 non-emergency service.


orionz06
2011-04-27 15:46:45

If in doubt just submit it. Anyone can use it.


dwillen
2011-04-27 16:01:21

Or try http://spcregion.org/trans_pedbike_high.shtml for any bike/pedestrian issues in the 10-county SW PA area. My experience with 311 on a non-City of Pittsburgh issue is they'll tell you whom to call instead, while the SPC actually passes your issue to the right people.


steven
2011-04-27 17:34:57

Topic

hole around manhole cover

Concern

On the Boulevard of the Allies eastbound just past Chancery Way there is a large and deep hole around a manhole. cannot speak for how this would effect a car driving over it, but were a bicycle to hit it I suspect the rider would fall in traffic.

Address of Concern

Boulevard of Allies and Chancery way


Reply Thread

311 reply: 04/27/2011 @ 1:55 pm

This roadway is maintained by PennDOT, not the City of Pittsburgh. To report concerns on this roadway, please contact PennDOT at (412) 429-5000.


Thank you for contacting our 311 Response Center.


I am shocked that the city does not maintain the Boulevard in downtown. Is this really true?


helen-s
2011-04-27 20:31:05

The city did trim the Plane tree at Ellsworth + Aiken. Huzzah!


Edit: @helen s...that is interesting about the Blvd. I wonder if the city handles the part west of Grant & Penn Dot the highway-like part that leads to Oakland?


pseudacris
2011-04-29 12:58:23

FWIW, the city's salt route map (PDF) shows the Blvd of the Allies as a state route all through downtown, and as far east as Halket.


steven
2011-04-29 20:12:44

Thanks Steven- when my follow up inquired if there existed a map which would designate which roads were city and which were Penn Dot, they said it did not exist and I should just call the number they game me.


helen-s
2011-04-29 20:32:22

@dwillen: yes, 2 feet deep. I just got an email from the 311 Call Center: "Per DPW 3rd Div: PWSA was working at this location due to watermain break. Please inform us if they are no longer there."


Note: DPW=Pittsburgh Department of Public Works, PWSA=Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority.


I haven't been down there this week. Has anybody seen the current status?


Here's a picture from April 20:



paulheckbert
2011-04-29 21:20:29

Wow.. that looks way deeper than 2 feet. Scary.


dwillen
2011-04-29 22:47:23

Can anyone report on the status of the Forbes Ave bike lane through Frick Park? I heard last week that it was full of debris. 311 was notified. Has the City responded?


scott
2011-05-01 13:28:12

Just sent this one about the bike lanes on Dallas. Took that route the other day and the paint is almost gone due to the snow plows. Good times.


"Over the winter the bike lanes and markings on Dallas Ave from Hamilton to Penn have begun fading or in some cases have disappeared."


re: Forbes. Last Thursday after a rain the storm drains were collecting debris and there were a lot of loose rock and twigs in the lane. There was also a dead dear. That combined with the 35 mph traffic has me either taking the lane or a different route.


rsprake
2011-05-02 20:46:17

Reported:

There are several very large and deep potholes near the yellow dividing lines at the intersection of Reynolds & Beechwood, close to Mellon Park. The holes present a serious hazard to cyclists traveling from the Mellon Rec. Area parking lot towards Reynolds via the short section of Beechwood.


pseudacris
2011-05-09 16:55:06

Thanks to Tom Baxter at Friends of the Riverfront, and Pittsburgh Department of Public Works, the major erosion on the Duck Hollow Trail got repaired last week. Here's what it looked like as of May 5 (photo from my pal Yale). So it's dirt for a 100' or so, for now, but at least the 2 foot holes are gone. Tom says "the city has plans to pave soon".




paulheckbert
2011-05-10 13:55:17

Reported the people who block the entrance to Reizenstein Park from Shadyside. I feel like a jerk but it wasn't until they started getting selfish and taking up the entire entrance that it was an issue.


Go ahead. Block the right of way in a no parking zone to avoid getting your SUV dirty. Thanks.


rsprake
2011-05-18 15:46:13

I think this thread is busted.




Summary of Service-Request:

Please enforce the NO PARKING ZONE sign at Festival Way and Social St. Cars park at the entrance to Reizenstein Park at this location and block the entrance with their car. It is difficult to get into the park. There is posted NIO PARKING ZONE signs.


I love the statement that cars park their cars there...


rsprake
2011-05-18 16:57:43

Actually, I made this one after riding in Pedal Pittsburgh:


As a cyclist of Pedal Pittsburgh following the 15 mile route, it was unsafe in certain areas as Pedal Pittsburgh and another charity walk (March for Babies?) crossed paths. Along River Avenue and Penn Avenue, walkers were in the streets in car lanes. After crossing the 16th Street Bridge to make the right on Penn Avenue, no crossing guards were on duty. Walkers were crossing the street on red from the sidewalk of the 16th Street Bridge. This made for an unpleasant encounter as cyclist attempted to make the right on Penn Avenue on green. In areas where there were crossing guards, safe passage was obtained. It is my understanding that event routes are approved by the City. If this is the case, it seems to me that these routes needed better safety considerations.


snakeguy
2011-05-22 18:24:54

FWIW, mid-May and as far as I can tell the bike lanes on Beechwood that I 311'd in Feb have never been swept. Even better, today they patched a bunch of potholes so now there's even MORE debris, and it's oily and sticky!


salty
2011-05-24 04:12:27

Thought #1: Zipcar could have made good use of some of that $694,000 in taxpayer money, spread the cars out around the city a little better, and made it a lot easier for other subscribers to have cars available.


Thought #2: Has anyone who works for these public organizations tried to figure out how to get the job done using buses and bicycles? If they're hauling around a clipboard, laptop and/or a camera, and little else, I suspect there are a couple of people on this board who could help them with that. If they really do need to haul around 100# of equipment, I guess that's something else again. But as I keep saying, over and over, "anything but the car", and that goes for civil servants, too.


stuinmccandless
2011-05-26 01:01:06

I reported the shifted drain grate that I posted in the longitudinal drain grates thread.


"Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 17312"


I said this:

"See http://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/dangerous-longitudinal-drain-grates/page/3#post-72871 A drain grate on eastbound ENorthAve has shifted sideways enough to eat a bicycle tire. Separately, around the corner on Cedar Ave, southbound just before East Ohio St, is a nasty pothole big enough to dump a bicyclist or bend a rim."


stuinmccandless
2011-05-26 17:30:23

Today's Complaint: Recent below-grade utility work in East Liberty has been followed up by unacceptable and deplorable road patching and resurfacing. One place is in front of my house at 529 N Euclid and the second of note (and there are probably more) is at N Beatty St. The contractor threw blacktop patch loosely into their 6x15' cutout without tamping it down and it has resulted in a very poor road surface. I have notified PWSA as well, but our street is already bad enough from utility work followed up by poor road resurfacing.


dmtroyer
2011-05-27 12:21:13

Backlog must be cleared I already got a response!


dmtroyer
2011-05-27 13:35:29

It sounded like the backlog was only for building inspectors... but the crappy thing about 311 is there is no closing the loop - you get a response that its been seen and maybe routed but there's no feedback when the work is done. It would be cool if they used some thing like a bug tracking system so you could follow the issue to completion.


salty
2011-05-28 03:37:58

I've gotten emails from 311 that seem to indicate the work's been done.


Typically I get three emails:


1. Immediately from a web submission.


Subject: 311 Feedback - Submission Receipt


Thanks for your submission!

Your submission has been assigned a Ticket ID number: ###


2. When they enter it.


Subject: City of Pittsburgh - Call Center Service Request


This is to acknowledge that the City of Pittsburgh has entered your Service Request.

The Service Request ID is:#####

If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please refer to that number.

We will inform you when this request has been completed.

Thank you for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.


3. When it's done.


Subject: City of Pittsburgh - Call Center Service Request


This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.

The Service Request Identification-Number was: XXXXX

If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please refer to that number.

Thank you again for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.

11/09/2010 11:50:03

Summary of Service-Request:


XXXXXX


Location: XXXXX

Summary of action taken:


Additional details can be provided upon request.


I've never gotten one where the "action taken" part is filled in, but for mine the appropriate action has always been pretty obvious, and the third email does claim the request's been completed.


On the other hand, if I look the issue up on their web site, it always says "We have notified the appropriate personnel about this issue." with no further feedback.


steven
2011-05-28 05:35:59

Hm... I've never received email #3... but good to know it *can* happen. Maybe some departments do "close" the issue and some don't.


salty
2011-05-28 14:24:35

In response to the 311 I reported about the Pedal Pittsburgh and March of Dimes events colliding, here's the final response:


311 Response Web Form Reply Notification

The following reply has been made to Ticket ID #17075:


The City's Special Events Co-Ordinator responded to the complaint, stating the following:


"I have received other complaints about both events and obviously they cannot coexist in the future. I appreciate your input and will be meeting with both organizations for next year. They will not be held the same day in 2012.


Thank you."

Thank you for contacting our 311 Response Center.


snakeguy
2011-06-02 13:32:23

So. Can we all get together to 311 the Allegheny Center development on the North Side? It is really hideous. There are weeds growing up through the cracks in the one plaza area. Alternatively, it could just be demolished and the area restored to its pre-1960s appearance.


ieverhart
2011-06-15 05:42:37

If anyone here regularly rides up East End Ave between the co-op & Regent Square, the neighbors could use some help nudging the city to fix the worsening sinkholes on the 500 block, just before Forbes Ave. Please 311 if you ride through that area with any regularity.


pseudacris
2011-07-05 15:56:35

Ah, that reminds me I forgot to 311 this doozy I saw on the way to try a bike. That pit was several feet deep and completely uncovered!


INCIDENT ADDRESS stanton ave/lake dr.


TOPIC OF CONCERN


missing drain grate on stanton/lake


MESSAGE


Heading north on Stanton, around where it becomes lake (between the tennis courts and connecting rd), one of the storm drain grates is completely missing exposing a very large and deep hole. I noticed this on July 2 around noon.


salty
2011-07-05 22:36:44

I haven't heard anything about this since the initial ack, has anyone been down there? It's in the brick "gutter" so you probably wouldn't be riding there anyways but it could be a hell of a surprise in the dark, riding or walking.


salty
2011-07-14 17:38:48

TOPIC OF CONCERN

Shared lane markings on Liberty Ave


MESSAGE

The bike lane markings have not been repainted since paving Liberty Ave through the Bloomfield business district.


rsprake
2011-07-29 14:31:27

TOPIC OF CONCERN

Missing Bus Shelter


MESSAGE

The bus shelter at 5th Ave opposite Atwood in Oakland was removed. Initially I thought it was temporary for the work UPMC was doing on the adjacent property, but work appeared to end several weeks ago, and the shelter is still gone. Waiting in the rain for the bus is no fun.


dwillen
2011-07-29 15:08:25

Quick turn around! Sorry, send your complaint to the black hole.


Since the Port Authority Transit system is under the jurisdiction of Allegheny County, not the City of Pittsburgh, we do not have the authority to make any changes in the bus stops or locations, nor to add or remove any accompaniments at any particular stop. This request or concern will need to be directed to Port Authority of Allegheny County, at (412) 442-2000. You may report your concern to their Customer Service Office, and ask that it be resolved.


dwillen
2011-07-29 16:47:38

INCIDENT ADDRESS William Penn Pl


TOPIC OF CONCERN

Illegal Parking


MESSAGE

I filed this with the police online tip form but I thought I should pass it along to 311 as well. Vehicles are being regularly parked or stopped along the west side of William Penn Pl in the morning during the hours of 7-9am when there is posted "No Parking/Stopping" signs regularly. This concerns me as a bicycle commuter who uses this street everyday as it greatly increases the chances of getting "doored" and thrown into traffic.


dmtroyer
2011-07-29 17:16:39

Incident Address

Winterburn Ave at Alger Street


Topic of Concern

pothole


Message

Pothole on Winterburn Ave just south of Alger Street. This block is full of patches and could do with repaving, but there's a particularly large hole there now.


Reported 5/29/11


==================


This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.


Summary of action taken:

Per DPW 3rd Div:

Completed 6/30/11


Report of completion sent 08/05/2011


So four weeks to fix the problem, five more to email back that the problem's been fixed. (I assume they fixed it. Have to check next time I go that way. I know the block was still in awful shape last time I went that way.)


steven
2011-08-05 19:09:12

The potholes have potholes on that road. I can't tell what is a hole and what is valley between patches. The parking lane is the only part of the road that is remotely flat.


dwillen
2011-08-05 20:24:54

I made a complaint to repaint shared lane markings along Penn Avenue through the Strip. Looks like it's in the works.


jamesa
2011-08-09 16:20:05

INCIDENT ADDRESS Penn & 16th

TOPIC OF CONCERN

Abandoned Vehicle

MESSAGE

There is an abandoned vehicle at Penn Ave & 16th St, inbound in the right lane. It has been there since last week.


dmtroyer
2011-08-11 18:00:59

Well, I am 0-for-life in getting my 311's resolved, but we'll see...


YOUR TOPIC

missing crosswalks on beechwood blvd


YOUR COMMENT

I noticed some of the lines and crosswalks on the newly repaved section of Beechwood were painted last week, but the two crosswalks between 5th and Wilkins (near Hastings and Lyndhurst Green) are still missing.


Replies

311 Response Center Web Form reply: 08/30/2011 @ 2:40 pm

We have notified the appropriate personnel about this issue. The Service Request ID number associated with this request is 256042.


Thank you for contacting our 311 Response Center!


salty
2011-08-30 18:45:15

Hey!!! I finally won one! It's not at all bike-related, but - w00t! Maybe this is all due to my alter-ego, the walker!


salty
2011-09-14 04:29:46

Called the other about a drain with crumbling concrete around it at penn/13th, and mentioned that all of penn ave between 11th-16th could use some love before winter hits, specifically the outbound lane.


I feel that I should probably follow up on that, I've reported that area multpiple times before, and all that came of it was some quick patchwork which was gone in a few months. :-/


rubberfactory
2011-09-14 11:47:04

I wonder if anyone has had the same issue I have with overflow parking at the casino on the north shore protruding onto the bike trail? I ran into this friday night on my commute home from work and it was so bad that I almost crashed going off the asphalt into a mud and rocks bog on my skinny tires. If cars were parked like this on the street, they'd be keyed, rammed, ticketed, booted, and removed. I'm not sure why this is acceptable for the casino other than the fact that there are very few of us that rely on this stretch of trail daily.


davidthewatson
2011-09-15 02:09:53

Did you report it to 311?


rsprake
2011-09-19 16:46:41

INCIDENT ADDRESS: Panther Hollow Trail from Boundary Street to Greenfield Avenue


TOPIC OF CONCERN: Overgrowth - Public Property


MESSAGE:

The section of Panther Hollow Trail from the parking lot on Boundary Street to the underpass at Greenfield Ave is overgrown by plants in several spots, especially along Saline Street. It is also littered with plant and other debris. Also, there is a spot along this section where an access road leads up to a rail line, but the trail is littered with heavy stone aggregate from this railroad. My request is to have all overgrown plants cut back along this stretch and the trail cleared of plant and other debris including the heavy stone aggregate and then finally cleaned up to some extent of the mud/runoff on the hill edge of the trail. I think that this would be greatly appreciated by the cyclists like myself who utilize this trail as a route into Oakland on a regular basis. Thank you.


impala26
2011-10-11 16:29:29

Not exactly a "bike" issue, but one that's been irking me for some time now. Come to think of it, it is a bit of a bike issue if you consider how obtrusive the Japanese Knotweed growing along places like the Junction Hollow trail or Baker Street going up to Morningside.


TOPIC OF CONCERN: Concern - issue or policy


MESSAGE:

Here is a copy of the email that I sent to Pittsburgh Public works about three weeks ago, but received no response:


"To whom it may concern: I am a lifelong Pittsburgh area resident current residing in South Oakland. I have been having growing concerns about the ever expanding banks and groves of invasive plant species such as Japanese Knotweed and Kudzu Vine. A large grove of these plants can be seen throughout the Junction Hollow Valley and around the hillsides of Oakland. These plants are truly aggressively invasive, slowly crowding out all native plant species wherever they begin to grow. Knotweed can grow in poor soil and can sprout from the smallest crevasses in sidewalks and foundations. Kudzu quickly climbs over trees and utility lines, blanketing entire areas at once. Not only are these plants merely a visual nuisance, their populations interfere with native ecosystems and negatively impact the water retention of soils where they grow.


I am not entirely sure who to voice my concerns to, so I assumed the city's department of public works was a good place to start. After some cursory research, I realize that this issue is not merely a city issue, but a large-scale regional, possibly national issue as well. I wanted to know what plans the city or other organizations might have to deal with this (literally) growing problem. Aside from conventional herbicide and cutting (the former is hazardous and the latter is relatively ineffective), I have heard that those in the UK have started combating the plants with natural biological weapons such as introducing natural (Asian) fungal and insect plant consumers that leave little to no impact on native plants.


This has been a concern of mine for some time now, so I have wanted to know if the issue is getting any consideration. Please let me know if this email would be better directed at other organizations or persons. I greatly appreciate any feedback on this issue. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.


Nick Grego"


As stated, I would like this to be forwarded to the relevant person or department if possible. Thank you very much for your time.


impala26
2011-10-11 16:47:27

TOPIC OF CONCERN

Traffic


MESSAGE

At the start of the Liberty Ave bike lanes at both Baum Blvd and Herron Ave drivers are not staying in their lane. You can see the behavior best at Herron Ave where the left line of the bike lane is washed away from all of the cars running over it. This is a safety issue for cyclists. My suggestion is to paint a dashed line through the intersection to clarify where the lane will be.


rsprake
2011-10-13 13:57:35

I would like to see much more use of those plastic pylons like in Homestead, in limited specific locations. This sounds like a good place, just like a 30 foot row, at certain intersections. Suggest?


edmonds59
2011-10-13 14:02:50

On Liberty outbound before the turn to the Bloomfield bridge. East Liberty Blvd at the start and end of the bike lanes.


rsprake
2011-10-13 14:15:51

A huge percentage of drivers are unable to control their car well enough to navigate the little "kink" at the bottom of beechwood without cutting through the bike lane. That probably applies to the other sharp turns on beechwood as well.


salty
2011-10-13 15:04:16

@salty:


Clearly, those folks aren't going the posted 25mph speed limit if that's the case. I know firsthand my father regular does 40mph on the stretch of Beechwood between Wilkins and Fifth.


impala26
2011-10-13 18:16:09

I know firsthand almost everyone does 35-40 on that stretch considering I'm doing 25-30 and I get passed all the time. (that's uphill, of course :)


But, I don't think it's purely a matter of speed in that particular place - just complete incompetence and/or apathy.


salty
2011-10-13 19:26:10

They split my request into two, enforcement and painting. It looks like they repainted the outside bike lane lines on Liberty's hill but not the dotted lines as I suggested.


The problem with just repainting the lines is that it doesn't help drivers find the lane before it's too late and they are driving over top of it.


rsprake
2011-10-25 14:44:49

Just received a response from 311. They closed the ticket by repainting the outside line.


rsprake
2011-11-01 18:04:59

the signage at the bloomfield bridge is badly in need of updating to match the new plan as well. all sorts of people driving over the new outbound bike/bus lane to cut around the rest of the through-traffic still.


cburch
2011-11-01 22:11:26

No sharrows yet either.


rsprake
2011-11-10 04:34:58

BTW I wanted to mention that this works, at least as far as clearing the storm drains goes. I'd noticed that the storm drains on Forbes Ave in Frick Park were never cleared, and thought that was just the way it was. There was an article in the P-G about this with me whining. Well, I started contacting 311 through the web site, and now they are cleared. No more trash in the bike lane and maybe it will make a difference next time there's an East End flood. So it's worthwhile.


jonawebb
2011-12-12 00:44:57

Beware of a few deep holes in the door zone across from Phipps Conservatory (Flagstaff Hill side).


I just reported them on the 311 web form which has some SPIFFY NEW UPGRADES since I used it last, namely the ability to upload photos and to add a pinpoint to google maps.


pseudacris
2011-12-13 19:41:53

I 311'd the dumpster halfway in the Liberty Ave bike lane (outbound) but it was gone by the time they got around to checking it a week later.


dmtroyer
2011-12-13 20:06:34

The crosswalks through the West End Circle have big (clementine-sized) rocks littered all through them, probably from where the roadway is breaking up. I just sent in my first 311 for them :)


Question - does it matter if you're not a city resident? Just wondering if folks have seen more/less response based on their residency. Because I'm not a city resident, but I'm in the city more than I'm at home.


pinky
2012-01-24 14:37:58

came across this today:


This picture was taken at eye level with the cover:


29th st at penn ave in the strip

They now have a map where you can pinpoint the spot where the problem is on the online form.


rubberfactory
2012-02-10 20:47:36

Not really a complaint, but Maintenance responded to my 311 and will be turning on fountains next week.


sloaps
2012-03-21 18:49:35

INCIDENT ADDRESS Putnam St.

TOPIC OF CONCERN Parking

MESSAGE

I often see cars parking in front of the bike/ped path, and sometimes (like today) they park ON the path. This has been an ongoing problem for at least the two years I've been using this route daily. It creates a hazard for people trying to legitimately use the paths and I would like to see some "no parking" signs and enforcement here.


It looks like there were boulders placed to prevent people from driving on the path but they have been moved.


Here are some pictures: April 3: http://goo.gl/X2RBs


March 20: http://goo.gl/Fd66p http://goo.gl/HzXd8


LATITUDE 40.45526639360101 LONGITUDE -79.91623520851135


salty
2012-04-03 15:47:53

BTW, I also remembered on this path on Monday morning there were 2 black metal poles in the middle of the path, it looked like someone removed them from the adjacent fence and put them there. I stopped and tossed them into the gutter.


They were easy to spot in the daytime but might have been hard to see at night, and possibly unpleasant to hit. WTF is wrong with people?


salty
2012-04-04 22:27:32

^ I wonder if some yellow or red curb paint would be a useful deterrent to cars blocking the path?


If anyone has extra Fiks dots or other reflective scraps, a good use of them might be for poles here and there like the ones Salty mentions above.


pseudacris
2012-04-04 22:43:34

I doubt it, considering people park right in front of the NO PARKING sign on Putnam (which might be intended to cover the whole street?). And, if you're a big enough idiot/asshole to park on the path, you're certainly not going to be deterred by paint.


There are some big boulders there that could be used to block cars from going on the path, and looks like they might have done just that at some point. I don't know how many people it would take to move them but if anyone else is not interested in doing a little guerrilla public works project I would definitely also not pitch in.


As for the poles, they were just lying in the middle of the path. Someone ripped them off the bottom of the fence and put them there intentionally. They were 6ft long pipes, basically.


salty
2012-04-05 01:22:17

April 5... same SUV as tuesday. Must be nice to have your own personal parking space and not wonder why you're the only one who parks there.


Is there anything more direct that can be done? Calling 911 seems a bit heavy-handed. Maybe someone with contacts could show this to the mayor or someone.




salty
2012-04-05 15:17:47

wave down a cop? I'm sure they would be very helpful.


dmtroyer
2012-04-05 15:23:20

@salty: Guerrilla 'Department of Informal Public Works' bollard installation?


Drive a steel fence post into the ground at the very end of the path, spray-paint it hazard orange, and hang a "NO PARKING" sign on the top. If you want to make it even more noticeable (and less harmful if someone hits it), slip a 6" PVC pipe covered in reflective stickers over the top.


reddan
2012-04-05 15:26:22

The big rocks are already there, they just need to be (re-)placed.


You can't see them in the picture above although you can see some of them in the earlier pictures. On the left and right of the trail they're "doubled up" so I'm guessing they used to be properly spread out to prevent cars from driving up there.


Maybe I can use those poles as a lever to move them back into their proper place :)


salty
2012-04-05 15:33:12

I leave notes on cars like that mentioning that good parking is KEY to courtesy, with a helful little drawing of a key.


Sometimes works.


Note: I've never keyed a car.


Spitting on the driver's side door handle is also an option.


I would never recommend that to anyone though.


mick
2012-04-05 17:32:57

I do not think calling 911 is too heavy handed. Clearly state it is not an emergency, but if calls get made for that location with any frequency, the police might actually pay a visit.


helen-s
2012-04-05 20:54:55

Dog poop under the door handle with a note in the windshield telling them they need to reconsider their shitty parking habits.


cburch
2012-04-06 03:44:28

911 seems like the best option.


edmonds59
2012-04-06 11:12:55

I'm a big complainer... there are service requests now submitted for the following issues.


1) "Large number of potholes, including one several inches deep and about 6 inches round at intersection of center ave and penn circle west by the entrance to whole foods market."


2) "Large pothole due to recessed utility access plate is a hazard between meyran ave and atwood st on forbes ave in oakland."


3) "Several very Large potholes on main st between government way and davidson st. Mostly near government way across from the stephen foster center (Catholic youth association)."


I also entered a ticket for the big potholes near each of the pillars on the riverfront trail under the 10th st bypass onramp to the ft dusquene bridge... I'd hate to hit one of these, flat out, and barrel in to the river. Not sure if the city has jurisdiction over this chunk of cement though.


benzo
2012-04-10 21:07:26

Ok, looks like the city created a service request for the trail under the 10th st bypass onramp as well.


benzo
2012-04-11 12:54:51

There is always broken glass all over the trail from the convention center to the point. It is a nice route, but you should have bunny hopping skills to ride it or you might get a pinch flat.


stefb
2012-04-12 19:11:40

While I didn't find a statue or or "Welcome to the Hill" sign in my travels through the Hill District (see Wheelset of Fortune thread), I did find this bike-flipper hole:

Wylie at Kirkpatrick, Hill District, inbound.


311 Response Web Form Submission Receipt

Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 26182


stuinmccandless
2012-04-15 13:08:31

311 Response Web Form Reply Notification

The following reply has been made to Ticket ID #26182:


We have notified the appropriate personnel about this issue. The Service Request ID Number associated with this request is 282850.


stuinmccandless
2012-04-16 19:24:52

incident address:

Putnam St behind Schenley HS (old Reizenstein)


concern: street cleaning


A bad layer of gravel on asphalt here creates a dangerous corner for bicycles, which frequently use this key connection between Shadyside/East Liberty and the Beechwood Blvd bike lanes.


I have been bicycling for 40 years, I often commute to work in Oakland, I bicycled 360 miles to Washington DC without incident, have not fallen while bicycling once in the past ten years, but today while bicycling home after work, my tires slipped out from under me while taking this turn at a reasonable speed. The layer of gravel on asphalt caused my fall.


If this gravel is not cleaned up, others will fall, others will injure themselves, perhaps with broken bones. Repaving would help, also, because one reason I took the turn wide was to avoid bad pothole patches.


LATITUDE 40.45565416863931 LONGITUDE -79.91744756698608


paulheckbert
2012-04-18 04:31:30

incident address:

5865 Ellsworth Ave


concern: pothole


Bad pothole, about 5 inches deep, across the street from Fajita Grill on Ellsworth -- if a bicyclist hit that, it could cause them to crash.


At least patch it, please.

Better yet, repave Ellsworth completely - it's in bad shape!


thanks


paulheckbert
2012-04-18 04:32:33

@Paul you'll be happy to hear that section of Ellsworth (from Aiken to Spahr) is slated to be paved this year.


dmtroyer
2012-04-18 14:41:35

This just in:


"

This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.

The Service Request Identification-Number was: 282850

If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please refer to that number.

Thank you again for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.

04/23/2012 03:20:27

Summary of Service-Request:


"Drilled hole, Wylie at Kirkpatrick, inbound. Hole is big enough to flip a bicycle if hit at speed, and it's on the downhill."

Summary of action taken:


The inspector needs an address to locate

"


WTF? How much more specific can I get than "Wylie at Kirkpatrick"?


stuinmccandless
2012-04-23 19:30:39

I try to give something like "the northeast section of Penn at 13th" or some such thing, although a big hole in the ground shouldn't need such a specific location


rubberfactory
2012-04-23 23:12:27

OK, in their defense, the hole is not directly in the center of the intersection, it's about 100 feet towards town. Easily seen on StreetView. I will try to send them additional info.


stuinmccandless
2012-04-24 00:19:48

INCIDENT ADDRESS

Biddle Ave & East End Ave


TOPIC OF CONCERN

Potholes


ticket number: 26716


MESSAGE

Very bad cluster of deep potholes right at the intersection of Biddle and East End in Regent Square. A close look at a map convinces me that this is inside Pittsburgh city limits (not Wilkinsburg or other). I have had to dodge these potholes on both bicycle and car. They're nasty! Somebody, or their car, could get hurt there!


LATITUDE 40.43714868233712 LONGITUDE -79.89537835121155


paulheckbert
2012-04-27 16:20:47

311'd parking on the bike trail on City side of the Allegheny. People seem to like to park there and fish.


lou-m
2012-05-09 21:10:42

I 311d the glass and overgrowth we ran into on the HPB sidewalk last night... although I have some vague recollection that needs to be reported to penndot rather than the city?


There is a lot of broken glass and other debris on the Highland Park Bridge sidewalk. Most of it is on the city side, in the vicinity of the bend. Continuing up the sidewalk along butler there are also several overgrown trees/bushes.


salty
2012-05-12 15:12:25

I got this in response to my request of 4/18 (response time: about 1 month). Can somebody verify if Ellsworth is better now?

---

This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.

The Service Request Identification-Number was: 283278


05/16/2012 01:17:42

Summary of Service-Request:


"Bad pothole, about 5 inches deep, across the street from Fajita Grill on Ellsworth -- if a bicyclist hit that, it could cause them to crash. At least patch it, please. Better yet, repave Ellsworth completely - it's in bad shape! thanks"


Summary of action taken: Completed 5/15/12. T. Clark, Acting Foreman


paulheckbert
2012-05-16 19:08:05

They repaved Ellsworth entirely a few days ago, from Aiken to Spahr. It's glorious.


2012-05-16 19:35:11

Is it possible to 311 a traffic (turn arrow) light that is entirely too short?


I am speaking of liberty (outbound?)making a left onto baum.


Even if first in line at that light, The opposing traffic consistently has the reaction time of a NHRA dragracer creating a unavoidable game of chicken for both bikes and cars.


The problem is:


Too short of duration to allow for multiple vehicles to safely cross the intersection


No warning once in the middle of the intersection that the opposing traffic now has right of way.


2012-05-16 21:37:43

In my non-professional opinion, it's almost always worth at least submitting the comment--the worst they can do is ignore it, but at least it'll be on file.


(Not sure there's anything they can do about it in this case, actually, since I'm pretty sure Baum is a state road--but it's still worth saying something.)


epanastrophe
2012-05-17 02:15:21

311 Response Web Form Submission Receipt

Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 27604


...

Topic of Concern: Potholes

Message:

There are several large potholes on both sides of Millvale Ave just south of Baum Boulevard. By far the worst is just left of midline in the northbound lane, almost directly across from the front door of Chipotle--it's over a foot long, about half that wide, and several inches deep; the rebar underneath the concrete is visible at the bottom. I catch a red light nearly every time I get to that intersection, but if a cyclist hit that hole at speed, they could be flipped, possibly directly into Baum Boulevard traffic.

Latitude: 40.454245922280066

Longitude: -79.94759794324636


epanastrophe
2012-05-19 22:44:59

I went down in some gravel last night and decided to finally call this one in to 311.


TOPIC OF CONCERN

Potholes


MESSAGE

The corners of Putnam near the basketball courts have large potholes and are also lined with loose gravel which is dangerous for the many bicyclists who use this route to avoid Fifth Ave. Please fill the potholes and sweep up the gravel.


rsprake
2012-05-22 16:22:12

That sucks, hope you're ok... FWIW I also 311'd the broken glass on the bike path just west of there.


salty
2012-05-22 17:10:39

It would be really cool if Putnam was kept up nicely and if that bike path was made more useful (extended all the way into Bakery Square for those who aren't brave enough for Penn at rush hour but don't want to ride on the sidewalk or the weird gravel up towards Target, designed to mesh with the traffic signals better, etc.). Considering all of the nice bike parking in Bakery Square, it seems like the businesses around there could really benefit from it, too.


I've seen parents struggling to get strollers over that overgrown area and around those potholes to get to the park a couple of times recently. It really seems like that just needs to be made into a legitimate bike/ped path.


2012-05-22 17:16:09

BTW, they're soon going to demolish Reizenstein, put up another office building and some housing over there, and reconfigure the streets. I don't know too many specifics but from this sketch it looks like Putnam will be reconnected, plus another street (or possibly a bike/ped path) through the middle?


http://bakery-square.com/Leasing-Brochure-1.pdf


salty
2012-05-22 17:31:31

Ohhhh. I remember seeing something vague about plans for demolishing that building but didn't realize all those changes would be involved. Hmmm. I sure hope that whatever they do makes it easier (or at least doesn't make it harder) to bike in that area while avoiding Fifth and Penn.


2012-05-22 18:26:06

+1


rsprake
2012-05-22 19:06:49

I think this is my first unsuccessful 311.


Summary of action taken:

Property was vacated to the Board of Education in 1973


What now?


rsprake
2012-05-23 20:51:14

Wow, Ryan, you fell there too! That is some NASTY gravel.


See my post (above) from 4/18. I'm guessing that the reason you got a response within a day is that I filed my request last month, and nearly identical!


You can look above (in the bike-pgh forum) at the comments I submitted. Here is the edited down version of the complaint and their response that they emailed to me today. It's indicative of an avoidance of accountability, I think, that they don't put the request date (4/18) in their email. On the other hand, I'm very grateful that they have the 311 system at all.

---

This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.

...

Summary of Service-Request:


"A bad layer of gravel on asphalt here creates a dangerous corner for bicycles, which frequently use this key connection between Shadyside/East Liberty and the Beechwood Blvd bike lanes. I have been bicycling for 40 years, I often commute to work in Oakland, I bicycled 360 miles to Washington DC without incident, have not fallen while bicycling once in the past ten years, but today while bicycling home after work, my tires slipped out from under me while taking this turn at a reasonable speed. The layer of gravel on asphalt caused my fall. If this gravel is not cleaned up, others will fall, others will injure themselves, perhaps with broken bones"


Location: Putnam St behind Schenley HS (old Reizenstein)

Summary of action taken:


Our record department shows that Putnam Street was vacated to the Board of Education in 1973, Not a City responsibility. W. Wyant, Foreman 5/23/12

---


What we could do now - complain to the Pgh Board of Education, Schenley High School?


We should also make sure the Bakery Square people are planning for bike paths!


paulheckbert
2012-05-23 21:34:14

I posted a 311 this evening stating that vandals (in broad daylight no less) had placed 2 road work signs squarely across the bike path before and after the Greenfield - Second Avenue corner.

I do suspect these were put there by official personnel (either city or state workers) but I felt the location was very poorly chosen.

I look forward to the reply.


helen-s
2012-05-24 00:52:31

Ryan, Paul, et al.:

Pittsburgh Public Schools' website is http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/pps ; the facilities department is on http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/1431106208495983/site/default.asp?1431106208495983Nav=|&NodeID=5739 (what kind of awful CMS must they be using? sheeesh.)


You could contact Facilities/Plant Operations directly--the chief of Facilities is Vidyadhar Patil (412-488-4313); plant ops' phonelist is on Plant Operations phonelist--or you could call the "Parent Hotline",

the central point of contact for parents, families, and community members. Our goal is to provide assistance with general inquiries about District initiatives and address concerns in a timely manner.


If you have questions, concerns or want to provide feedback on District initiatives, please contact us by telephone (412-622-7920) or email parenthotline@pghboe.net).


It is also mentioned that the Reizenstein building is for sale--this page says that when bids were opened in October, the only one received was from Walnut Capital, but not what the outcome was. That page requests that you "direct all questions to Ira Weiss, Solicitor at (412) 391-9890 or via e-mail at iraweiss@weisslawoffices.com." If it has been sold, you may have to contact Walnut.


epanastrophe
2012-05-27 12:20:37

(As for my own 311 request, about the giant pothole in Millvale Ave in front of Chipotle, I received a terse notice that the "action" was "Completed 5/22/12" from "T. Clark, Acting Foreman", but no indication what the action was. I assume the holes were patched? I was out of town all last week and just got back last night, so I haven't been over there yet.)


epanastrophe
2012-05-27 12:27:10

On the ex-Reizenstein thing, if you contact Walnut Capital they may just decide to close it off instead of repairing it, take that into consideration.


edmonds59
2012-05-27 14:23:29

I don't think that's likely - the Walnut Capital people are around our offices a lot and from talking to them they're very supportive of cycling. I'd say contacting them to say you ride through there a lot can only help.


salty
2012-05-27 14:47:35

From what I know of the proposed development, it will have a bike path connecting it to Shadyside but no new thru street for vehicles which is fantastic but doesn't help us now.


I contacted Bill Peduto's office last week and they are on the case. Apparently the information that the land was turned over to the school was incorrect. His office has been very responsive.


rsprake
2012-05-29 16:37:45

DPW just posted the paving notice for this week (PDF), which includes Morewood from Ellsworth to Forbes, East on the hill from Perrysville down to Evergreen, Bigelow from Parkman to Forbes, and "Steuben Street from Chartiers Avenue to Forbes Avenue". I am trying to get them to clarify which intersection of Parkman and Bigelow they mean--they intersect twice--but I leave it to someone else to figure out which intersection of Steuben and Forbes they're referring to (I know of none at all).


epanastrophe
2012-05-29 17:48:35

I 331ed to askfor parking enforcement in the new bike lane on Neville as it continues north from Ellsworth.


astrobiker
2012-06-11 20:06:43

from the comments at your link :'(



Mark - November 11, 2010 - Motorola Droid X with version 1.0


The city is not responding to complaints left through this app anymore. Even when an email address was given, no response from 311. Don't bother.



i checked the city's 311 page on my slightly dated droid and it was sluggish. the map control isnt super easy to use on the phone and it doesnt tie into gps, but it works. itd also be nice if it remembered your contact info.


if someone wanted to, im sure its just a simple matter of programming to create an app that posts to pittsburghpa.gov/311/form and solves those problems.


(also available one click away from tinyurl.com/pgh311 if you need help remembering)


melange396
2012-06-19 05:02:22

To preface, I received a typed message in my mailbox from a neighbor and this is my contribution...


TOPIC OF CONCERN


Street Paving Request


Firstly, thank you for fixing the few steps I've called for repair and for eliminating the yellow jackets from the stair railing in front of my house. Concerns with paving Saint Joseph Way and a short adjacent segment of Saint Thomas Street are afoot, as many streets nearby are receiving due care. I'm 311'ing to suggest that perhaps microsurfacing or a seal coat is more appropriate for rehabilitating our abraded asphalt pavement, than a 2 inch mill and overlay. I've removed some areas of loose bitumen and aggregate that has washed down from Saint Thomas and deposited in well-trodden humps along Saint Joseph, however, more areas will require heavy brushing and a skid steer with a sharp bucket to remove the remainder. After a good cleaning, I believe you would find that the existing pavement is free of any potholing or alligator cracking, and is well prepared for a more cost-efficient microsurface. Regards.


sloaps
2012-06-20 21:10:55

Wow, like a tweed 311 request.


edmonds59
2012-06-21 00:30:41

Putnam St got patched today, as did the entrance to the trail from Putnam. Cool.


2012-06-21 00:37:14

311'd

-The Forbes Ave bike lanes near Frick Park and the Cemetery are full of tree debris and a bloated groundhog carcass following last night's storm. Please sweep when you are able.

-Thank you for all the paving you have been doing this summer and kudos to all your men and women who are working outdoors despite the heat!


pseudacris
2012-07-04 21:34:15

Not 311, but I just sent an email to rivers casino. The bike racks near their main entrance appeared not be bolted to the ground.


These had open ends and you could easily pick up the post and free a bike locked with a u-lock. I'm not willing to gamble with my bike security by leaving it parked there.


benzo
2012-07-05 19:45:58

311'd people parking in the bike lane again on millvale near entrance to west penn hospital's ER.


There is someone parking there between 2-4 times a week on my way to work in the morning. It's generally different people every time. Often they are just sitting in their car.


benzo
2012-07-09 14:50:03

@Benzo - I noticed the same thing with those Casino bike racks. I locked up down the trail near the Science Center and walked to the Casino.


2012-07-11 15:45:48

Submitted May 7 2012 (ticket 27100):


Please install a convex mirror on the Eliza Furnace bike trail connector at the corner of Second Avenue and Swinburne, where the concrete barriers require a very tight turn with no visibility. Despite the "please walk bikes" signage, many people ride that stretch, and a convex mirror to see around the corner would make it safer for all.


Response July 13 2012 (two months later):


Summary of action taken:


WE DO NOT HAVE CONVEX MIRRORS -- R. CALABRESE 7/12/12


Well thanks, R. Calabrese! I can certainly see why that took two months.


Maybe I should resubmit, but change "install" to "purchase and install". Apparently that part was unclear.


steven
2012-07-15 02:55:13

R. Calabrese has sent me some real gems too. Always all-caps, always... less than helpful.


I've 311ed that too. I wonder who else could be contacted to get something done about it.


2012-07-15 03:08:49

When those workshops were going on a couple months ago on the south side, I stressed that "connection" as the biggest cycling embarrassment in the entire city. I still remember the first time I used it, thinking I must be going the wrong way... but unfortunately not.


I think it's even more important because a lot of casual cyclists end up there. One day I was down there on the Greenfield side and there was a guy and his young daughter trying to figure out where to go. I tried to explain it to him but I could see all the enthusiasm leaving his eyes and I felt like I had to apologize for how terrible it is.


salty
2012-07-15 06:08:44

Not only is an embarrassment, it's downright dangerous. When I am in Pittsburgh and ride that, I admit that I'm as guilty as a lot of other people and I don't walk it. I just hope and pray no one's coming and go. Even if walked it, I don't know there is enough room to get two bikes past each other.


The turn at Swinburne is the worst. At least on the Greenfield side it curves and you've got a slighty better sight clearance. For the short diatance you would be on 2nd Ave, I think it would be safer except maybe during peak traffic hours.


If I were there by myself, I'd do that or just jump the tracks. But I'm usually there with friends who don't want to do either.


I'd never thought of the convex mirror. Seems to me to be a cheap and easy solution that woold make it better than it is right now. And they can't do this? (Maybe there is a reason they can't that isn't apparent.) Maybe having Steve Patchen and Scott/BikePGH having a chat with TPTB would help?


cdavey
2012-07-15 17:17:22

I always ride on the road going in the Schenley-to-Jail Trail direction now, but I don't usually take the road in the other direction unless I'm with other people. Making all those left-hand turns makes me nervous.


I agree that it really is dangerous. I just ride through at walking pace and make a whole bunch of noise to announce my presence as I go around the corners (new bike doesn't have a bell, but it does have cantis that will squeal on demand) and hope for the best.


Hah... you can get a convex mirror on Amazon for like $25-30. There's an opportunity for some benevolent vandalism here.


2012-07-15 17:49:07

@pearmask -- haha. I never thought of vandlaisn as being benevolent. New concept here. I like it.


cdavey
2012-07-15 22:41:47

This one was driving me a little crazy for awhile.


This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.


Thank you again for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.

07/16/2012 12:59:23


Summary of Service-Request:


"There is a "pedestrians" sign that is leftover from either the marathon or a construction project on Penn Ave near the Harp and Fiddle. Please remove."


Location: 2329 Penn

Summary of action taken:


Sign has been removed 7/16/12.


rsprake
2012-07-16 17:27:48

Today's request. I'll report back, but it looks like someone drove down Noblestown and smashed dishes the entire way down. Weird and sucky.


============

This is to acknowledge that the City of Pittsburgh has entered your Service Request.

The Service Request ID is:297448

If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please refer to that number.

We will inform you when this request has been completed.

Thank you for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.

07/16/2012 12:28:12


Summary of Service-Request:


"Please sweep the downhill (inbound) side of Noblestown Rd between Weaver St and S. Main St. There is a great deal of broken ceramic along the shoulder, plus glass and what appears to be broken mirrors. The uphill (outbound) side was swept late last week, but the downhill side is very dangerous for bikes. Thanks!"


pinky
2012-07-16 20:02:59

Anybody know the best way to get people to stop parking on the trail in Mellon Park when there are perfectly good parking spots open in the parking lot? It's like that at least 50% of the time that I come through here in the evenings - totally blocked by cars parked on it (multiple today) or at the entrance. Multiple 311 requests and one non-emergency 911 call produced nothing. Last time before today, the people blocking it also proceeded to mock me pretty obnoxiously for having to awkwardly work my way around them. I know it's dumb to be this worked up about it, but it's driving me absolutely insane.


2012-07-16 22:14:17

@pearmask


I've put note on cars in my neighborhood about cars doing offensive stuff.


I write the note as politely as I can.


I end the note with the phrase:


"It's KEY to being a good neighbor"


I put a little drawing of a key at the bottom. Drivers straighten right up.


For the record: I have never deliberately damaged anyone's car. I have no intention of ever doing so.


OTOH, they are the one with thousands of dollars of property in a vulnerable position.


At the risk of sounding sexist - this might be more effective using a masculine, crudely printed note, not a frilly feminine cursive.


Won't you be my neighbor?


mick
2012-07-16 23:29:50

pearmask, you know my feelings on that situation already. BTW a couple weeks ago some guy got out of his truck to yell at me after I weaved around his giant SUV because I "gave him a funny look". Well, I certainly don't dispute doing that. I tried to have a civil conversation with him, semi successfully. It was one of those things where we were yelling at each other but it didn't devolve into name calling or profanity (I think the guy's kid was in the truck). I told him I would appreciate it if he didn't park there, and I guess I had some hope it might help - but if anything it has gotten even worse.


I'd like to think our 311s led to those new signs about no vehicles on the trail that adorn 4 of the 5 entrances - although it bugs me that they don't explicitly allow bicycles. and, of course they did nothing to fix the real problem.


salty
2012-07-17 03:41:09

The other day there were two SUVs parked near the picnic groves, one with the stereo blasting. Almost as obnoxious as those new signs. Even if they installed bollards people will just drive on the grass to get to where they want to go. This is why we can't have nice things.


rsprake
2012-07-18 01:13:48

Yeah, Mick, I tried writing notes for a while, some of which were nicer than others. (And while they were written by a female, "crudely printed" was still a fair description.)


This new crop of on-the-trail parkers has included a lot of people who are very intentionally parking there so they can tailgate their kids' sports practices or games or whatever. There are always a billion of them in lawn chairs surrounding the car(s) right there at the end that connects to Putnam. They must know this is obnoxious, but they also know that they have everyone else outnumbered and that no one is going to do anything about it. They probably get some amusement from watching me mutter under my breath every time I have to stop and get off my bike to get through there.


I recognize that having to walk my bike across the grass for 2 feet is not a real hardship, so I have no idea why this pisses me off so much, but it does.


Today I got some redemption, though. The trail was blocked from both ends: car on Putnam end of trail, car parked across the exit from the trail on the parking lot end. As I was passing by, the dude in the parking lot was getting in his car, and he fumbled with his keys, turned the car on, etc... Except his reward for parking on top of the slanty no-parking lines was that he had let himself get boxed in from all 4 sides (curb in front, curb/rocks to the right, car parallel to his on the left, car perpendicular to his behind him), which he had apparently not foreseen. So he just sat there looking totally baffled. No idea what he ended up doing, but I'm guessing he got to sit there and wait for someone else to move, meaning he had some time to really think about his parking decisions.


2012-07-18 02:09:33

+1


They are in the way to be seen. It's the same with the walking in the street culture. They could easily move their chairs a foot off of the concrete trail but don't because they want you to see them and go around them.


rsprake
2012-07-18 13:21:11

> a couple weeks ago some guy got out of his truck to yell at me after I weaved around his giant SUV because I "gave him a funny look".


Last week while riding to work through west Bloomfield, some guy in a white Jeep Liberty gave me a nasty look because he couldn't cut the corner quite as tightly as he wanted while making a left turn, then muttered (in a southern drawl almost dripping with bourbon) "Homo".


He kept going, and it actually took me a moment to decipher what he'd said, so it was a pretty short interaction...


epanastrophe
2012-07-18 20:38:46

TOPIC OF CONCERN

Overgrowth - Public Property


MESSAGE

The outbound bike lane on Forbes Ave between S Dallas and Braddock Ave has a number of low hanging tree branches that create a hazard for cyclists using the bike lane. Please trim the low hanging branches.


rsprake
2012-07-19 14:45:20

Nice shot from my new camera:




salty
2012-07-24 02:39:15

311d (again):


People parking in a way that blocks access to the trail is a continuing problem here, and if anything it has been getting worse. There are a lot of cyclists and pedestrians that rely on these trails for commuting, and navigating around these cars (which are often double parked or otherwise parked illegally) is hazardous. I am usually able to go around them by going through the grass and jumping the curb, but wheelchair users may not have that option.


On a few occasions I have politely asked the people parking there (note, it is not the same group of people every time) to stop, but that is often met with hostility.


Please mark this area as "no parking" and add some enforcement. There are literally miles of free parking nearby on Beechwood Blvd. and there is absolutely no reason that people cannot park there legally rather than packing this lot full of cars and creating a hazardous environment for all involved.


salty
2012-07-24 02:51:00

"Please re-paint the "sharrow" markings on Penn Ave in the Strip Ditrict. They've been faded from approximately 28th St-16th St for quite some time now. On the stretch of about 24th-16th, they're almost not visible at all.


Sharrows make the road safer for bicyclists who use this route to commute, but when they're faded, motorists don't know to expect them there. These fade every year, so if it were possible to reinstall them using thermoplastic material instead of paint, I feel that it would increase safety of all road users, and also save the city money in the long run (since they won't need to be repainted every year)"




rubberfactory
2012-07-24 13:00:58

TOPIC OF CONCERN

Other


MESSAGE

Since being paved the shared lane markings on Hamilton and Friendship haven't been repainted.


rsprake
2012-07-26 15:55:43

I think some are missing from Ellsworth


stefb
2012-07-28 15:23:16

In response to 311 tickets about vehicles parking in bike lanes on millvale around west penn hospital. It appears that several people have put in tickets with respect to this issue.


This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.

The Service Request Identification-Number was: 294495

If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please refer to that number.

Thank you again for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.

07/31/2012 10:47:31

Summary of Service-Request:


7-31-12 "Hello, I am writing in reference to an issue I have observed countless times over the course of the summer. I have seen people parking in the biking lanes, particularly in front of West Penn hospital near the dropoff turnaround area. I know this is a high traffic location for visitors to the hospital, but they have a turnaround area for this purpose. Most of the time when there are cars parked in the bike lane, there is no one in the turnaround. They are always parked in an area where the curb is painted yellow and there are no parking signs posted. I wasn't sure if it was the hospital's job or the city's job to enforce this no parking policy, but it has become dangerous for my work commute because I ride this way daily. Many of the cars are contractors who park here many hours during the day, and could reasonably park in the garage or in the loading dock when it is not otherwise occupied. I have seen other bicyclists endangered by this situation as well. Thank you."


6-28-12 "This morning 2 cars were blocking bike lane and another vehicle was parked immediately after the end of bike lane on millvale ave between friendship ave and liberty ave at 7:50am."


"At 7:45am every morning this week there has been a vehicle parked in the bike lane in front of west penn hospital on millvale ave. Often with a driver still in the vehicle. It did not appear to be the same vehicle each time. Several days this week there were also additional service vehicles parked on the bicycle sharrow markings past the loading bays at west penn hospital immediately past the bike lane's end. Both of these are on millvale ave between friendship ave and liberty ave."

Summary of action taken:


Officer assigned. Citation will be issued for illegal parking.


benzo
2012-07-31 15:06:16

I 311'd the Penn Avenue issue earlier today, as well as an uneven pavement situation on McClure, near Antrim. Coming down McClure to Woods Run and the trail there are some new service connection cutouts that the developer patched really badly. It looks like someone put something heavy on the patch when it was soft. It reminds me of the knee divots I make when I weed the garden. Hard to see, and with the inbound traffic coming downhill, it can be a real surprise. It could easily throw a cyclist.


swalfoort
2012-08-01 15:41:18

Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 30543


I'm corresponding with the Mayor's Office after reading an article about another accident where a cyclist was seriously injured on Penn Avenue. http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/bicyclist-critical-after-point-breeze-accident-647004/ Six days ago, James Price was killed by a hit and run driver on the same stretch of road. The design of Penn Avenue on that section encourages drivers to operate their vehicles at unsafe speeds. I would ask the Mayor's office to pursue possible changes to encourage traffic calming in that area by redesigning that section of Penn Avenue and increasing police enforcement of the posted speed limits. Please make this a priority in regards to improving the safety and infrastructure of this area.

Latitude 40.4465714814638 Longitude -79.89355444908142


ka_jun
2012-08-01 20:50:44

Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 30561


Please make redesigning and repainting Penn Avenue from Fifth Ave through North Braddock Ave a priority. Two cyclists have been hit there in just the past week; how many tombstones is it going to take before the city does something about it?


Drivers need to be slowed down to the posted speed limit of 35 mph; in the short term, increased enforcement by police with radar guns might help, but in the long term, we need a street that doesn't function as a highway with 4 lanes. Perhaps a 2-lane road with bike lanes and a middle turning lane would be more appropriate to the neighborhood. If not that, at least lights that are timed to roughly match the speed limit through that neighborhood, to reduce the rate of people speeding through at night from 20:00-07:00 (sunset-sunrise). I would appreciate a response on this regarding the planned course of action.


mpm
2012-08-01 22:50:20

Sent a more general message, trying to convey urgency:


Hi,

I'm am increasingly alarmed and concerned about driver behavior all over the city. Every day I see people driving dangerously, disobeying speed limits, running red lights, neglecting to use a turn signal when changing lanes/turning, neglecting to yield to the right of way, using their cell phone to talk, or even worse, text, and blatantly running stop signs.


What's even worse is driver attitude. Road rage is a huge problem and is horribly dangerous. When I'm with someone driving the speed limit on any road, the people in the vehicles behind us consistently act irrationally, either by tailgating, honking, making obscene gestures, or attempting to illegally (and unsafely) pass.


I think this can be seen in the three accidents in Wilkinsburg/Swissvale this week. Two people are dead because of this driver apathy and inattentiveness. Not to mention, two of the people responsible LEFT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME. Hit-and-run offenders are despicable people, but if they'd been paying attention and driving more slowly, it's very, very likely that these needless deaths wouldn't have occurred. No one should die on the road.


Please start enforcing ALL traffic laws, all over the city, Focus on dangerous areas (such as the stretch of Penn Ave in Point Breeze where two of the accidents are located), but know that this is a problem that I encounter EVERYWHERE.


This needs to stop.

Thanks.


rubberfactory
2012-08-02 00:15:20

"We have notified the appropriate personnel about this issue. The Service Request ID Number associated with this request is 299836."


rubberfactory
2012-08-02 20:39:28

This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request.

The Service Request Identification-Number was: 301701

If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please refer to that number.

Thank you again for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.

08/14/2012 10:01:52

Summary of Service-Request:


"The pavement at the intersection of Highland Avenue and Broad Street is atrocious. Where the slabs meet, epic cracks have developed. This is a heavily-trafficked area and poses a threat to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. This particular intersection is exceptionally bad but this style of pavement throughout East Liberty is in similar states of disrepair. There is obviously a need for a comprehensive fix here but in the meantime I hope there could be a short-term solution to this and the other locations suffering from acute problems."

Summary of action taken:


The Paving Division will evaluate the requested street.


John Klinger


ieverhart
2012-08-14 14:10:57

Hello,

Please paint pedestrian crosswalks and replace the "yield to pedestrians" sign (which appears to have been run over several times) on Liberty Ave at Mathilda St in Bloomfield. Vehicular traffic, including PAT buses, regularly neglect to yield to the pedestrian right of way, and are routinely aggressive if a pedestrian happens to be crossing the street and causes them to lose a couple seconds from their commute.


Another great option at this intersection would be to install a pedestrian-activated traffic light (such as the one on Penn Ave at 17th street in the strip district).


Whatever happens, It would be great if it were safer to cross the street here.

Thanks!


rubberfactory
2012-08-16 23:48:21

whoa, there's a light at penn & 17th now? i guess i haven't been down there in a while :-


(not a 311, but I have 911'ed people parking in the bike lane on Neville twice this week. Also, I put in a request for the ShurSave in Bloomfield to put in some bike parking...)


epanastrophe
2012-08-17 13:51:16

Two from me today:

=============

311 Response Web Form Submission Receipt

Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 31214


The pedestrian/bike path in the West End Circle (under the ramp between Steuben St and Main St) is very overgrown. Last year, some weeds were trimmed but then were thrown directly on the path. The path is now becoming impassible without pushing weeds aside.

LATITUDE 40.442768634628884 LONGITUDE -80.0309331715107


=============


311 Response Web Form Submission Receipt

Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 31215


The walkway on the northbound side of the West End Bridge is coated in broken glass. Is it possible for this to be swept? Yesterday I ended up with a piece of mirror in my sandal - this is dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists.

LATITUDE 40.44490993126659 LONGITUDE -80.02767026424408


pinky
2012-08-17 14:11:42

whoa, there's a light at penn & 17th now? i guess i haven't been down there in a while :-

WOAH. I totally meant Liberty and 17th. Whoops. Hopefully they don't make Liberty/Mathilda look like Penn/17th. Haha.


rubberfactory
2012-08-17 19:58:10

I just 311'd (via computer submission) the construction plate on Liberty at 40th, specifically that it needs a blob of asphalt so as to not cause flats.


stuinmccandless
2012-08-19 16:04:31

crosswalk is painted at liberty/mathilda.

beat-up "yield to peds" sign is still there, though


rubberfactory
2012-08-21 11:44:47

MESSAGE

Either complete the bike route or remove the shared lane marking on Millvale in between Baum and Centre outside of Pep Boys. The sharrow leads cyclists directly into parked cars.


rsprake
2012-08-26 19:24:55

TOPIC OF CONCERN

Sign - Replacement


MESSAGE

Please repaint the bike lanes on both sides of Beechwood from Wilkins to Northumberland. The lines and bike symbols have washed off almost completely.


rsprake
2012-08-27 12:34:12

@erica


How do they record 3-1-1 calls. Is there much of a chance that a bunch of people calling 3-1-1 to ask police to enforce speeding laws would have an effect?


I mean, if the end of the year report said "1/2 % of calls were asking police to enforce posted speed limits" would that cause an uptick in enforcement?


(um ... an "uptick in enformcent" could be reasonably described as "ANY enforcement".)


I wonder if it would be better to be specific "On Forbes, east of the exit from the parkway to oakland, the speed limit is posted at 25 mph, but most drivers violate that limit. Many drivers are going faster than 50 mph as they pass the sign. Some are much faster and it isn't rare for drivers to exceed 70 mph there."


mick
2012-08-28 16:46:05

This is getting fun:


Hi there, According to my email, my previous request about sweeping the walkway on the West End Bridge was completed last week (The Service Request Identification-Number was: 302979). But there is still a great deal of broken glass on this walkway, as you can see from the image I'm attaching. This is very unsafe.


*************


Here's the image I uploaded:




pinky
2012-08-30 12:05:08

Ohhhh, you mean THAT glass...


marko82
2012-08-30 12:19:06

Ha I know! It's *everywhere* up there.


pinky
2012-08-30 13:21:06

OK so now I got this. Now what? And why is it OK for them to just close it and pretend like they took care of it the first time?

Ideas?

==================


As Per Public Works: "REFER TO PENN DOT; STATE MAINTAINED BRIDGE. -- J. MCCLORY 8/17/12"


Please contact Penndot to have this area cleaned up.


Thank you for contacting the 311 Response Line.


pinky
2012-08-30 13:34:42

Call 800-FIX-ROAD to get the local PennDOT maintenance district.


As for your other question, I'd be tempted to actually call them up and ask for a supervisor & ask them directly. They may even be able to look up which operator closed your ticket.


epanastrophe
2012-08-31 21:59:41

Awesome, thank you. I will try to follow up on this next week. It's been bad like that for at least the entire summer.


pinky
2012-09-02 17:46:58

TOPIC OF CONCERN

Street Cleaning

MESSAGE

There is broken glass on the bike path parallel to Penn Ave near Putnam St., slightly to the west (towards ELB). I reported a similar incident a few months ago and as far as I can tell the glass was never cleaned up, after about a month the rain washed it away. I hope it will receive more prompt attention this time.

LATITUDE 40.45612765933558 LONGITUDE -79.91573095321655


salty
2012-09-04 15:45:31

^spam


pseudacris
2012-09-05 03:32:59

I used the 311 system a slightly different way a few days ago. The pothole crew had patched a nasty hole in the middle of northbound Grant St at Forbes last Thursday, but in so doing, left a small sledgehammer on the side of the pavement. I saw it there on my way to take the hopscotch pic at lunch time, and it was still there at 6:30 when I left work. So I took it, bungeed it to the bike, and 311'd (via web form) that I'd like to get it back to them. Sure enough, a couple days later my phone rang, and in short order, they had their hammer back.


stuinmccandless
2012-09-06 12:58:28

I'm just going to buy a mini, 4 foot broom, and use the velcro straps I got from pearmask a while back to strap it to my top tube. I'm never in such a hurry that I can't stop and sweep a bit of glass or something to the side. It'd be quicker than 311ing it, and for one broken bottle on the side of penn ave, 311 seems a little superfluous.


rubberfactory
2012-09-06 20:43:48

The broken glass is not "on the side of Penn Ave", it is right on the bike path. Like last time, it will probably lie there until it covers the whole width and after a month or so the rain will wash it into the grass. It's not so much one isolated incident as much as there is broken glass all over the place and it never gets cleaned up. Maybe submitting 311s isn't going to help that, but I can guarantee that not submitting 311s isn't. Or, to put it another way, maybe if enough people 311 about stuff like this, the city will realize they need a strategy to deal with it.


salty
2012-09-06 22:24:29

ticket number: 32624


Please repave South Bellefield Avenue, or at least re-patch the left lane. The road is bumpy and unpleasant for cars, but as a biker I find this segment often dangerous. As a cyclist I am forced to ride more slowly than I normally would to pick my way through the pavement; drivers ordinarily averse to moving over to give a cyclist enough passing room are even more loath to switch to a lane full of potholes and crevices.


ticket number: 32627


Please consider adding a traffic signal or pedestrian crossing signal at Fillmore St, perhaps similar to the one at Liberty and 17th, another intersection with a signal where a major road crosses the head of a one-way street. Pitt has classes in Bellefield Hall, at Bellefield and Fillmore, as well as a gymnasium, so there are waves of pedestrians attempting to cross here at various points in the day, as well as the usual traffic. Even when vehicles in one lane stop for pedestrians, those in the other often do not; the delivery and service vehicles often double parked in front of both Bellefield Hall and the School Board building also make it difficult to determine when it is safe to cross or when it is safe for cyclists to enter the road.


epanastrophe
2012-09-12 20:58:49

inspired by Ahlir's post


ticket number: 32820


Please add a traffic signal at North Shore Dr and Tony Dorsett Dr., at the base of the Fort Duquesne Bridge bike/pedestrian ramp. It can be very difficult to get across NSD when there is any appreciable amount of traffic, especially when there are large trucks parked in front of the office buildings just west of the intersection.


epanastrophe
2012-09-17 18:01:00

The following reply has been made to Ticket ID #32820:

We have notified the appropriate personnel about this issue. The Service Request ID Number associated with this request is 307637.



This is to acknowledge that the City of Pittsburgh has entered your Service Request.

The Service Request ID is:307637

If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please refer to that number.

We will inform you when this request has been completed.

Thank you for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you.


I'll believe it when I see it, but, um, that was fast...


epanastrophe
2012-09-17 19:33:54

"notified the appropriate personnel" just means they forwarded it to public works, not that they're necessarily going to do anything about it.


salty
2012-09-23 15:54:13

FWIW, i got an email last week saying that they cleaned up the glass on the bike path even though it was pittsburgh public schools property and not city property, so i wouldn't count on them doing it again. that is one problem with 311, it really should be a "one stop shop" that gets routed to whatever agency is responsible (PPS, county, penndot, etc.) since it's not always obvious to citizens and just a PITA in general.


Also, I have to admit Erica's post still bugs me. The idea of this thread was to make sure 311 is aware of issues that affect cyclists, and broken glass is certainly such an issue. Plus, there's a certain noted "bike-friendly" city in the US that lists "broken glass" as one of two examples of problems to report right on their bike/ped map.


salty
2012-09-23 16:10:00

yeah, i forgot to post the replies (though I did forward the NSD one to the North Side Ped/Bike Committee):


RE Bellefield pavement:

"The Paving Division will evaluate the requested street.


John Klinger"


RE Bellefield crossing:

"Adequate gaps exist in traffic for pedestrians to cross the street. A traffic signal is not warranted.


A. Purcell"


RE North Shore Drive:

"Vehicular and pedestrian volumes do not warrant a traffic signal at this location.


A. Purcell"


epanastrophe
2012-09-24 20:30:38

Along the Panther Hollow trail someone scattered some small rocks the other day on the trail next to the soccer field. I avoided them just fine until this morning when a combination of distractied riding and a really worn tire contributd to my hitting one and getting a flat. Not worth sending out a city truck- I will move them myself when I head home in a bit.

Some things we can fix ourselves.


helen-s
2012-09-24 21:19:36

Urg, filed this complaint on the PAT web site this morning.


----

While riding my bicycle inbound this morning on Forbes Ave just East of the intersection at Dallas, I was buzzed very closely (less than 2 feet) by the driver of inbound 61A bus#3210 at approx 8:45am. He/she may have been trying to make it through the yelllow light, but then pulled over on the far side of the intersection to accommodate a pedestrian who was running late for the bus. It would have been much safer for me, the cyclist, and for the pedestrian, if the bus driver had just waited an extra moment or two at the proper bus stop adjacent to the traffic light. In any case, please inform your driver of the new 4' passing laws and to keep mirror clearance in mind. Thank you.



pseudacris
2012-09-25 15:54:45

Just 311'd the sewer grate just west of the Walgreens on Penn Circle S. It has been held open by a rock for a long time now. Makes a bike-tire-sized longitudinal opening.


pseudacris
2012-09-25 18:01:55

Convinced no one does anything with these requests however I filed 2 in the past 2 weeks. One for individuals parking as if they are blind (parking at the curb cut) and the second for the morons who continually park on the bike path near the 10th Street bypass to fish.


lou-m
2012-09-27 14:43:11

I posted one about the overall situation with the tiny piece of Beacon connecting over from Hobart and before you get into squirrel hill. Not one thing so much as a combination:


"

The most dangerous part of my bike commute is also right by my home. The tiny little stretch of beacon before you get to homes after Hobart has very high speed driving, no bike lane or shoulder, no sharrows, and subpar pavement quality making acquiring/keeping good speed in a bike unnecessarily hard and adding a slight, but further increase the relative velocity and hence danger. Something, or preferably multiple things, in this unfortunate combination have to change or there will be an incident... as is I've just been buzzed but it was a scary experience. The speed of the driving here also is a safety issue for pedestrians even if they're just trying to cross the field to get to Bartlett playground, etc. Some cars and especially some motorcycles come up Beacon into squirrel hill so fast that you can start crossing the street at normal speed and have to run back to the curb not to get killed.

"


Ticket number 34892.


I think once you're comfortably in 5 digits for tickets you can pretty well tell nothing is going to happen.


2012-10-28 01:39:45

My 311 message this morning was a road killed deer thrown from the Parkway East onto the Eliza Furnace Trail just inbound from the trail entrance on Second Avenue.


kordite
2012-11-19 14:58:09

ew!


melange396
2012-11-19 18:48:43

I saw it this morning- I thought that if it was still warm, that was a lot of venison going to waste. I hope it is still there tomorrow morning- I need an antler for a small project I want to do. I will bring a saw just in case.


helen-s
2012-11-19 22:45:02

Sorry. It was gone by the end of the day.


kordite
2012-11-20 13:57:44

Not a complaint, but likely important for the City to hear support, now and again.


Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 35807


I just read about and wanted to voice approval of the Mayor's Downtown Action Strategy Plan, specifically the aspects involving what look to be progressive and innovating thinking regarding street infrastructure. The initial "visioning" aspects looking at the feasibility of installing bike and pedestrian friendly infrastructure (Forbes and Smithfield) to expand the positive developments in Market Square can only assist in the revitalization of our downtown. Increasing bikeability/walkability of that corridor between Market Square and the Cultural District can only encourage the development of additional small business and services to support the increasing number of people who see living downtown as a viable option. Please continue your collaborative work with Bike Pittsburgh and other forward thinking organization s to move our city in the right direction regarding livability. http://bike-pgh.org/blog/2012/11/19/mayors-plan-to-attract-retain-downtown-retail-include-bike-lanes-on-smithfield-st-and-forbes-ave/


ka_jun
2012-11-30 01:26:15

Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 35727


Just read about the latest pedestrian/vehicle accident on South Braddock Ave. in Regent Square. http://www.wtae.com/news/local/allegheny/Latest-vehicle-pedestrian-crash-puts-Regent-Square-safety-at-forefront/-/10927008/17408504/-/item/0/-/8xad6ez/-/index.html Has the city considered the installation of crossing flags?


http://www.nbcchicago.com/traffic/transit/chicago-flag-pedestrian-safety-35344543.html I've seen them in Chicago, and in Indian Rocks, Florida and have heard that they've been implemented in Seattle to attempt to decrease the incidents of vehicles striking pedestrians.


ka_jun
2012-11-30 01:27:59

Dammit, I couldn't resist commenting on the article about the pedestrian in Regent Sq. Personally I think driver behavior towards pedestrians is much worse than towards bicyclists, and it completely disgusts me. Yet, this guy starts making up any reason he can think of why the little old lady deserved to get run down, without even a hint that the driver did anything wrong.


salty
2012-11-30 02:54:23

I think Braddock should have raised speed-humps for cross walks. This wont stop all a-hole drivers from trying to run you down, but it will stop most of them. Plus it will drastically slow everything down & might persuade some to take another "short cut" all together.


marko82
2012-11-30 03:26:42

The guy Salty complains about is a bit jerky (well, more than a bit), but he has a point - that crosswalk at Braddocik and biddle would probalbly be best served by a button triggered red light.


It'd be expensive, but right now it has huge lights pointing out the crosswalk and it's still nto very safe.


Another light would also discourage shortcutters from that route, too.


mick
2012-11-30 19:02:32

When I got buzzed by a bus on Forbes Ave near CMU, last month, I went to http://www.portauthority.org/paac/CompanyInfoProjects/CustomerService/Feedback.aspx and clicked on "Complaints Form" and wrote:

---

I was bicycling on Forbes Ave near Beeler, headed toward Morewood,

[November 5, 11:29am] when a 61D bus (bus number 3245) came within 2 or 3 feet of me as it

passed me. By PA law the bus driver must give cyclists at least 4

feet of clearance. I was in the right lane, bicycling 2 feet from the

curb and there were NO other vehicles on that section of Forbes in

either direction, and the road has 4 lanes there and no parking, and

we were 2 long blocks from Morewood, so the only reasons I can think

of for the bus to come that close to me are either a) the driver

didn't see me (in my bright blue puffy jacket), or more likely b) he

wanted to buzz me, perhaps to "put me in my place" for some reason?

In either case your driver was breaking the law.


Please punish this driver appropriately.

---

I have no evidence that complaints to PAT do anything. I emailed the complaint to my Allegheny County Council representative, Charles Martoni, also, but I got no response to that.


paulheckbert
2012-12-15 03:29:32

Sent to 311 web site:

---

Street sweepers need to clean all the way to the gutter.


While bicycling inbound on Forbes Ave between Braddock Ave & Dallas on Wednesday morning (12/12) I noticed that a street sweeper had been through recently. I could tell by the wet stripes on the asphalt. The rightmost stripe was in the middle of the 3 foot wide bike lane. I could tell by the wet stripes and by debris (rocks, chunks of wood, gravel, sticks) in the right half of the bike lane that the street sweeper hadn't cleaned all the way to the gutter.


Please tell your street sweepers to clean all the way to the gutter. It's especially important when there is a critical bike lane, such as here.


When debris is left in bike lanes, it forces cyclists to veer left, closer to cars, trucks, and buses, to avoid junk in their lane.


Thanks.


PS: The bike lanes on Forbes Ave are great, as far as a they go, and when they are kept clean.


paulheckbert
2012-12-15 03:31:26

last week's Flock rides had issues with a 75 and a 61B getting too close to us, too. Did anyone manage to retain the vehicle numbers long enough to contact PAT? (Marko? Terry?)


I'd particularly like to get the 75 driver (3563?) reported, since he not only pulled up within a couple feet of bikers at multiple intersections, but then refused to identify himself and went so far as to hold a schedule folder up in front of his face when someone attempted to take a picture of him...


epanastrophe
2012-12-17 21:05:05

@buffalo... please contact the Port Authority directly about that. Don't call 311. If you like you can even email Steve Bland, their CEO. sbland at portauthority.org. He welcomed emails fromt the bike community years ago and typically he responds.


scott
2012-12-20 15:07:34

scott, it looks like while I was drafting the above message, someone else was posting about the incident to the December Flock thread.


epanastrophe
2012-12-20 16:15:15

"Within 24 hours of the ending of last week's snow, crews plowed the Eliza Furnace Trail. They neglected to plow from the County Jail to PNC Firstside but what they did do was appreciated.


However, we received an additional 4 inches of snow on Friday night to Saturday morning and when the crews plowed the trail after that snowfall they only plowed between the Swinburne Street lot and the Birmingham Bridge, leaving the rest of the mile and a half of trail into town to become a frozen and hazardous moonscape of ice and snow."


kordite
2012-12-31 12:22:16

I sent a notice about this also- and pointed out that the pedestrian bridge to the north shore is fully clear.

Maybe we need to say some steeler fans use the jail trail.


helen-s
2012-12-31 18:47:36

I just read on Twitter that the HMB and South Side Trails are still pretty bad and EFT hasn't been salted yet even though it's been plowed.


Any other updates to these?


scott
2013-01-02 18:30:47

HMB and EFT around HMB have been plowed and salted. I was cleaning ramps when they did it.


2013-01-02 20:33:59

Has anyone else sent a 311 about Panther Hollow? I have not yet, but will today.


helen-s
2013-01-03 18:41:00

Thank you for reporting that, helen s. I focused my 311 on the icy steps under the West End Bridge that lead from W. Carson to the West End Circle.


2013-01-03 22:36:35

Interestingly, I have 311'd 3 times this past week about the trails, but never bothered to do so for my street which was lightly salted then lightly plowed only today. This reduced it from 4 inches of hard ice to maybe 2 inches of soft ice.

Some winters we never saw a plow (narrow street requiring the pickup truck sized one)all winter and rarely saw salt.


helen-s
2013-01-04 22:52:28

In Erie the snow stayed packed down on all of the local roads until it melted.


rsprake
2013-01-05 15:09:40

On Saturday 1/5/13 I filled out the 311 form online to request plowing of the sidewalks on the Highland Park bridge and 62nd St bridge. I live in Sharpsburg and these bridges are the only way to get across the river, and neither is safe for bicyclists unless they use the sidewalks.


As of 1/10 none of the sidewalks have been plowed. Although the warm weather has melted some of it, the snow is still pretty thick and bumpy on all of those sidewalks.


2013-01-10 18:57:22

Hot metal bridge is covered in a few inches... of salt. The scorched earth approach was apparently taken here.


benzo
2013-01-10 21:07:29

juliajay - when I 311'd broken glass on the HPB sidewalk I got back a response saying I had to contact penndot at 1-800-FIX-ROAD. :(


salty
2013-01-11 05:02:25

Salty, I just called 800-fix-road and was told "we don't do sidewalks, that's something Mother Nature takes care of"


She's not doing a very good job with the sidewalks on these bridges...


2013-01-11 19:26:16

Also just called 311 directly and spoke to a nice fellow who said "bridges are handled by PennDOT". I told him I just called them and was told they don't do sidewalks and he sighed in an exasperated way and said this wasn't the first time he's had to deal with this issue.


I gave him my concern about the sidewalks on the HPB and 62nd St Bridges and told him I was a cyclist and couldn't cross these bridges as they were still crusty with hard snow and ice.


I think the bridge that comes out of Millvale is not cleared either, but I couldn't remember what that one was called.


2013-01-11 19:32:27

That would be 40th.


epanastrophe
2013-01-12 17:12:04

Ugh, what a nightmare. I was too lazy to actually call penndot as suggested so I didn't get the runaround. Can someone from bike-pgh help clear this up?


salty
2013-01-12 17:29:33

Well, Mother Nature came through in the end and those sidewalks on the 62nd, Highland Park and 40th Street bridges are pretty clear now! I will be vigilant when the next batch of snow comes and start making phone calls to try to keep them cleared


2013-01-13 16:41:34
pothole fixed in 1.5 days
erok
2013-01-29 10:13:37
Complaint: Massive 1ft x 2ft pothole, several inches deep on N Neville st between Wallingford St and Bayard St in southbound lane. This is a huge hazard, especially for cyclists.  
benzo
2013-01-29 15:20:29
It looks like they threw down some cold patch to fix this crater. Of course, the quality of the fix is terrible as always. Do they even try to use a stamper to flatten out the filler on this stuff? It seems like a few cars drive over it and it just sinks down, I still ride in the center of the street since the patchwork of pothole fixes makes the southbound lane on Neville a very jarring ride. When they patched main st (2 weeks before repaving), they just left mounds of uncompressed pavement and let the cars smash it down.
benzo
2013-01-31 10:40:56
today is 3/11 don't forget to report your favorite pothole!
erok
2013-03-11 08:48:41
Reported: 2 Very Large next to each other on highland ave a few feet from the highland ave and penn ave intersection on the northern side. These are both about a foot long and 3+ inches deep. They are not only a hazard to cars, but especially to cyclists (This is on a primary cycling route) since it can be hard to dodge since they take up a good portion of the lane since they are side by side. There are several other smaller potholes along the concrete seams of highland ave between penn ave and penn circle north that should also be patched as well.
benzo
2013-03-13 06:53:00
Reported potholes aplenty at the corner of Bates and Bouquet in central Oakland and the corner of Beacon and Hobart Streets in Squill.
ka_jun
2013-03-13 15:46:21
I reported the same area of Beacon, too. Man what a mess, you sprint up Hobart since you have to get left, and then the road is so lousy you can't do a decent pace on the flat before the bike lane without practically being on the center line. And drivers get irate there, but there's plenty of gravel and other irregularities on the right to make even ducking to the side and riding it out super slow not as controlled as one would want.
byogman
2013-03-14 09:14:16
I forgot to report glass that was all over the jail trail just about under the 10th at bridge. Is that glass still there today? I would like to report it, as I have to go through there again tomorrow and I don't know how I didn't get a flat yesterday.
stefb
2013-03-14 16:42:59
Reported: The paint on the Bike lane on liberty ave between main st and 40th st is worn away so much that it's hardly visible. Cars frequently use the bike lane here as a traffic lane, not leaving it for exlusive use by cyclists.
benzo
2013-04-12 09:48:37
Filed a report asking street sweepers in Central Lawrenceville this week to be aware of & fix large piles of loose gravel at a bunch of intersections along Butler St--I almost wiped out twice last week, at 42nd and 56th. Filed a second report this morning:
As of about 8pm last night, there was a large stone block in the middle of the North Shore Trail near Heinz St., approximately across from the entrance to the soup plant. It was directly between two large puddles, as though it had been placed directly in the path of those who would try to avoid them. Please remove as soon as possible.
epanastrophe
2013-04-16 09:26:42
I reported this in Regent Square: 2 bad (large and deep!) potholes on Biddle at intersection with East End. This is inside Pittsburgh (it is not Wilkinsburg).
paulheckbert
2013-04-16 23:27:22
Reported: Paint on bike lanes on Beechwood blvd between wilkins ave and northumberland st. It's wearing down a lot on other sections of beechwood, but it's hard to tell there are even markings in this block.
benzo
2013-04-21 20:52:30
Filed request to have the concrete sections of Centre and Millvale in North Oakland repaved. Hit a pothole this morning so hard my coffee bottle was literally jarred from its cage and went skittering across the pavement... (As an aside, many thanks to the driver behind me who stopped and gave me time and room to pick it up, even if she didn't look particularly happy about it...) --- BTW, if you're not often in Oakland, watch out also for the apparent water main break on Neville between Centre and Bayard. (PWSA does seem to be aware of this, as I've seen trucks and cones out, but they're sure taking their time about it.) When they put up 'roadway subject to flooding' signs, I didn't think they meant from springs in the parking lane....
epanastrophe
2013-04-24 14:17:10
If you're ever in the mood for a pure display of the obscene laziness and selfishness of drivers, just take a ride through the Beechwood lot on any nice weekday night. Tonight was the absolute worst I have ever seen, you could barely even walk through there. Any chance a concentrated 311 campaign can get something done about this? Is there some other remedy? I didn't even mention the ones who park in front of the construction gate on Putnam and block the crosswalk. I think the BkSq security must eventually come chase them away or something. ---- For years, cyclists and pedestrians have had to contend with cars blocking access to the paths through Mellon Park. With Putnam St. being closed and the weather getting warm again this problem is becoming astronomically worse. Since common sense is apparently insufficient, please paint some "No Parking" zones in front of the trail access, and please enforce some parking restrictions in the lot. This evening the cars were triple parked, making it problematic to navigate the lot at all, and I'd imagine it would pose severe difficulties if fire and rescue personnel needed access to that area. There is an abundance of nearby free parking on both sides of Beechwood Blvd., so there is no reason to continue to permit this situation to persist.
salty
2013-04-30 21:56:56
I'll have to call Wilkinsburg about this in the morning, as it is outside of Pittsburgh proper. In the 900 block of Wallace Ave (which I believe was one of the proposed alternates to Penn Ave last year) there are screws EMBEDDED IN THE FUCKING PAVEMENT. There aren't just a few, there are dozens of screws, each about as long as a finger, strewn about and somehow lodged IN the pavement. As the roadway wears down, these are starting to come loose, and they will no doubt cause a few punctures.
jaysherman5000
2013-04-30 22:25:18
Made more posts about people parking in the bike lane by west penn on millvale ave during my morning commute, received a response that an officer was assigned to enforce parking there again. Then reported another violation this morning. Keep putting in tickets for bike lane violators.
benzo
2013-05-01 07:18:41
Remarkably, there was nobody parked in the West Penn bike lane when I came through about 930 this morning. I chalked it up to miracle...
epanastrophe
2013-05-01 09:10:35
TOPIC OF CONCERN Traffic MESSAGE The intersection at Penn and 16th needs some traffic enforcement between the hours of 4-7. Drivers coming over the bridge to Liberty Ave block the crosswalks and intersection. Not only is it dangerous for pedestrians, it's causing more congestion.
rsprake
2013-05-01 09:35:00
Submitted this: There are no eastbound lane dividers on Bayard st and Bigelow blvd between the intersection of Bayard st and o'hara st and Craig st. Parking is not allowed between 4-6pm and 7-9am. Cars frequently use the parking lane as a travel lane. However, due to the confusing nature of this road due to lack of lane markings, many cars drive in the center of the open space and do not allow 2 lanes of traffic to form. This creates an unpredictable and dangerous situation for me as a bicycle commuter trying to utilize the right hand lane. Either allow persistent parking in this location or create lane markings on this street. Additionally, it seems that there needs to be more frequent parking enforcement on this stretch during the 4pm-6pm hours, as there are typically cars parked near the intersection of bigelow blvd and o'hara st every day during these hours during spring and fall semesters are in session at Pitt. This is less frequent, but still common during the summer.
benzo
2013-05-01 10:33:47
Is anyone able to get thru to the 311 site right now? I have something that I really, grr, really want to report but all I'm getting is a "can't find server".
edmonds59
2013-05-03 09:26:24
Some idiots put a row of porta-potties for the marathon on the sidewalk in front of 1600 West Carson completely blocking pedestrian and bike access on the only path through there, so people have to walk out into 50 mph oncoming traffic. Assholes.
edmonds59
2013-05-03 09:28:46
edmonds59 wrote:Is anyone able to get thru to the 311 site right now? I have something that I really, grr, really want to report but all I’m getting is a “can’t find server”.
The entire city website is down, and has been since mid-afternoon yesterday--seems to be a DNS issue? Anyway, at least one Member of Council was still twittering as though it were up, which suggests it still works in City Hall---you should still be able to call 311 (or 412-255-2621), or perhaps even call the relevant council person (west Carson I think would be Kail-Smith*) and ask their office to file it. *Google's cache suggests the phone number for D2 is 412-255-8963. Also, per the cached 311 form, you can also leave a voice or (!!!) text message on 412-573-9736.
epanastrophe
2013-05-03 09:34:48
Called it in. Thx. Grr.
edmonds59
2013-05-03 10:21:26
So here is what I was met with on my ride in this morning, at 1600 W. Carson St. Someone associated with the Pgh Marathon decided to place 8 or so porta-potties on the only pedestrian/cycle route from the West End Circle to town so that you have to walk out into oncoming 50 mph traffic to pass. Absolute stupidity. Not sure if it's visible in the photos but note also the large and nearly un-occupied Buncher parking lot right next door. I called it in on the 311 line, not expecting much. Somebody at the marathon should know better. Idiots. East bound; West bound;
edmonds59
2013-05-03 13:52:07
Reported: Bike sharrow marks on pavement on Penn Ave Between 21st street and 16th street bridge in the strip district are severely worn and almost indistinguishable, so they need to be repainted or replaced with thermoplastic markings.
benzo
2013-05-03 13:54:45
edmonds - that does suck, isn't there a bus stop right around there to boot? i passed a bunch of "new" porta-potties this morning too, and didn't really think about why they were there. ironically they may have "solved" my 311 issue in the beechwood lot; they're not really blocking the path but (hopefully) idiots would think twice about parking right in front of a row of porta-potties. but i guess they'll be gone as soon as they arrived. i was less thrilled with the ones they put on the bike path parallel to penn, but they didn't block too much - certainly nothing like the ones on carson.
salty
2013-05-03 19:23:29
I don't understand all this fuss about marathon. It sunctioned event. It starts on Friday with expo, continues on Saturday, race is on Sunday. All closures and placement of porta-potties, removal of mail boxes are according to the plan. You cannot install porta-potties for 80,000 people in a couple of hours. I volunteer at water stantion for the third year. It takes 30 (last year I was a captain of water station so I know exactly how many people worked at my station) people per station starting 4:50 am just to get ready with water and gatorade (kind of ready) for race by 7:30 am, and then through the marathon you have to refill a lot of stuff. And it was jsut 18,000 runners-walkers last year. I don't know what it would take this year but we already have been asked to be there at 4:00am. PS I volunteered for Steel City Showdown and it was also suctioned event. Two bridges and some streets were completely closed way before race started. BikePGH festival also closed a lot of streets. And it was OK.
mikhail
2013-05-03 20:09:53
I didn't see anyone complaining about the marathon itself (well, not here - certainly a lot of people do bitch about it), personally I think it's a great event and it's worth some inconvenience. Blocking the sidewalk like that is unnecessary though - why not put the pissers 100ft down the road, in the entrance to station sq?
salty
2013-05-03 21:13:51
salty wrote:Blocking the sidewalk like that is unnecessary though – why not put the pissers 100ft down the road, in the entrance to station sq?
We have to ask planners. Could be a whole number of reasons. I know some (sometimes rail-road companies has something to say if you put something close to their zones, sometimes visibility is very important, sometimes it could be too far from main stram event). I think I can answer why "nearly un-occupied Buncher parking lot" was not used. Liability. City cannot enforce on a private company property even it take on itself all responsibilites. Someone breaks somthing or hurt him/hesrself and nothing would prevent (s)he from suing the company.
mikhail
2013-05-03 21:54:07
My cranky for the day (I hate that they remove my paragraph returns). Please enforce the intersection where Main St in West End comes out in the West End Circle. During morning rush hour, drivers turning left to enter the West End Circle routinely turn left on red (left from a one-way to a one-way) - which is legal and OK. But they DO NOT STOP before turning. Some do not even slow down. Vehicles frequently turn in front of traffic coming up the ramp from West Carson, and pedestrians in the area need to peer out from the underpass to see if it is safe to cross - even if the Walk signal is on. In summary, vehicles turning left on red do not yield to either pedestrians or vehicles with the right of way. This is a serious danger. The stop before proceeding left on red needs to be enforced.
pinky
2013-05-06 13:45:36
This morning (16 May 2013) at approximately 5:45, I pulled into the Eliza Furnace Trailhead off of Swinburne Street. As I unloaded my bicycle from my car, another vehicle pulled in (Silver Mazda 3, PA license plate GKA-1744). The driver exited the vehicle and walked to the Pittsburgh Public Works Division 3 garage. After a few minutes, the driver returned to his vehicle, opened the trunk and began changing into work boots. His florescent t-shirt had a Pittsburgh Public Works logo and indicated his name was “Bernard.” I approached him: “Excuse me. Not to put to fine a point on it but this lot is for trail users and not for work parking.” I pointed towards the Public Works garage. “Oh. OK.” “Thank you.” “Why are you thanking me?” His response had me suspect that he did not understand my point. “I’m thanking you because you did not give be grief about my point out that you’re not supposed to be parking here.” “Yea. There’s a sign right there.” He pointed to the sign on the fence that indicated that parking was for trail users only. “And there are two signs at the entrance to the lot.” I indicated the lot entrance that he had driven past and the signs there indicating that the lot is for trail users only. When he was done putting on his boots, instead of getting in his car and moving it from the trail users’ lot to a parking area designated for Public Works employees, he turned around and walked back to the garage. This is not the first time I have seen this sort of behavior. As a regular trail user I have often seen the Eliza Furnace Trailhead parking area used by Public Works employees. This was merely the first opportunity I have had to converse with an employee concerning their use of the lot. As “Bernard” had just acknowledged that the Eliza Furnace lot was for trail users only before turning his back and walking away, I feel that I was completely ignored and that my concerns were summarily dismissed. Do Public Works employees have some sort of exemption that allows them to ignore City parking signage? If so, they need to be able to convey that justification to citizens who question them or the signage needs to be changed to reflect that. Otherwise, Public works employees need additional training to remind them how to respond to “no parking” signs.
kordite
2013-05-16 07:42:16
Reported: Due to high numbers of pedestrian and bicycle traffic along the three rivers heritage trail (now part of the Great Allegheny Passage), the intersection of hot metal st and S Water St should not allow right on red from Hot metal st. During busy traffic times, it's difficult for pedestrians to cross this intersection already due to large numbers of cars turning right from S Water St on to hot metal bridge. The additional traffic turning right on to S Water St during the red cycle makes it even harder. Additionally, giving an advance pedestrian signal before the green for S. Water St traffic would give pedestrians and cyclists more time to claim the right of way in the crosswalks here.
benzo
2013-05-21 08:17:37
ive thought about asking to have that right-on-red removed... im glad you submitted it
melange396
2013-05-21 13:19:59
Submit it too... the more the merrier. It's harder to ignore with multiple reports.
benzo
2013-05-21 13:43:23
done!
melange396
2013-05-21 16:22:58
Reported: crossing sign at Steuben & Short Streets has fallen into the crossing, blocking the crosswalk.
suzw
2013-05-23 19:55:18
I just reported: large, deep pothole on N Neville St half a block north of Bayard St, in Oakland.
paulheckbert
2013-05-31 23:46:43
another week, another pothole reported: in Regent Square: on East End Ave between Guthrie St and Biddle Ave
paulheckbert
2013-06-03 20:18:21
How can one to file a complaint about bad parking if one does not live in Pittsburgh? http://imgur.com/a/JPQIt May 17th, 2003. All license plates are clearly visible.
mikhail
2013-06-03 20:51:29
"On the sidewalk from the Fort Pitt bridge by the ramp to West Carson street, the weeds are overgrowing the sidewalk and blocking it, forcing pedestrians and cyclists out into the roadway to pass. This is incredibly dangerous and needs to be attended to."
edmonds59
2013-06-03 21:03:42
This right here is bullshit: "On the sidewalk in front of 1600 West Carson Street, someone has placed a construction sign across the sidewalk, blocking passage of pedestrians and cyclists on the sidewalk, and forcing them out into the roadway and speeding traffic to pass. There is no other alternative way to this sidewalk. This is incredibly dangerous, and is unacceptable, this setup needs to be changed."
edmonds59
2013-06-03 21:27:49
Does anyone have a reference number for a previous report you've made about the vehicles routinely parked in front of the daycare/used car lot on Fifth Ave between Birmingham Bridge and Oakland? I'd like to re-report and request renewed enforcement, but I'd also like to make the point that this is a longstanding recurring issue. I don't know Councilman Lavelle at all, but I'm also considering sending a copy of the message to his office. 75 PaCS § 3353 (a) (1) (ii) "no person shall...Stop, stand or park a vehicle...On a sidewalk." http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/75/00.033.053.000..HTM (* you'll apparently have to add the '..HTM' yourself, as the board doesn't recognize two dots as valid in a URL, and the state's code site doesn't recognize the address with anything between them.) Property owner has marked off most of the sidewalk with cones: http://imgur.com/a/OByx7#nePCzqf Remaining space between parked vehicles and roadway is insufficient for pedestrians to navigate safely, let alone cyclists: http://imgur.com/a/OByx7#mqyvoL4 Both vehicles bear 'dealer' plates and plate-frames from the neighboring car lot: http://imgur.com/a/OByx7#Y04qk66 ; http://imgur.com/a/OByx7#nIy7wk6
epanastrophe
2013-06-03 22:04:34
Mikhail wrote:How can one to file a complaint about bad parking if one does not live in Pittsburgh?
A Pittsburgh address is not required to file a report at http://pittsburghpa.gov/311/form . In fact, they specifically provide a phone number if you're not in the city---"Outside of Pittsburgh, call 412-255-2621"---which suggests they're ok with non-resident reports; you can also report anonymously, which suggests you can provide as much or as little information as you like--so you could probably fill out the form with just your name and email address, though I haven't tried this. You can also text or leave a voice message on 412-573-9736.
epanastrophe
2013-06-03 22:13:28
311 is apparently not the proper avenue for parking complaints; I have tried a few times and have never received a response, even for chronic/habitual problems like I've been reporting. Apparently you are supposed to call 911 since there is no dedicated number for parking enforcement.
salty
2013-06-03 23:27:03
Reported: Faded bike lane heading east on Friendship Ave in between Edmond St and Gross St (right around parklet)
that_tickles
2013-06-04 07:39:24
Reported, a couple of big deep potholes in the middle of the bike lane on Beechwood Blvd near the intersection of Darlington heading towards Blue Slide Park.
ka_jun
2013-06-04 09:01:55
Reported this casual newspaper reader for parking in the bike lane on millvale ave this morning in front of west penn hospital.
benzo
2013-06-04 10:57:03
buffalo buffalo wrote:Does anyone have a reference number for a previous report you’ve made about the vehicles routinely parked in front of the daycare/used car lot on Fifth Ave between Birmingham Bridge and Oakland? I’d like to re-report and request renewed enforcement, but I’d also like to make the point that this is a longstanding recurring issue. I don’t know Councilman Lavelle at all, but I’m also considering sending a copy of the message to his office.
I would definitely contact him.
rsprake
2013-06-04 11:00:32
On the 16th of May, I reported to 311 that a Pittsburgh Public Works employee named Bernard (according to his shirt) driving a Silver Mazda 3, PA license plate GKA-1744, parked in the Eliza Furnace Trailhead off of Swinburne Street. Even thought I pointed out to him that the lot was clearly marked as being for trail users, he parked there anyway. In my May 16th 311 email I suggested that Public Works employees be reminded that the signs in the lot are, in fact, true, and that parking in that lot is for trail users and not for Public Works employees. This morning at approximately 6am, Bernard again parked in the Eliza Furnace lot and went to his work in the Public Works garage. I can only conclude that Public Works employees were never reminded of their legal parking obligations or that Bernard has chosen to ignore that reminder. In either case, I am calling on the management of the Public Works Department to take action in not only encouraging but requiring that their employees behave in legal behavior when they are wearing the florescent yellow uniform of the Public Works Department and representing the City of Pittsburgh.
kordite
2013-06-06 06:14:40
Kordite-- Since this issue could arguably fall under both the Department of Public Works and HR, you might also copy that message to the chairs of the City Council committees overseeing them---Bruce Kraus and Bill Peduto, respectively.
epanastrophe
2013-06-06 06:51:04
I sent a compliment to the 311 system today, for a change: I biked Forbes Ave thru Frick Park from Braddock Ave to Dallas Ave today, and was glad to see the bike lane clean and there was a street sweeper ahead of me cleaning the bike lane all the way to the curb! Thank you! Clean bike lanes mean less need for cyclists to veer left to dodge debris in the gutter which means safer cycling and fewer angry yells from car drivers!
paulheckbert
2013-06-12 20:40:22
put in a ticket about overgrowth on the junction hollow trail as it's getting to the point where 2 cyclists can barely ride abreast on the trail. I got the standard response: Thank you for submitting to 311. Your request has been sent to Public Works to have the overgrowth cut. Your request number is 334070.
benzo
2013-06-12 21:41:56
I submitted the wheel-eating drain grate just outside the 4th Ave entrance to the garage where the new bike lock-up is located. This one. 311 Response Web Form Submission Receipt Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 52664 TOPIC OF CONCERN Sewer or Catch Basin MESSAGE Drain grate just outside the 4th Ave entrance to the parking garage newly set up with bicycle parking facilities is perfectly positioned and aligned to swallow a bicycle tire. Please replace grate with safer design. LATITUDE 40.43958207932207 LONGITUDE -80.00196397304535 (I included the picture in the link above.)
stuinmccandless
2013-06-14 03:13:21
Filed request to replace street lights on Railroad--
INCIDENT ADDRESS 2100-3000 Railroad St, 15222 TOPIC OF CONCERN Street Light MESSAGE Please replace the street lights on Railroad St in the Strip. This is a frequent alternate route for cyclists heading from Downtown towards Lawrenceville and the East End, but especially in combination with the chewed up pavement and deeply recessed longitudinal drain grates can be hazardous at night due to how low the light levels are.
epanastrophe
2013-06-14 08:14:15
Reported more people parking in bike lane on millvale ave by the west penn hospital this morning at around 7:50am.
benzo
2013-06-14 12:08:38
Cross-post from drain grates thread. The city responded, here. Don't ask me how I managed to have the original post, and this follow-up, 12 hours apart exactly to the minute. At any rate, the city got on this one pretty quickly, I'd say.
stuinmccandless
2013-06-14 15:13:34
Two complaints have been resolved: They are changing light sequence at main st and butler st so that it doesn't go to flashing yellow / red at night.
This is to inform you that the City of Pittsburgh has completed and closed your Service Request. The 311 Service Request Identification-Number is: 319034 The CIMS Identification-Number is: 41604 Summary of action taken: The traffic signal operation along the Butler St. corridor will be changed to operate Stop and Go 24 hours daily. G. Klubert Summary of Service-Request: After the traffic mess I saw last night, I don't think the stoplights at the intersection of Butler st and Main st should be set to flash at 11pm on the weekends. Heavy traffic on butler st, combined with cars turning both directions off main while there were many pedestrians trying to cross at this intersection created a huge hazard. On busy nights, It's really hard for people to safely turn left on to butler st from main. It's also very unsafe for pedestrians, since traffic often fails to slow for croswalk users. I can only imagine what this is going to be like in the summertime. Please change the lights at this intersection not be set to flash, at least not until much later in the evening (Especially on weekends), if this isn't changed I'm sure people are going to get hurt at this intersection.
Additionally, they fixed a bunch of the super deep potholes on center ave between millvale ave and neville ave. Though, watch out for the new 'speed humps' instead of the old 'pit traps'
benzo
2013-06-26 08:26:42
if only we had this for dealing with those assclowns who park in the bike lanes
melange396
2013-06-27 15:11:31
Going to put in 311 request for crews to prune bushes on Pgh side of Highland Park bridge sidewalk. It is almost impossible to get through on a bike at this point.
edronline
2013-06-27 21:37:10
Submitted - Ticket number 53805 Silver / Gold Chrysler Town & Country Van, PA plate DLJ-3853 parked in bike lane in front of ER entrance to West Penn Hospital on Millvale ave between friendship ave and liberty ave this morning around 7:15am. Cars block this bike lane frequently and this is not acceptable. Please add more signage to notify drivers that this is a no parking area. I have put in many 311 requests for parking enforcement on this street.
benzo
2013-06-28 08:45:10
Reported the pothole in Fifth Avenue in front of Chatham Center where Diamond splits off to join Forbes. Really nasty hole, both for bicycles and motorcycles. Sorry, I didn't get a Ticket # before I closed the tab. If I don't get a confirmation email in the next day, I will resubmit it. This hole, seen from the side. Moving forward, it's deeper than it looks here, is in the center of the street and on a mild downhill, so if you hit it at 20 mph or better, it means a wheel taco and an overthrow.
stuinmccandless
2013-07-01 13:53:46
Yes, it did register. Here are the deets: City of Pittsburgh 311 Response Center 311 Response Web Form 311 Response Web Form Submission Receipt Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 53983 ... Topic of Concern Potholes Message Fifth Avenue by split to Forbes Ave, large pothole that can bend a bicycle wheel and throw a motorcycle off balance. Latitude 40.438851252904286 Longitude -79.99261111021042
stuinmccandless
2013-07-01 16:01:30
ticket number: 54176 INCIDENT ADDRESS 100 S Dithridge, 15213 TOPIC OF CONCERN Potholes MESSAGE There are multiple significant potholes in the southbound lane of Dithridge St, just below Fifth Avenue. While none of them are particularly wide in diameter, there are at least two which are quite deep, and in combination they present quite the maze for a cyclist to navigate, especially when turning at speed from inbound Fifth Avenue.
epanastrophe
2013-07-02 16:33:37
Street Sweep request submitted July 4th: ---- There is a lot of broken glass in both northbound lanes of N Braddock Ave where it crosses Meade St., an important cycling corridor. -----
pseudacris
2013-07-04 12:41:04
This may have been reported already: Brush clearing on the north side of Jonquaire in Oakland. Also, suggestion that sidewalk needs to be widened to accommodate all users. For the last while I've been using Bates or Boundary (which has been nicely cleared) but, wow, in the meanwhile Jonquaire has turned into a jungle... [ Addendum: Down the south side of Jonquaire and down the alley to Yarrow used to work but there's currently construction so not a good option. Same for up Yarrow... ]
ahlir
2013-07-13 21:06:31
Car parked in bike lane at Forbes Ave & Schenley Drive 2013/7/18. The note I left on the windshield says "PLEASE DON'T PARK IN A BIKE LANE AGAIN, thanks"
paulheckbert
2013-07-18 19:30:12
Grrr. PennDOT. All of the signs for the upcoming Carson St project are blocking the sidewalks - both on West Carson, and on the West End Bridge. Check this one out! Called 1-800-FIX-ROAD. The dispatcher told me that there's nowhere else to put those signs. When I told him it was dangerous and someone's going to be hit by a car, he told me he can't change anything because he's just a dispatcher. He then raised his voice, argued with me (including this choice phrase, "I'M NOT ARGUING WITH YOU!"), and told me he can't do anything but call the engineering department. I told him it's an extremely dangerous situation, and he shouted over me and was an all around d-bag. I called the engineering department and got voicemail. I suspect he gave me a bogus phone number, but we'll see. PennDOT once again proving they are phaquing impossible to deal with. Great customer service, asshats. *Edited to add: If anyone else has time to call, more calls might get more attention. Right now it's just me vs the friendliest dispatcher in the world.
pinky
2013-07-24 07:26:57
Update: got a call back from the engineering department with some new phone numbers to reach out. Will be doing so later this morning. I may take West Carson home instead of the West End Bridge to get pics of the signs there. So the number was real. I was just fired up after being argued with :)
pinky
2013-07-24 08:17:45
^311 sent on west end bridge EDIT: since this is going to be a two year project, try to get the signs attached to the bridge (not temporary).
marko82
2013-07-24 08:29:10
I 311'd the West Carson situation a couple of times weeks ago and got one very lame response, then nothing at all. Let me know how your success is, I'll piggyback on that. I'm going to figure out which elected official to call next. This is infuriating. Another clear demonstration that Penndot does not give a rat's ass about pedestrians or cyclists, I fking hate those fks. edit, this is Pgh District 2, Councilperson: Theresa Kail-Smith Phone: 412-255-8963
edmonds59
2013-07-24 08:29:16
@edmonds, do you know if there is a "safety officer" on such projects? I think that might be the person to talk to.
marko82
2013-07-24 08:33:08
@pinky, you should contact the traffic reporter at the Post Gazette too (Jon Schmitz: jschmitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868) I'd send him a few good photos and mention how PENDOT treats pedestrians and cyclists in this district.
marko82
2013-07-24 08:45:33
Here's the deal on jurisdiction, according to my pal the dispatcher. On the map it's in the city. The road surface is PennDOT. The sidewalk is Allegheny County (first I've heard that one). The signs related to the project are all PennDOT. Any time I've 311-ed anything on the bridge, I've gotten a response that I need to call PennDOT. Interestingly, and this might be worth raising, if you look at the walkway in the West End Circle, the signs clamp to the concrete barrier, leaving the entire walkway free. Why can't they just use those?
pinky
2013-07-24 08:46:02
@Marko82 - I'm going to give one more round of phone calls a try, but then that's a good idea. Since I did get phone numbers of real people who are on the project, I want to give them a chance to respond. I have a voicemail in to the person in the Engineering department who is supposedly in charge of them. Want to know how I got past the one in the picture? I picked up my fully loaded commuter bike (panniers with clothes, lunch, etc), put it on my shoulder, and then with my left hand, held onto the metal ropey bridge support while I walked across the slippery, wobbly, droopy sign in my bike shoes. One misstep, and my left foot would have slid into the hole in the bridge deck where the ropey thing goes in. It was super safe.
pinky
2013-07-24 09:03:25
Re: safety officer - I'm sure there must be, but I have no idea if it would be a person with Penndot, the Contractor, or the Inspecting Engineers (a contracted third party, these things are a clusterfk of involved parties - part of the methodology by which Penndot avoids accountability for pretty much anything). I called Theresa Kail-Smiths office and got what seemed like a sincere listen and promise to look into this situation. I talked about W. Carson but forgot to mention the bridge situation, sorry Pinky, but a call from another party wouldn't hurt. That situation sounds even worse. One piece of one of the signs on my route accidentally got bent out of the way this morning, not sure how that happened.
edmonds59
2013-07-24 09:14:40
It makes me want to push a baby stroller around, with a baby doll inside, and attach my helmet cam to it. Then we'll see if people think it's safe to dodge into West Carson traffic or over giant signs on bridges.
pinky
2013-07-24 09:27:41
There are at least a few signs on the 40th st bridge's narrow sidewalk, I doubt they will ever go away.
benzo
2013-07-24 13:05:29
Sounds like an ADA lawsuit waiting to happen...
salty
2013-07-24 13:22:12
ERMERGERD you guys! They fixed it! Feeling safe yet? That's right. I have to hang my handlebars over the concrete barrier into traffic to pass. Phone calls to PennDOT resume tomorrow morning.
pinky
2013-07-24 16:12:19
And if sign clamps like this exist, why are they not being used for all of the signs?
pinky
2013-07-24 16:13:58
And if sign clamps like this exist, why are they not being used for all of the signs?
Because you might have a portion of the sign hanging out in a travel lane, and we'd never dream of blocking a(n automotive) travel lane.
reddan
2013-07-24 16:16:36
It would be unfortunate if a gust of wind or something blew that sign right into the river. Repeatedly.
salty
2013-07-24 17:03:04
Wow, I can't believe this.
pseudacris
2013-07-24 20:37:40
It would be awfully convenient for us cyclists if someone in a wheelchair 311'd this with a complaint that they couldn't cross the bridge.
pseudacris
2013-07-24 20:39:38
Well it looks like the signs on W. Carson have had some adjustments made (going home yesterday I was in the lane going about 30 so I couldn't really check, but it looked like it). Looks like most of the sign have had the plates trimmed back to the vertical post so there is a path by. So some message is getting through somewhere.
edmonds59
2013-07-25 08:04:01
I took pictures this morning on West Carson, and my phone apparently fancified one into a gif. I have to do work this morning but am going to follow up via phone with PennDOT this afternoon.
pinky
2013-07-25 08:24:44
That gif is actually nifty evidence of danger, due to the proximity of the truck. The clearance should be a wheelchair-friendly width, at a minimum.
pseudacris
2013-07-25 10:11:22
Now that looks like nothing has been done, so I don't know what I thought I was seeing.
edmonds59
2013-07-25 10:45:58
Positive update! I just talked to the project manager; he's out driving around and checking out the signs. He said the one on the West End Bridge will be gone or moved as soon as today, and he's assessing what to do with the ones on the West Carson sidewalk. I mentioned that you have to dodge into traffic to avoid them, and he said it was a problem and "imagine if someone in a wheelchair comes through." So hopefully this is positive traction and our calls got the attention of the right people.
pinky
2013-07-26 12:08:11
Wonderful news. Actually I spied 2 more diamond shaped signs on W. Carson this morning with giant quadruped bases that sprawl the entire sidewalk, that are new. Unfortunately I am automobiling today due to work, dagnabbit, so I am not observing directly. Just making sure I pay my share of road taxes (sarc).
edmonds59
2013-07-26 13:32:22
I reported: --- Sidewalk near south end of Glenwood Bridge needs cleaning. This sidewalk is an important connection for cyclists wanting to get from parts of the city north of the Mon (Oakland, Hazelwood, Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, ...) to the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail on the south side of the Mon (or vice versa). After riding either sidewalk of the Glenwood Bridge, to the south end of the bridge, they would end up on this sidewalk pictured here. And they might get a flat on the glass currently on this sidewalk. Please clean up this glass. This sidewalk is within Pittsburgh City Limits. pic at https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yjTp8Q_WFoo/UfXl0mHYg-I/AAAAAAAAGBA/sU62J-se8oQ/s640/DSC09125.JPG The picture shows: glass on sidewalk below Glenwood Bridge, along ramp from Carson St to Glass Run Rd, and stairs up to Glenwood Bridge are at left. ---
paulheckbert
2013-07-28 23:01:31
I just asked for the bike lane on Friendship Ave btw Millvale and Gross to be refreshed.
scott
2013-08-19 08:25:15
I requested that the dead deer lying partially in the bike lane going uphill on Greenfield Road in Schenley Park be removed.
czarofpittsburgh
2013-08-19 10:38:42
Did it have antlers? I need a deer antler for a small project if anyone sees or has one they do not need.
helen-s
2013-08-19 11:30:09
scott wrote:I just asked for the bike lane on Friendship Ave btw Millvale and Gross to be refreshed.
I already put in a request, but beechwood blvd between wilkins and aylesboro needs to be refreshed as well. There is almost no indication that bike lanes existed for this block or two.
benzo
2013-08-19 12:30:39
@benzo, yeah, we told the city about that months ago. supposedly they're going to get restriped soon.
scott
2013-08-19 13:08:08
I sent this in: Deep pothole in the center of the Beechwood Blvd bike lane for cyclists traveling south on Beechwood at the intersection with Forest Glen Rd, near Frick Park. A cyclist could get hurt at that pothole. Hundreds of cyclists use that bike lane every day. Of the 3000 people who participated in Pedal Pittsburgh today, probably the majority of them came within inches of this pothole. I hope nobody got hurt on it! LATITUDE 40.43430 LONGITUDE -79.91211
paulheckbert
2013-08-26 08:08:52
Regarding the Beechwood-near-Forest-Glen pothole, I got this today from the city: "Summary of action taken: COMPLETED -- G. MCCAIN 8/27/13". (I think I wasn't the only person to report this pothole; Yale Cohen mentioned that he reported it, also.) Can someone verify that this pothole got patched?
paulheckbert
2013-08-28 09:21:41
TOPIC OF CONCERN Parking MESSAGE Since schools have started back up parking in Shadyside has become scarce and as a result people are parking too close to the intersections, sometimes blocking the access ramps and making it difficult for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists to be safe. Please enforce parking requirements. Thank you!
rsprake
2013-08-28 15:52:21
I made a similar report for Lawrenceville Tuesday, and got a message back Wednesday that it had been bounced to Zone 2 for enforcement.
epanastrophe
2013-08-29 10:38:27
I reported today: Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 58998 Neighborhood: Hays This is a followup to 311 ticket number 56130, which I filed on 7/29 and to which I don't recall I received any response. The sidewalk under the south end of the Glenwood Bridge continues to be strewn with broken glass. I'm attaching a picture taken on Monday. This is the ramp from Carson St to Glass Run Rd. The white dots on the sidewalk are broken glass. I used to ride my bike on this sidewalk but with the glass mess as it is I feel compelled to carry my bike through here, to avoid flat tires. This sidewalk is an important connection for cyclists because it's how I get from home (Edgewood) to work (near downtown) via the Duck Hollow Trail and the Baldwin Borough / GAP trail. I have swept up broken glass here in the past, myself, but this is the city's responsibility, not mine. Please clean up the glass ASAP. If you allow the glass to persist you are allowing one thoughtless litterer's actions to spoil an important bicycle connection. PS: lower priority: it appears that the company that put up the billboards on the hillside above the southwest end of the Glenwood Bridge trimmed the shrubs. That's fine, except they left cut plants strewn on the sidewalk. If you are going to allow them to cut plants near that sidewalk then they should be required to clear their debris from the sidewalk! In case you're wondering, yes, this area is within Pittsburgh city limits. I checked. LATITUDE 40.39293412835439 LONGITUDE -79.93489935994148
paulheckbert
2013-09-11 09:58:36
Sent this gem in. How exactly am I supposed to get across the 40th street bridge like this?
turboweasel
2013-09-14 15:50:44
J.Str. wrote:How exactly am I supposed to get across the 40th street bridge like this?
Obviously, they want you to sit in one of them metal boxes on wheels there. This happened on the West End bridge too.
marko82
2013-09-14 15:57:38
Another gem of an example - the joyous combination of a traffic engineer in a remote suburban office park doing a signage plan, and a contractor on site "just doin' what's on the drawin's".
edmonds59
2013-09-15 07:04:32
Yeah, I rode the street on 40th while these signs were up, and it seems there is one drain grate that is parallel to the lane of traffic, and it's right where I was riding. Keep an eye out for it if you take the road there. Better yet, take the lane.
benzo
2013-09-17 09:57:37
Seems after that weekend they fixed it. Now we are just back to the same old annoying, but maneuverable signage.
turboweasel
2013-09-24 09:38:47
Did you, guys, see what happen to 2nd Ave from 10th and just past Brady St. last week? Finally this is one lane inbound (from Ansaldo garage)) and it's not wide! Outbound lane is also one lane but converting into two just before Brady and it's two lanes all the way to Greenfield. PS I don't know if it help but I've complained to 311 a couple times and complained to bike infrastructure survey. :) Yahoo!
mikhail
2013-10-15 15:59:57
Found a deer carcass in Duck Hollow parking lot and filled out 311 form , I clean trash from this trailhead Parking lot . It will stink soon
cowchip
2013-10-28 15:37:46
2 days and the city animal control had it removed . I am impressed !!!!
cowchip
2013-10-30 20:28:15
Here's my most recent submission (cross posting from Pocusset Street discussion); There is an abandoned roadway in Schenley Park that extends from Pocusset Street to Prospect Drive. The name of this roadway was Pocussett Drive at one time. The surface of this roadway is actually still in very good condition. It is overgrown, and has some fallen trees, but still usable as a pedestrian/bicycle connection. With the new designation of Pocusset Street as a pedestrian/bicycle roadway, it would be nice to see the City clear some of the vegetation from Pocussett Drive, and create a second pedestrian/bicycle roadway in that location. Pedestrians and cyclists are currently able to navigate the barriers at the north and south ends of Pocussett Drive, but a small future investment in a more bike friendly barrier design could also be warranted.
swalfoort
2013-11-14 15:20:36
Reported this week: Drivers driving in the bike lane on East Liberty Blvd as a passing lane. See it happen all the time. I finally got around to filing a complaint about it.
mwkozak
2013-11-19 20:51:13
Now that's a complaint I'd like to see addressed - Liberty Ave too, and even Beechwood sometimes (not so much passing there, but it amazes me how people buy these expensive sports cars yet can't manage to keep them the hell out of the bike lane as they take a gentle curve at 15 over the limit).
salty
2013-11-19 21:02:39
Has anyone else noticed the unusual patterns of the crosswalk at Centre & Negley? I think that when DPW changed the signals to larger ones, they changed the crosswalk activation sequence in a way that doubled the average wait time after pressing the walk button. I have contacted 311 about this multiple times since ~1.5 months ago when they made the change, but nothing has been done about it. The most annoying thing is that I am fairly certain they conducted the traffic study that led to this change during the time when the intersection was part of the detour for the Highland Ave bridge reconstruction. They overestimated the amount of traffic and are making pedestrians wait longer in the cold or risk jaywalking.
rgrasmus
2013-12-03 18:04:35
Let's see if this gets resolved... when it snowed last month the path was actually plowed, but not today. I made it through but especially the part around the ballfield was difficult... which goes back to that earlier discussion about narrow vs wide tires in the snow, I'm sure a fatbike or probably even a MTB would have no problem. Also, kudos to Walnut Capital (at least I assume it was them) for clearing the section in front of their construction site. That was a problem area last year, it was a sheet of ice for 2 weeks straight (although, that made for a great testing ground for my then-new studded tires), but this year it has been promptly cleared. --- The bike/ped path through Mellon Park between 5th and Penn needs to be plowed; both the sections around the ballfield and the path parallelling Penn Ave. Currently it is very difficult and hazardous to traverse the path, and the fact it is so heavily used will cause it to turn it to ice if the problem is not addressed. Also, the "parking lot" portion of Beechwood was plowed, but the plow operator piled up snow right at the entrance to the trail, leading to another hazardous condition.
salty
2014-01-03 11:55:41
submitted today: Just wanted to take a moment to thank the City/Public Works for plowing the Eliza Furnace Trail, made for a less challenging bike commute this morning.
ka_jun
2014-01-03 13:27:34
Not my lucky day, the Mellon park trail is not plowed and in much worse shape because a ton of people obviously walk through there. I almost had a really dumb crash into a metal light pole trying to ride through there (managed to stay upright and avoid the pole). hopefully it gets warm enough this weekend to melt and evaporate.
salty
2014-01-03 21:57:58
OK, maybe my 311 wasn't completely useless because it looks like they did plow and salt the trail this week... So, not so good for stuff that requires prompt action (although the stuff I 311d did all melt last weekend), but at least they took care of the new stuff. We just need that to happen automatically. It doesn't affect me personally too much, I'll ride through it regardless to prove a point, and even have fun doing it as long as I don't wreck into the pole - but it's one more obstacle/excuse that might keep people from riding in the winter.
salty
2014-01-10 03:24:40
During Chillmaggedon, a brush-buggy was keeping the section of the trail from the county garage to the W. Carson end cleared, so kudos there.
edmonds59
2014-01-10 06:26:30
I was in a Twitter conversation with Natalia Rudiak on Sunday, discussing potholes and the reporting thereof, particularly regarding bicyclists' ability to help. Mayor Peduto got in on it later on, and mentioned the iBurgh app.
@rgrasmus @jonawebb @bus15237 @nataliarudiak @TranspoCamp familiar w/iBurgh (was co-developer) 1st mobile app for local govt -will be back!— bill peduto (@billpeduto) January 13, 2014
This is where my part of the conversation started; my tweet was a response to someone else:
@nataliarudiak Bicyclists are your key for reporting potholes. We can pull over immed, take a photo & 311 it right there.— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) January 12, 2014
The last I looked, that had been retweeted to over 5,000 people, via ~10 other Twitterers.
stuinmccandless
2014-01-13 07:26:33
You da man Stu. It would be nice if they actually fixed those potholes too.
marko82
2014-01-13 08:47:45
Thomas bike lane almost needs a fat bike... Wightman at Darlington is also beaten to pieces near the double yellow for the left onto Darlington. This is to acknowledge that the City of Pittsburgh has entered your Service Request. The Service Request ID is:359600 If you need to contact the city again concerning this issue, please refer to that number. We will inform you when this request has been completed. Thank you for allowing the City of Pittsburgh to serve you. 01/14/2014 12:16:32 Summary of Service-Request: There are three large potholes in the east-bound bike lane on Thomas Blvd between N. Dallas and N. Lang. They all have been there for more than 1 year. The first is just east of N. Dallas. The second is a bit more than half way between N. Dallas and N. Murtland, and the third is halfway between N. Murtland and N. Lang.
neilmd
2014-01-14 11:53:03
Pothole-patching blitz this week? http://www.popcitymedia.com/devnews/potholes011514.aspx Mayor's office announces pothole blitz WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 Rare is the Pittsburgher who’s seen a winter turn into a spring, a spring into a summer and a summer into a fall and thought, “how is it that they still haven’t fixed all the potholes from last year?” In his second week on the job, Mayor Bill Peduto is getting a head start. His office announced yesterday that city’s department of public works will take advantage of the recent spate of warm weather and fix as many of the current potholes as possible over the next 72 hours, working around the clock as long as the weather remains clement. The city will have 17 crews filling potholes during the day and another 10 crews working overnight shifts. The mayor has enlisted the help of the City Parks maintenance staff to assist the DPW during what’s thought to be the city’s first “pothole blitz.” The mayor will discuss the initiative this morning at a news conference with Chief Operations Officer Guy Costa and District 2 Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith. Peduto is encouraging residents to assist the city by reporting potholes to 311. Writer: Matthew Wein
paulheckbert
2014-01-15 14:05:47
Reported last night via twitter: @pgh2o @PghDistrict8 apparent water main break, outbound Centre between Neville and Millvale. @PGHDistrict8 @PghDistrict7 [potholes on] most of millvale Ave btwn liberty & the bridge, both sides (also, sweep the bike lanes, please. Full of gravel!) Dan Gilman (@PGHDistrict8 and @danielgilman) responded--at about 1015pm last night--to say "I am on both issues. Thank you", then added this this morning: PWSA was on site this AM. The leak is on a valve on a private line. PWSA is informing private owner
epanastrophe
2014-01-15 14:14:18
Unused railroad tracks... think I could 311 request that they be paved over? I bit it on the set that run across River Ave over to Heinz on Sunday and have a nice purple and green arm to show for it. I'm kinda lucky I didn't break or dislocate anything.
rustyred
2014-01-17 12:14:02
RustyRed wrote:Unused railroad tracks… think I could 311 request that they be paved over? I bit it on the set that run across River Ave over to Heinz on Sunday and have a nice purple and green arm to show for it. I’m kinda lucky I didn’t break or dislocate anything.
Well, I 311'ed it, but something tells me I picked a bad time to do so. "Pittsburgh's 311 hotline gets 1,500 pothole calls | TribLIVE http://trib.me/1mbFLYk "
rustyred
2014-01-17 19:22:25
This area gets bad every year, so today I reported: Bad, deep potholes on Biddle near East End, in Regent Square. A cyclist could get hurt here.
paulheckbert
2014-01-19 21:37:19
RustyRed wrote:Unused railroad tracks… think I could 311 request that they be paved over? I bit it on the set that run across River Ave over to Heinz on Sunday and have a nice purple and green arm to show for it. I’m kinda lucky I didn’t break or dislocate anything.
I would really just like a bit more notice of railroad track crossings like this, they can sneak up on you at night pretty easily. Just a bit of reflective paint on the roads would be a huge improvement. River Ave, Railroad St, etc.. Though, removal in this case would be best, since I doubt they will ever need freight rail service to fancy condos.
benzo
2014-01-21 10:05:13
I fell into a pothole on Darlington Rd last week. I wonder if that's been reported.
andyc
2014-01-24 13:01:00
Request submitted for EFT plowing/sweeping. Not holding my breath due to the anticipated weather coming in and the current state of the roads.
ka_jun
2014-01-27 12:23:59
A couple days ago I reported the pothole on Forbes just uphill of Plainfield (this is just east of CMU).
paulheckbert
2014-01-27 19:15:20
The trails in Mellon Park were nicely plowed today, I'll send off a thank you to 311.
salty
2014-01-27 23:13:13
J Z wrote:Request submitted for EFT plowing/sweeping. Not holding my breath due to the anticipated weather coming in and the current state of the roads.
By 12:30 it had been plowed.
mikhail
2014-01-28 08:10:30
@mikhail Going to drop them a note to say thanks, that was awesome and unexpected. Now that section of the connector from EFT to Bates, on the other hand...
ka_jun
2014-01-28 09:32:04
Not really 311 but I complained on twitter yesterday to @PGHDistrict8 (Dan Gilman) about Shadyside Detail being the only business on Ellsworth that didn't clear their sidewalk. (No surprise as they don't get any foot traffic). They responded immediately and were able to get them to clean the sidewalks later in the day.
rgrasmus
2014-01-28 09:39:57
submitted today. "If possible, please notify the responsible parties (not sure if private property owners or City of Pittsburgh) of uncleared sidewalks, specifically 1) the section of Bates Street in South Oakland between Blvd of the Allies and Second Ave, and 2) the sidewalk of Second Avenue between Bates Street and the connecting ramp to the Eliza Furnace Trail. Thank you."
ka_jun
2014-01-28 09:56:20
J Z wrote:@mikhail Going to drop them a note to say thanks, that was awesome and unexpected. Now that section of the connector from EFT to Bates, on the other hand…
There is no official connector from EFT to Bates so noone is going to clean it up. I usually clean up HMB ramps from EFT, 2nd, and a little bit of the bridge over 2nd ans sometimes a little bit of HMB over right bank of mon (when time permits). I don't touch that "connector" either.
mikhail
2014-01-28 19:55:17
There is no official connector from EFT to Bates so noone is going to clean it up.
That's just crap (as was biking through it yesterday). Well, actually fun, but in a stupid way for stupid people me. If I can do it without falling or foot down then hey, that's something right?? Anyways... there was an existing path. I wasn't biking then to see it but I know that much. They rebuilt the bridge killing that, but built a ramp from sidewalk to trail at least. It's there to serve a need. It's there be used. It's a connector. Whose head do I have to bash in repeatedly to make this point officially? Also, shovels since even official routes they seem somewhat to be relying on volunteers. Gah!
byogman
2014-01-28 22:14:52
@Mikhail maybe there isn't an "official" connector, but there is sidewalk and someone is responsible for keeping it clear per city regs, even if it is the city. That said, there may be an incentive for them to not enforce their own regs on themselves.
ka_jun
2014-01-29 12:45:37
J Z wrote:@Mikhail maybe there isn’t an “official” connector, but there is sidewalk and someone is responsible for keeping it clear per city regs, even if it is the city. That said, there may be an incentive for them to not enforce their own regs on themselves.
Before the Bates St bridge was rebuilt, there used to be an actual gravel path down from the EFT. I think this is what byogman is asking to have restored... Good luck. Now there is only the steps and ramp down to the Second Ave sidewalk, which you have to follow for some distance to reach Bates. And yes, per http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/GeneralInfo.aspx?ParcelID=0011K00340000900, the entire strip of land between the Parkway and Second is City property, and the City are responsible for clearing any and all sidewalk on their land.
epanastrophe
2014-01-29 13:14:32
J Z wrote:@Mikhail maybe there isn’t an “official” connector, but there is sidewalk and someone is responsible for keeping it clear per city regs, even if it is the city. That said, there may be an incentive for them to not enforce their own regs on themselves.
If you mean Bates-side walk-one of these two entrances to EFT then you are correct -- someone should clean them up as well as sidewalk. I meant the one discussed here -- http://localhost/mb/topic/eliza-furnace-trail-deterioration-steps/#post-275934
mikhail
2014-01-29 16:02:12
Complained to Munhall about the candlestick section of the GAP not being cleared Sent email to FoTRF to see if they've done any research into having the Sandcastle section of the trail cleared. It's in West Homestead, could that borough clear it?
sgtjonson
2014-01-29 18:51:33
Mikhail wrote:
J Z wrote:@Mikhail maybe there isn’t an “official” connector, but there is sidewalk and someone is responsible for keeping it clear per city regs, even if it is the city. That said, there may be an incentive for them to not enforce their own regs on themselves.
If you mean Bates-side walk-one of these two entrances to EFT then you are correct — someone should clean them up as well as sidewalk. I meant the one discussed here — http://localhost/mb/topic/eliza-furnace-trail-deterioration-steps/#post-275934
That's the one I mean, that wood ramp that I bit it on earlier this season. The runup to that "feature" from Bates is garbage right now.
ka_jun
2014-01-29 20:36:05
J Z wrote:That’s the one I mean, that wood ramp that I bit it on earlier this season. The runup to that “feature” from Bates is garbage right now.
I think I can clean them up next time -- it's not that far away from my work and I have a shovel in my trunk.
mikhail
2014-01-30 11:26:12
Pierce wrote:Sent email to FoTRF to see if they’ve done any research into having the Sandcastle section of the trail cleared. It’s in West Homestead, could that borough clear it?
Pierce: Friends of the Riverfront manages the GAP downstream of the Glenwood Bridge (the section also known as the Baldwin Borough Trail; talk to trail stewardship coordinator Jeffrey McCauley). Steel Valley Trail Council (info@steelvalleytrail.org) manages the GAP upstream of there (near Sandcastle, Waterfront, Kennywood, etc.). I volunteer for both organizations.
paulheckbert
2014-01-30 12:55:17
Mikhail wrote:
J Z wrote:That’s the one I mean, that wood ramp that I bit it on earlier this season. The runup to that “feature” from Bates is garbage right now.
I think I can clean them up next time — it’s not that far away from my work and I have a shovel in my trunk.
You sir, are awesome!
ka_jun
2014-01-30 13:05:59
Paul, I messaged the Waterfront property management to see if they'd be willing to plow the trail on East Waterfront Drive. Munhall said they're (the Waterfront company) in charge of everything over there I also contacted the SVT to see if they've got any clearing ideas. I noticed another design oddity on that section of the trail as well by Sandcastle. There's a gate that opens up into sandcastle in the chain link fence, but it's about thirty feet inside the Sandcastle gate on the Costco said. So if a full size truck were to plow the trail, they'd have to plow from keystone metals where the turnable bollards are and then either open the gate, go into Sandcastle and turn around, or just drive in reverse all the way back to Keystone. I don't think a truck could get through the 90 degree bend where the ramp is on the Costco side. I also saw joggers running through Costco. I've begun jumping the fence myself
sgtjonson
2014-01-30 13:25:13
Mikhail wrote:I can clean them up next time
Done.
mikhail
2014-01-30 22:29:43
I think the best thing to plow the trail to and around the waterfront and other narrow sections would be a small golf cart like ATV / utility vehicle like they use on the PITT campus. Still need to figure out how they can access everything due to bollards, but they are pretty small and could fit on most of the trails easily and allow other trail users to squeeze past.
benzo
2014-01-31 10:30:28
Pitt and CMU both use a combination of pickup trucks and the smaller ATVs to plow and otherwise maintain their sidewalks---perhaps they could be convinced to give (or sell at a reduced price) one or two of their older vehicles to the trail councils? I believe the Downtown Partnership clears its sidewalks just with snowblowers; I saw one in use last weekend. it had a shield behind it that made me think it was a ride-on until I passed it and saw the operator simply walking... Not sure what Oakland BID does for snow removal, but I know they have one or two ride-on sweepers for cleaning the sidewalks the rest of the year; based on what I've seen it do, it has the turning radius to manage the end of the Sandcastle segment near Costco, though maybe not the transition near the old Fuddruckers toward the gravel trail (which is hard enough on a bike...)
epanastrophe
2014-01-31 10:38:44
I personally don't really care about the gravel section as I always go behind the shopping center anyways Here's the response I got from George Schmidt of the SVT: "On behalf of the Steel Valley Trail Council I will answer your question about clearing our section of the Great Allegheny Passage. We simply don't have the assets or the man power to clear the trail when it snows. I believe the Pittsburgh/Baldwin part of the trail is plowed by the Pittsburgh Public Works Department. It's pretty easy to run a truck with a plow down the trail from Southside. Removing the snow from the Sandcastle segment would be tough to do without damaging the fences. A snow blower might work, but then you would be throwing snow on the railroad tracks or on Sandcastle's access road. We owe a lot to these people for helping us get the trail through this area and we do not want to antagonize them. The trail actually runs through at least four municipalities and a major commercial development. It wouldn't hurt to ask, but I don't believe they have the resources either. As far as plowing the bike lanes by the Pump House, we have a major expense replacing delineators, aka candlesticks, every spring. These are damaged by snow plows and run over by vehicles as it is. I imagine sending a plow down the middle of the narrow bike lanes would guarantee a lot more damage. Plowing the crushed stone section of the trail through the Waterfront could cause more damage than good. As a ex-bicycle commuter, I can understand your frustration with having to ride on the road when there is an alternative. The railroad access road and the sidewalk on West Carson street would have been a lot safer to use if they had a relatively small investment of resources. Hang in there. We have had twice as much snow as we normally have at this time of the year. If you would like to get involved with maintenance on our section of the trail, please feel free to contact me. Be careful out there." I'm thinking maybe this would do the trick for the segment I'm most concerned about, which is the Sandcastle link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CZ2Y0M/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2QHMFNXKTV28D&coliid=I2RBE5TF301QWX
sgtjonson
2014-01-31 13:32:55
While I was walking during lunch I saw PW small truck started to clean EFT and HMB. More exactly HMB and beginning og EFT (starting from parking lot at the east end) have been cleanup and guy just cleaned Bates overpass and a little bit further.
mikhail
2014-02-03 13:53:07
Mellon Park trails were plowed again when I went through this morning. I sent 311 a thank you last time, other people that use it may want to do the same.
salty
2014-02-03 18:15:17
I noticed today that a lot of potholes were filled recently. Keep those 311 requests coming.
benzo
2014-02-04 10:42:15
I keep seeing people driving in the bike lane, I can understand that it's hard to see, since the paint is getting old. So I put the following tickets in to fix that. ticket number: 70547 The paint on the Bike lane on liberty ave between Baum Blvd and bloomfield bridge is worn away so much that it's hardly visible in many places. Please repaint or replace with torch down markings. ticket number: 70553 The paint on the Bike lane on Friendship ave between cedarville st and gross st is worn away so much that it's hardly visible in many places. Please repaint or replace with torch down markings.
benzo
2014-02-05 12:38:40
3 in a row for Mellon park, that's really nice to see. Although, they didn't salt - it was ok in the am but by 7pm, the part parallel to Penn had a clear path through it but once you get to the bend and beyond it's a sheet of ice. I didn't mind since I always like getting my moneys' worth out of the studded tires I bought, but it would be sketchy on anything else.
salty
2014-02-06 00:40:54
I just sent a Thank you for clearing the EFT so well and so quickly yesterday. I was not looking forward to slogging through the then freezing slush for the afternoon commute (I took main roads in the morning, but after "rush" hour) when I was pleasantly surprised to find the trail was very clear. I only saw one other set of tires before me- I am guessing others did not expect it to be cleared and took alternate routes.
helen-s
2014-02-06 07:07:24
Anyone else using their lunch break to file 311 complaints of sidewalk ice-sheets along their commutes? Looks like the weather won't melt them anytime soon.
rgrasmus
2014-02-07 12:06:48
I was using my lunchbreak to sketch up a pair of foot-mounted ice scraper blades with an SPD interface. Get off bike, clip blades to feet, kick the shinola out of some ice pack, unclip blades, and ride on.
reddan
2014-02-07 14:47:42
Reported the giant pothole on fisk st next to the crazy mocha in lawrenceville. I've nearly hit that thing several times when turning off butler st.
benzo
2014-02-10 10:03:58
Ticket number: 79347 Existing bicycle sharrow markings on center ave between neville st and millvale ave have deteriorated so that most of them are no longer recognizable. Some are no visible at all. Please Re-apply.
benzo
2014-03-04 14:21:25
Put in another 311 ticket since there were 7 vehicles parked along millvale ave by west penn hospital. 4 of those were blocking the bike lane. Ticket number: 79799
benzo
2014-03-07 09:50:05
INCIDENT ADDRESS Beechwood Blvd. TOPIC OF CONCERN Parking MESSAGE Ah, spring brings the return of people who are too stupid and/or lazy to park their cars without blocking a bike/pedestrian path or crosswalk. Can you please paint some "No Parking" markings and increase enforcement in the areas around Mellon Park? Specifically, the paths around the ballfield are often blocked by cars, but the whole "stub" area of Beechwood Blvd is terrible, cars are often double or triple parked. I've also seen people blocking the crosswalk and construction entrance on what used to be Putnam St., and parked on Beechwood so close to 5th Ave to block the crosswalk there. (old photo; it was basically the same situation today, plus a huge mound of dirt, but I couldn't be arsed to snap a photo. all winter, there was no problem).
salty
2014-04-01 18:52:23
Highland Park Refuse Broken glass on Highland Park Bridge - creates a hazard for cyclists. The bridge is a vital connection in Pittsburgh's bicycle network, and cycling in the roadway, especially at rush hour, is risky, with a narrow gravel-strewn shoulder and fast-moving cars. So most cyclists take the sidewalk. Yet the sidewalk has lots of gravel on it and a few bad patches of broken glass. It appears that the bridge sidewalk has not been cleaned in years. You need to clean it at least once a year to remove accumulated glass and other trash, which can cause punctures in bicycle tires. Photo attached.
paulheckbert
2014-04-01 23:13:05
Trying to get onto the South Side Trail to go in the direction of downtown from around South Side Works at ~1:45am on Monday night, I was surprised to encounter a police van driving along the trail. We were sternly told via the van's loudspeaker that the park was closed and that we couldn't take the trail. I take that trail a lot at night when I'm not in the mood to play in drunk Carson St traffic, especially from 18th to Hot Metal when I'm coming home from working late, and I have never had this problem. I was not amused. The interaction has been 311ed. I'm curious if there will be any response. I know the park is technically closed at night, but I would say it does not seem especially prudent to enforce a policy like that in a way that forces cyclists onto a corridor like Carson St at night. After getting kicked out, we might have sassily ridden down to 18th and gotten on the trail there instead... maybe
2014-04-15 23:52:19
Real nasty pothole in the middle of Third Avenue, downtown, between Smithfield and Wood. "@bus15237 Thank you for tweeting, your request ID# is 87442."
stuinmccandless
2014-04-22 03:39:20
Bike lane stripe inbound Liberty from Main to Ewing is gone. An extension of the thermoplastic green lane here would be practical. It's a heavy-wear spot, mostly from cars making a wide left from the bridge onto Liberty inbound. The outbound green lane at this intersection has held up extremely well where cars are crossing over to the bridge on-ramp - as has the inbound crossover from Liberty to Main. If this was a test intersection for durability of the green stuff, I'd call it a win.  photo ScreenShot2014-05-01at112806PM_zps247a8751.png
quizbot
2014-05-01 23:20:33
My tweet: @Pgh311 Large pothole, Allegheny Ave at Reedsdale St. Ideal position & size to flip a bike. pic.twitter.com/h2lv0LBdjd Their response: @bus15237 Request ID# 89933 has been sent to DPW to address potholes in intersection of Allegheny Ave @ Reedsdale Street
stuinmccandless
2014-05-05 06:03:44
There are two potholes in the crosswalk at the southern end of the Hot Metal Bridge. Although these holes are small compared to others in the area, that crosswalk is heavily used by the cyclist using the bicycle trail through there. It would be very likely for an inexperienced cyclist to crash in the roadway if they dont see these. The crosswalk paint is starting to fade too, but the potholes are the main worry. Thanks Ticket ID #89992
marko82
2014-05-06 20:25:25
Submitted ticket to clear downed tree on pocusset dr connector (which links prospect circle to pocusset st). 311 Response Web Form Submission Receipt Your submission has been assigned ticket number: 98063 TOPIC OF CONCERN Overgrowth - Public Property MESSAGE In Schenly Park, near Prospect Circle, there is a small connector road which connects to pocusset st (shown on google maps as pocusset drive trail). This road is blocked by a single fallen tree. There are already crews on prospect Circle clearing some other trees. Could you ask them to please clear the fallen tree blocking this path so it can provide through access to park users on bicycles who would like to connect to the new bikeway on pocusset st. LATITUDE 40.43126897044754 LONGITUDE -79.93696331977844 Other than this tree, the trail is clear to ride, there currently is not a great go-around.
benzo
2014-06-05 15:14:44
Response: Thank you for contacting 311. Request ID# 390922 has been assigned to your concern. The Dept. of Public Works now has a work order to removed the tree at Pocussett Drive @ Pocussett Drive Trail.
benzo
2014-06-05 16:35:16
Benzo, Years ago, I tried traversing that trail on foot. At that time there were so many felled trees that passage was next to impossible. The trees appearred to me to ahve been deliberately felled to block the path. I wasn't sure whether this would ahve been neighbors to keep the gay guys out, or gay guys to keep police out. Please let us know when/if the tree gets cleared.
mick
2014-06-06 01:28:58
I scoped his last week and this was the only thing still blocking the trail, other stuff may be partially in the path, but it was all relatively easy to avoid. Totally travers able on a road bike with no dismount needed (except this one tree blocking the trail at the top). I'll repost when it's cleared completely.
benzo
2014-06-06 06:05:10
Railroad overpass project on 885, people walking on 885, which narrows to two lines, no shoulders and jersey barriers. Literally no place for peds to walk and so now they're either walking on 885 or according to the construction manager, walking on an unfinished construction walkway Had to go through a couple of people to find out what's going on, apparently they're trying to find a solution. Kind of annoying this wasn't thought of beforehand though
sgtjonson
2014-06-06 12:41:34
Where on 885 is this?
benzo
2014-06-06 13:37:12
By the Allegheny County airport, Sheets, and the West Mifflin Port Authority depot
sgtjonson
2014-06-11 17:07:00
@Benzo: the fallen tree on Pocusset Drive Trail (as I suggest we call it) - do you know if it's still there? As you may know, Jon Webb and I did some tree-clearing on that abandoned road / trail in December. See http://localhost/mb/topic/opportunity-for-input-pocusset-street-in-schenley-park/page/3/#post-288663 . If there's been no action on clearing the fallen tree then we could try contacting Lynette Lederman from Corey O'Connor's office. See that other thread from Dec. 2013 to Feb. 2014.
paulheckbert
2014-07-04 20:02:00
I'll try to scope that downed tree after work today. It has been a while since I checked. I do know that parks dept has a work order to remove it.
benzo
2014-07-07 08:51:55
It was there as of last Thursday.
andyc
2014-07-07 13:39:22
@pgh311 Please fix broken/missing bricks in middle of L turn off Smithfield onto Liberty. I almost wiped out! pic.twitter.com/OSWvWeIdu8— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) July 24, 2014
@bus15237 Request ID# 108984 submitted to DPW to evaluate necessary procedures to realign bricks safely @ Smithfield/Liberty— PGH311 (@Pgh311) July 24, 2014
stuinmccandless
2014-07-24 13:31:59
Yeah, looks bad. But your picture (Smithfield & Liberty) might be too subtle for some, Stuart. Maybe a closeup or cropped version that clearly shows your tire submerged into a crack. If there were a pool of blood nearby, that would get the message across even better :-)
paulheckbert
2014-07-24 14:25:04
Created request to trim back overgrowth on negley run blvd. Most of the bike lane on the northern side of the street is covered in knotweed and other overgrowth.
benzo
2014-07-28 10:05:08
Just before 3pm, the new cycle track in front of Phipps in Schenley Parkl was totally parked up by cars. "No Parking at Any Time" signs were clearly visible alongside the cycle track. Asked for enforcement of the parking restrictions, since the parked cars forced cyclists out into automobile traffic, creating a dangerous situation.
roy-weil
2014-08-17 16:38:20
next time, call 911. 311 is generally closed on weekends, and even during the week, anything that requires a direct enforcement response (incl. parking issues) has to go through police dispatch.
epanastrophe
2014-08-18 01:02:12
Yes, I've had success deterring parking in bike lanes with 911. I reported the same car about 3 times on my way to work in front of the ER at west penn, I've noticed they now park in the leased area where they belong. So I assume the issue was addressed with them by the proper authorities.
benzo
2014-08-18 08:48:00
Reported some large potholes (craters, really) along the drainages of westbound Butler St, between Highland Park Bridge and 57th. The Mt. Lebanon group ride usually goes through there on Saturdays, and though I know those holes are there, they never fail to scare the crap out of me. Hopefully they'll repair them soon. I also requested repaving the access road to the Allegheny Observatory that goes off Riverview Ave (where Pedal PGH goes through). That access road is in shambles, though I doubt it will be addressed any time soon
chrishent
2014-08-21 08:29:27
@pgh311 @pghtrails @pgtraffic 5Ave inbound at Marion, Uptown, missing cover to square manhole. Will flip a cyclist, huge hole for car.— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) August 21, 2014
Within an hour, @pgh311 replied: @bus15237 Request ID# 113575 submitted to DPW Inspector to verify ownership of manhole cover to ensure safety & replacement
stuinmccandless
2014-08-21 09:01:33
Just submitted to the 311 twitter account. Penn Ave inbound just past Childrens Hospital. (across from Brillo Box, I think). Very large pothole in the outside lane. While we were riding home tonight, my wife's front tire struck it and sent her over the handlebars, plus an ambulance trip to the ER for further tests.
smarchit
2014-08-22 22:51:17
RT @SteelCurlin: @Pgh311 Daylight follow-up pic of the Penn Ave pothole that sent my wife to ER after flipping her bike last night
smarchit
2014-08-23 15:36:38
@Pgh311 What is the hold up in getting the bike path reconnected here? This is very dangerous for cyclists. @BikePGH (Penn & Putnam, near BkSq - I clarified this in a follow-up tweet and that I was talking about the path headed eastbound. Note the construction crew pouring concrete on the opposite side from where it's needed. And the cyclist waiting in the crappy pedestrian switchback who did in fact nearly get right hooked by the SUV.) https://twitter.com/mr_salty/status/502882345976754176
salty
2014-08-24 19:25:09
@Pgh311: @SteelCurlin Request ID# 113993 submitted to DPW to address pothole on Penn Ave @ 42nd Street & Main Sts
smarchit
2014-08-25 09:05:07
My 311 Complaint this week: MMVTA needs to put bike racks on their buses especially for bike commuters that would like to have their bikes at both ends of the trip!
tangythai
2014-09-03 13:38:06
On previously mentioned 885 work... They're now working on the opposite side of the railroad overpass. Their solution to removing shoulders where people regularly walk is to have no pedestrian signs.
sgtjonson
2014-09-25 17:39:41
Reported the expansion joint on northbound lanes for 6th Street bridge. Crossing this joint has become a problem, as there are potholes along the metal edge on both sides. You can bunny hop them, but you shouldn't have to.
chrishent
2014-10-08 12:50:07
A few weeks ago I reported a small open manhole on Carson St. just East of Smithfield St. It's still not repaired/replaced, just an open hole waiting to snag a bicycle/motorcycle wheel. It's been two weeks since my second report to 311 about the issue.... Anyone know of a way to get some traction on this one? An open manhole, even a small one like this, should be a high priority issue in my mind.
mattjackets
2014-10-15 12:50:39
Maybe contact your rep on City Council and ask what the holdup is?
steven
2014-10-15 22:45:58
BTW, reported the bike lane between Braddock and Dallas on Forbes being full of leaves and black walnuts -- it was swept two days later. Pretty good work.
jonawebb
2014-10-27 10:30:41
There's a good chance that the manhole is PWSA. I would contact them, as well.
mjacobpgh
2014-10-30 09:51:15
From this:
@pgh311 Pothole (broken pavement slab), 5Av/Market inbound.— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) November 13, 2014
...came this:
@bus15237 Request ID# 124609 submitted to DPW to address road condition concern @ 5th Ave & Market. Thank you!— PGH311 (@Pgh311) November 13, 2014
stuinmccandless
2014-11-13 17:40:02
^ I ran into this too so I lifted my bike up over the jersey barrier and proceeded in the traffic lane - F-PennDot! I also mentioned the blockage to a cop directing traffic near Duq incline. He said he'd tell his supervisor, but since the cop was sitting in his car with the heater running & the traffic light cord running to his car.... I don't think he saw the bigger picture.
marko82
2014-11-15 19:40:36
@marko82 ...l the cop was sitting in his car with the heater running & the traffic light cord running to his car…. Please tell me there were donuts involved.
mick
2014-11-16 19:54:24
^ if there were donuts, he didnt offer ME any!
marko82
2014-11-16 21:10:06
Wow, looks like the recent weather has been rough on that sign. ;)
edmonds59
2014-11-20 12:07:02
Sign gets bent out of shape from the guilt of blocking the sidewalk.
paulheckbert
2014-11-21 23:03:14
Requested pothole blitz attention to the numerous potholes in the concrete area where the Southside trail meets the trail gap at 4th, between the RR tracks and the river. Nothing huge, but it takes lots of weaving to avoid them.
maryshaw
2014-11-25 11:12:10
I reported: A truck was blocking 3/4 of the bike lane on Penn Ave at Tito Way, near Benedum Center, the three times I passed by this spot on bike, around 3:30-5pm on Monday 11/24. Nobody should be allowed to park across the bike lane like that except in an emergency -- this is the principal bike route through the theater district. Please inform the truckers so this doesn't happen again.
paulheckbert
2014-11-25 15:35:48
Speaking of signs blocking bridge sidewalks, I encountered this on Monday, on the sidewalk of Butler St just downstream of the Highland Park Bridge. Apparently the wind had blown the sign down. I moved it out of the way. (This issue I did not report to 311.)
paulheckbert
2014-11-25 22:46:53
Regarding my report of 11/25, truck blocking Penn Ave bike lane at Tito Way, I got "Your request has been sent to the Police at Zone 2 to monitor the parking in this location and to notify the business owners. Your request number is 419242."
paulheckbert
2014-12-01 22:46:51
Entered. 3 of the bollards on the new bike lanes on Schenley Drive have been knocked down. Please replace.
ka_jun
2014-12-01 23:09:18
My November 13 pothole report has been attended to.
stuinmccandless
2014-12-02 11:05:03
Turned in stupid short light cycle for people turning from Broad onto Center by Target. Also turned in East Liberty Blvd and Broad not recognizing cyclists for the protected green turn lane, which means you have to run a red light to get out of the intersection. There's a bunch of turn lanes that don't work for cyclists on the ELBL but Broad is pretty much the only one I use now
sgtjonson
2014-12-03 16:30:13
This is a rather old report in my history of 311-ing, but the one I'm most satisfied with the response to. You may recall that up until a year and a half ago, or so, there was a perpetual swamp on the southside trail just past the office park and Steelers/UPMC Sports Med complex, going outbound. I 311'd the mess in November and said it was going to be a safety issue when freezing weather arrives. I'm not a civil engineer, but I thought I'd give them some advice anyway, so I said: "Don't bother sending out a pickup truck and two guys with shovels. You have a problem there that an engineer needs to look at and design a solution for." Lo and behold, in the spring they installed a drainage pipe under the trail that has been a solution in all but the most extreme weather.
jdgpgh
2014-12-06 21:28:05
311 request to the city to clear EFT of snow/ice. If anyone else is inclined and uses it, multiple requests might encourage quicker action.
ka_jun
2015-01-07 09:02:51
Here's the reply from the City. "Thank you for contacting 311. The department of public works is not taking requests for specific streets/areas until noon today. If your street/area has still not be treated by that time, please let us know and we will send a request through for you." It's noon, anyone been through on EFT and can provide a report? If it hasn't been cleared, I'll send in another request.
ka_jun
2015-01-07 12:31:34
Take note that as of 1:15 p.m., it's snowing again, pretty hard.
stuinmccandless
2015-01-07 13:27:30
As of 2014-01-07 @ 14:30 EFT had not been cleaned.
mikhail
2015-01-08 01:55:59
Sent to 311: The new snow plow trscker site is excellent. But I noticed it doesn't show plowing activity on paved trails like the Eliza Furnace Trail, even though DPW plows those too. Perhaps the street database used by the web site just needs to be set to include paved trails in addition to roads. Response: Thank you for contacting 311. This is just the first iteration of the tracker. The devices are installed on the vehicles, so tracking is dependent upon what vehicle or device they use for plowing/salting. I will pass along the message to Public Works.
steven
2015-01-27 16:46:57
311'ed the unplowed segment of EFT. Another rider asked me if EFT was clear on the way home tonight.
ka_jun
2015-01-27 17:58:07
I also 311'd the snow plow tracker. Got the same response.
benzo
2015-01-28 11:05:14
I suppose now would be a good time to mention that I work for DPW in an administrative capacity. As it stands now, the EFT just isn't showing up on the tracker since the service that we use is currently using Google's driving directions to piece together vehicle history. We are working to put the EFT on the tracker if possible. If the EFT can be incorporated into the tracker, there is always the possibility that the vehicle treating it might not have GPS (though most do). In regard to the actual treatment of the trail, it was apparently plowed and salted all the way to the jail when it was initially treated. I personally don't use the EFT to commute(though I used to and I can absolutely see the benefit of the tracker for this trail) so I unfortunately haven't seen the conditions myself. Definitely stick to 311ing requests but I will pass these issues along to the appropriate people.
mjacobpgh
2015-01-28 12:42:10
Tweeted about the uncleared sidewalk in front of Smithfield Café. https://twitter.com/bus15237/status/560443145138503680 My hope, of course, is that in the future, the sidewalk is cleared *before* it becomes an icepack. Clearing it within 12-24 hours (6? 3?) of a snowstorm *so that* it does not become an icepack.
stuinmccandless
2015-01-28 13:00:08
Maybe you could switch Google's driving directions to bike mode? (Though that might exclude any limited-access highways the DPW plows.) In any case, glad to hear you guys are working on the issue!
steven
2015-01-28 13:11:34
Right now, that's about all the information I have but it's definitely being looked into. Like I said, I used to use the EFT and there were many days where I would've loved to have an idea of the condition of the trail prior to leaving my house. I have been told that the EFT was salted and plowed all the way to the jail and back this morning/afternoon so hopefully it's good for the ride home.
mjacobpgh
2015-01-28 14:15:16
@mjacobPGH cool, that would be cool. will report back after tonight's commute. for me, having an idea of the condition of EFT/Jail Trail changes what time I leave and what bike I use.
ka_jun
2015-01-28 14:22:08
Complained to Pittsburgh 311 about PennDOT blocking sidewalk in Hays, but not saying "no pedestrians," essentially forcing pedestrians to walk into traffic, as they did with their last 885 construction project, when they were renovating a train underpass.
sgtjonson
2015-01-28 14:55:15
I rode the Jail Trail last night and while most of it was cleared, there were several untouched patches including a 50m-long segment at about the midway point. I just submitted my 311 complaint and suggest others do the same. Can anybody speculate on how such a thing could even happen? I mean, if they're going to plow the trail, why would they just skip parts of it? I'm genuinely baffled.
mr-snrub
2015-01-29 09:38:33
I've had some success, recently w/ 311'ing iced up sidewalks. Now that the city is at snow level "O", it would probably be a good time to put in any problem areas people are encountering.
ka_jun
2015-02-06 07:53:31
Well, that was fast. This was at 8:45 this morning:
@pgh311 Tell Pizza Parma at Penn/9th to clear its sidewalks. pic.twitter.com/KKo4980xS4— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) February 17, 2015
By 9:30, I got this back:
@bus15237 Request ID# 136512 - Warning letter mailed to property owner of 823 Penn Ave regarding sidewalk maintenance. Thank you!— PGH311 (@Pgh311) February 17, 2015
Photo:
stuinmccandless
2015-02-17 09:28:53
@stu. I wonder how fast a reply you would get for a city-owned sidewalk?
marko82
2015-02-17 13:37:21
I don't know, but it seems like a simple solution for the pizza shop to have a sign they can put on the counter, "Free slice of pizza and a drink for the next customer who shovels our sidewalk. Teams of two or three acceptable."
stuinmccandless
2015-02-17 16:49:20
311 - Hodge St & Bates St intersection for black ice.
ka_jun
2015-02-24 08:22:30
Anyone complained about bike lanes not being cleared? I'm about to put in a 311 for Forbes Ave. from Braddock into Oakland. The part of Forbes through Frick Park was cleared at one point, but then it seems that someone used a small plow on the sidewalk next to the cemetery and dumped all the snow into the bike lane. Not sure if that was the city or the cemetery.
kbrooks
2015-02-25 12:48:49
People are parking on the sidewalk on One Wild Place in front of the Zoo's fence/gate and blocking the entire sidewalk, so you have to go onto the road to get by. Is that something I can report? It is ridiculous. The zoo needs to provide parking, which I think they do, but people are so lazy and FAT!
gg
2015-02-28 23:14:40
Parking on the sidewalk is a violation, and since it's apparently creating a safety hazard there, I suggest calling 911, not 311, the next time you see it.
steven
2015-03-01 03:36:08
311ed Bates Street sidewalk, sidewalk in front of bus stop at corner of Juliet and Blvd of the Allies as being ice covered and that they need to be treated.
ka_jun
2015-03-02 11:59:35
Still no response to my bike-lane clearing message. First time I have not received one within a couple days. Meanwhile, the bridge on Forbes going into Frick is falling apart, so I guess the city has bigger fish to fry.
kbrooks
2015-03-03 13:25:01
haha, 311 forwarded my request re: ice at the bus stop of Blvd of the Allies & Juliet to Port Authority. I'm sure they'll get right on that.
ka_jun
2015-03-04 09:04:59
Pretty quick response on this one, too. No photo. Hours before the snow from this latest storm began, the place still had built-up ice from the last one.
@Pgh311 Can someone please clear the sidewalk in front of the Smithfield Café before it freezes solid tonight?— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) March 5, 2015
@bus15237 Request ID# 140989 submitted to inspectors & Warning letter mailed to property owners of 639 Smithfield St. Thank you!— PGH311 (@Pgh311) March 5, 2015
stuinmccandless
2015-03-05 19:55:38
Word on the street is that there is going to be a pothole blitz for 3 days starting on tuesday evening. Get those potholes reported so they get fixed in time for good weather.
benzo
2015-03-06 15:32:27
S Highland potholes reported.
ka_jun
2015-03-06 20:30:41
East St. All along the Parkway North. This could be such a sweet road to ride in and out of town if it weren't for the current state it's in
chrishent
2015-03-08 18:22:29
And they just patched a crapton of holes along East just three weeks ago, W2/18. I watched them do it.
stuinmccandless
2015-03-09 13:47:33
Reported today, ticket number 145471 Bike lane marking on liberty ave between cedarville and pearl street is very worn and hard to see. Between Pearl St and Taylor St the markings are completely gone on the inbound side of the street. Both of these were repainted last summer. More durable marking need to be used here. Heavy salting and traffic driving on bike lanes in the winter is wearing them down very fast.
benzo
2015-03-10 20:26:40
I did a trail clean up on the section of trail between 2nd ave trailhead to Hot Metal Bridge , I did a 311 to have the full bags of trash and other debris removed, I was very surprised that is was removed that same day . on a side note there is a large hole from core sample about 50 yards from bridge that was only marked with paint and had large sticks in it / I found a long reed and tied a couple of ribbons to it to mark it better , this thing would eat a tire !
cowchip
2015-03-12 07:44:51
Great work, @cowchip. I noticed the improved visibility of that hole.
paulheckbert
2015-03-12 08:01:04
I submitted a complaint to 311 on the following: Friday 3/13/15 at lunchtime I saw contractors painting new bike lane lines on Carson Street at the intersection with the Birmingham Bridge. The lines were inconsistent (i.e. lines started and stopped throughout the intersection) and they painted one of the bike lane logos backwards, which could cause a lot of confusion. Hopefully they get this corrected and the lanes more clearly marked. It was a pretty sloppy job by whatever contractor was doing the work.
dcm229
2015-03-15 20:37:08
you know this is going to temporarily be a two way bikeway while 1/2 of the bridge is closed off? would the markings be consistent with that?
benzo
2015-03-16 08:21:36
Sidwalk on McArdel road going up to Mt. Washington. ticket number: 148082
marko82
2015-03-17 12:45:36
@Benzo - no I did not know about this, but which road is going to be a two-way bike way? Carson or Birmingham Bridge? I wish I had taken a photo, but to give a better description: the bike lane markings I saw were on Carson (inbound or river side), with a bicycle lane sharrow-type logo on either side of the intersection with the Birmingham Bridge. If riders on Carson were following the markings, one would be "salmoning" and they would both collide head on in the middle of the intersection near the end of the median on Birmingham Bridge. Hope this helps explain it a bit better.
dcm229
2015-03-17 12:55:56
Yeah, the bridge is going to be two-way bikeway during construction. I did just see the new marking yesterday at the end of the bridge on carson. It was a little confusing at first. I'm not sure what exactly that's all about. Looks like they were trying to repurpose the area with the hash bars in to a sort of bike lane through the intersection. Seems a bit odd, I'm willing to see how it develops as they keep making changes to traffic patterns here.
benzo
2015-03-18 09:33:16
Ticket 148541 Sidewalk on west side of browns hill road turns in to a drainage ditch before reaching homestead grays bridge. This is not friendly for pedestrians, wheelchair users, or cyclists. Location is on browns hill road between parkview blvd and steelview ave steps.
benzo
2015-03-18 12:42:44
Pothole, 6th St at Liberty. Request ID 148841
@Pgh311 Pothole, 6St at Liberty Ave, southbound. pic.twitter.com/N7xqYaH1Gf— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) March 19, 2015
@bus15237 Request ID# 148841 submitted to DPW to address pothole concern @ 6th St & Liberty Ave. Thank you!— PGH311 (@Pgh311) March 19, 2015
stuinmccandless
2015-03-19 10:53:15
Ticket: 149637 Three Rivers Heritage Trail along the Ohio River in Cateau Neighborhood on the North Side between N. Franklin St and Branchport St needs repairs. The asphalt near the river is warped and uneven. It looks like erosion may be wearing away at the subsurface. It can be hazardous. Additionally, excess amounts of leaves have collected on the edges of the trails, especially on the damaged bits of asphalt and needs to be removed. These are hazardous when wet and are extremely slippery.
benzo
2015-03-23 09:02:28
Ticket number: 150556 Traffic lights on Morewood Ave at 5th Ave need a left turn cycle. During rush hour it can be impossible to make a left turn from Morewood Ave on to 5th Ave from either direction without running a red light. On tuesday evening rush hour, I witnessed 4 cars (two in each direction) run red lights to make a left on to 5th ave after the light cycle ended so they could make a left turn. They had been waiting the entire light cycle and found no gaps to turn. This was illegal, but the illegal behavior was encouraged by poor traffic signal design.
benzo
2015-03-27 08:29:33
Don't cars trying to make a left just pull into the intersection and stop, then wait for the light to change to red before completing their turn? Doing that isn't considered running a red light, as I understand it. There might be a reason to add a left turn cycle, if there are so many cars trying to turn left that the above arrangement, with potentially just one car turning per light cycle, causes backups. Is that the case, or are drivers there just unwilling to wait their turn in line?
steven
2015-03-27 20:03:48
It is legal to make a left if you are in the intersection when teh light turns read. I'm guessing "in the intersection" means "Part of your car is past the broad white line where you are supposed to stop". So that usually means two or three cars. On Morewood, that is some group of cars in each direction- an accident waiting to happen.
mick
2015-03-27 21:40:21
I didn't find a rule in Title 75 that explains how you're allowed to stop in the intersection while making a left turn. But it does define "intersection": "The area embraced within the prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines, or, if none, then the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two highways which join one another at, or approximately at, right angles, or the area within which vehicles traveling upon different highways joining at any other angle may come in conflict." So if it's legal as long as you've stopped in the intersection, then you'd have to actually be past Fifth's curb, not just past the white stop line. Of course, drivers do that anyway if they think they can get away with it.
steven
2015-03-28 06:00:02
I believe that blocking intersection like this became illegal in PA two-three years ago. Once I was receiving updates on the driving code (this e-mail account is not active anymore) and vaguely remember reading about it.
mikhail
2015-03-28 10:13:58
Section 3353 says "no person shall ... Stop, stand or park a vehicle ... Within an intersection", but also says "Except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic". I didn't see anything else that might prohibit this, so as far as I can tell, it's still legal.
steven
2015-03-29 00:55:16
Yeah, this is the problem. People have to make an illegal maneuver to ever have a chance at turning left in either direction during busy traffic. This is why we still have the pittsburgh left. It's an easy technical solution to fix the traffic flow at this intersection, but not a free one.
benzo
2015-03-30 14:53:59
Sitting in the Crazy Mocha in the Allegheny Building for 15 minutes, I almost always see one car heading from Cherry Way up to Grant. Tonight, I followed a car from Smithfield up to Cherry and watched it continue on straight through the green. Couldn't get the phone out in time to catch it on camera, so just snapped a photo of the light and tweeted a suggested solution: Wednesday evening: https://twitter.com/bus15237/status/585964613759594496 Thursday morning: https://twitter.com/Pgh311/status/586194162896220160
stuinmccandless
2015-04-09 10:59:49
Since S. Millvale ave between baum blvd and liberty ave not included on the paving list. Put in 311 ticket to evaluate for repaving. It is a potholed mess.
benzo
2015-04-09 15:36:08
Much to my surprise, cars are already parked in the 6th Street Bike Lanes. So I 311'd it, and was ensured that it would be taken care of.
jason-pgh
2015-04-14 08:32:32
I have submitted a few. I went down to Sixth Street on my lunch break yesterday and a bike cop was there herding people out of the lane. It is going to take some time I imagine. But someone is responding to 311's.
p-rob
2015-04-29 08:18:59
Ticket:157663 Storm Drain Grate on S. Millvale ave bridge on southern / eastern end, near the intersection of S. MIllvale Ave and Morewood Ave, is damaged and missing two rods. Holes large enough to step in to and get caught. This is right before the bike lane and could cause accidents.
benzo
2015-05-01 08:37:36
Be careful around this repair site on S. Millvale ave bike lane, looks unfinished. You could sink in to the super soft material here. It compressed to the touch by hand. Several bike tracks in the black tar/aggregate around the new grate. https://twitter.com/Pedal412/status/606467604346245120
benzo
2015-06-05 12:14:40
Tree down on EFT/Jail Trail between Birmingham Bridge and Second Ave. parking lot.
ka_jun
2015-06-08 07:55:54
Tree removed.
ka_jun
2015-06-08 12:46:23
In the past several years, the concrete bike/ped ramp to Fort Pitt Bridge sidewalk has crumbled, in Point State Park (near Fort Pitt Museum). There are several potholes the width of the ramp. When Yale reported the problem to city of Pittsburgh's 311, they told him to contact PennDOT. He and I contacted PennDOT, and they forwarded the complaint to the City of Pittsburgh. Is this pure "pass the buck", or do the City of Pittsburgh and PennDOT genuinely disagree on who is responsible for sidewalks like this?
paulheckbert
2015-07-11 07:22:09
I have knocked a few fillings loose coming down that bridge. Someone has obviously looked at it and spray painted around the holes. But it does appear that the, "pass the buck" you mentioned is true.
jason-pgh
2015-07-11 10:21:28
Same thing I ran into on the McKees Rocks bridge, penndot says they are responsible for the road surface and the local municipality is responsible for the sidewalk. The problem is the municipalities don't seem to agree and so nothing gets done. Not sure who can arbitrate.
5matt
2015-07-12 08:48:10
Next time someone reports one of these, I think it would be wise to include "Previously reported; passed off to xxxx. How do you KNOW it's xxxx's to fix?"
stuinmccandless
2015-07-12 10:58:51
Re the Ft Pitt Bridge ramps--has anyone contacted Point State Park management, or DCNR generally? In Pennsylvania, to my understanding, while a municipality (or state agency) might install a sidewalk, maintenance generally falls to the adjacent landowner. This is why we expect individual homeowners to shovel most of them, rather than the city plowing. Bridges might generally be a special case, but the problematic part of this walkway is actually quite solidly attached to the back of Fort Pitt Museum, so there's a very clear adjacent landowner...
epanastrophe
2015-07-20 09:23:24
If anyone wants to do more research, this PDF has some good citations backing up Buffalo Buffalo's point, though some of it is specific to Philadelphia.
steven
2015-07-20 14:09:28
@buffalobuffalo: Good idea. I just wrote an email to the manager at Point State Park about that sidewalk/ramp. I don't know if they (or City of Pittsburgh or PennDOT, or other entity) is responsible for this, but if we squawk loud and long enough, we should be able to get this fixed.
paulheckbert
2015-07-21 11:15:51
Pothole, Liberty Ave, Inbound, approaching 32nd St., in the Sharrow Track. Just witnessed an accident there resulting from a cyclist hitting the pothole. Phoned 311 and was told report would be sent to Public Works. Apparently only scrapes and bruises, biker declined my offer to 911 for paramedics. Could have been much worse. There is a steel utility pole on the curb line just a few feet down-road from the pothole. Flat handlebar now swept back on right side.
jdgpgh
2015-07-31 09:23:22
I submitted two today: 1. Gravel/debris collecting in single available inbound lane through construction zone on West Carson Street. A nightmare to ride on a bike or motorcycle in its current state. I requested that it be cleared/swept free of debris. 2. California Avenue in the weird "dual one way" section just north of Marshall Avenue - the concrete at the pavement joints is wearing away, leaving big potholes.
swalfoort
2015-07-31 15:11:49
Yale shot this picture. He talked to a worker there yesterday and was told that the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is now working on the sidewalk of the Fort Pitt Bridge near Fort Pitt Museum.
paulheckbert
2015-08-07 11:01:36
It's good that they're giving some attention to that sidewalk from the bridge down to point state park. But ironically, their safety measure is more dangerous than if they had done nothing.
dfiler
2015-08-10 07:06:13
About time that they fixed that. I always thought it was nuts that that walkway had potholes. Not necessarily bike related, but check out this marvelous piece of pedestrian infrastructure as seen in Polish Hill during this weekend's public steps survey: https://twitter.com/chrishent/status/630715285763457024?s=09 Yep, it got 311'd. And yep, that's @scott in the photo
chrishent
2015-08-10 07:46:01
Request ID: 21605 The curb cut at the reported location (40.427292, -79.950031) is often blocked by cars. The cut is used regularly by cyclists to leave/enter the bike/walk path connecting 4-mile Run to Saline, but also appears to be an ADA amenity. It's function is not very obvious at present. To make it more visible, please mark the curb (ie, yellow lines) so that motorists can see it and park accordingly. Thank you.
ahlir
2015-08-29 19:10:45
DCNR repaired the ramp leading to the Fort Pitt Bridge sidewalk, right next to the Fort Pitt Museum. It’s way better than it was in July . Thank you, DCNR!
paulheckbert
2015-09-03 11:51:15
With all the improvements to 311 lately, when can we get this rolled out to all of allegheny county? This should really be a shared service that sends requests to each municipality / township as appropriate. We're sharing 911, why not 311 too?
benzo
2015-09-08 10:26:11
The service request ID#: 21605 that you filed on 8/29/2015 8:06 PM has been closed[.] Work order #66285 will be issued for curb paint
ahlir
2015-09-16 16:02:53
I have made about 5,000 complaints about the bike lanes on Friendship Avenue, the most recent one: ID#: 22577. Comments: Bike lanes on Friendship Avenue between Cedarville and Gross street on the southbound side are completely missing. Please re-paint! Action: Printed and given to supervisor/foreman.
jason-pgh
2015-09-16 16:37:22
@jason-pgh - Friendship lanes were repainted last night!
benzo
2015-09-17 07:52:48
So were the lines on Millvale. Of course, there was still half a funeral procession and an ambulance, respectively, parked in them this morning...
epanastrophe
2015-09-17 10:53:47
I don't have confirmation on it yet, but I tweeted to 311 that the tire pump in the 3Av/4Av bike fixit station is kaput. Someone at Bike-Pgh favd it. But I don't know whose that is to fix.
stuinmccandless
2015-09-17 21:09:35
311'ed request to evaluate at grade crossing at Panther Hollow...advised that PDW would be evaluating it...unclear if they have authority to do it. Others may want to also 311 it, if so inclined.
ka_jun
2015-09-23 09:11:59
Racked up quite a few 311 counts in Schenley Park, DPW foreman, "G. Sciulli" seems to be quite detailed and quick to respond. He also seems legitimately concerned about bike lane issues, like leaves and potholes.
jason-pgh
2015-09-23 09:14:25
311’ed request to evaluate at grade crossing at Panther Hollow…advised that PDW would be evaluating it…unclear if they have authority to do it.
I've been talking with the PUC; they gave me info on the specific form/process that the City would need to file (basically, establish a new public right-of-way via paperwork, hearings, and lawyers, then it would come under the jurisdiction of the PUC), and I'll try to get that in front of someone with a reasonably powerful pen.
reddan
2015-09-23 11:46:31
@CityPGH is almost entirely a promo account for the city. Contact @PGH311 if you actually want to file a complaint.
epanastrophe
2015-09-23 13:23:13
@reddan let us know if there are any folks that need to be contacted to illustrate that there is popular demand for this.
ka_jun
2015-09-23 13:23:41
I'm not sure if contacting 311 would lead to increased enforcement, or pressure on AVRR to do something about and at-grade crossing.
jason-pgh
2015-09-23 13:24:42
"let us know if there are any folks that need to be contacted to illustrate that there is popular demand for this." Will do. Still in tentative "who do I need to talk to?" stage
reddan
2015-09-23 13:47:04
The service request ID#: 21605 that you filed on 8/29/2015 8:06 PM has been closed[.] Work order #66285 will be issued for curb paint It worked! Uh.. sort of. This whole thing took less than 3 weeks, from the report to the finished job. Not bad at all. The takeaway: my 311 worked. And so will yours!
ahlir
2015-09-25 17:52:48
Well, to date I have 15 open 311 requests, ranging from sinkholes to a bike bollard. I have noticed that often, the painting, "printed and given to supervisor" notification is a bad thing. My biggest request was to have the Beechwood Boulevard bike lanes actually become bike lanes. There are sections where there is only one painted line, and it's way too narrow.
jason-pgh
2015-09-28 18:37:27
> I have noticed that often, the painting, “printed and given to supervisor” notification is a bad thing. No, that's just how the system works. City IT is so far behind, they frequently have to print out service requests and send them to the division, especially in DPW, often by fax. Things do get lost in the shuffle, neglected, or ignored, because staff are human. If your service request hasn't been completed, feel free to ask for an update.
epanastrophe
2015-09-29 10:35:53
Can you see where the tracks cross easily? Can you see the sign mostly obscured on the opposite side of the telephone pole? Sure doesn't stand out.
benzo
2015-10-01 12:26:19
@pgh311 Tree down blocking sidewalk, East St about 0.1 mile S of Hazlett.— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) October 12, 2015
@bus15237 Thank you for contacting 311! Request ID 27447 has been sent to Forestry to address.— PGH311 (@Pgh311) October 13, 2015
stuinmccandless
2015-10-13 12:02:35
I made a 311 complaint on February 19 and I finally got a reply today. The incident was a huge SUV driving 250 feet in the bike lane and sidewalk of Penn Ave and blocking the sidewalk for a wheelchair user, at the stage door of Heinz Hall. http://localhost/mb/topic/dangerous-drivers-thread/page/17/#post-308390 The reply said "Thank you for contacting 311. Please report this directly to the Police. I am unable to file a Police report or issue a ticket through this office. You may reach the Police at Zone 2 at 412 255 2827." Is it worth it, eight months after the event?
paulheckbert
2015-10-28 14:37:38
I would say yes -- just to create a record.
mikhail
2015-10-28 20:47:04
@Paulheckbert You might want to make a 311 complaint about having to wait 8 months to get a response that might have been useful - had it been sent the next day.
mick
2015-10-28 22:40:00
Ages ago I complained (twice) about the condition of the sidewalk that parallels the walkway that connects Centre Avenue with Seventh Avenue. This sidewalk was made up of very large slabs (at least 4 ft by 4 ft.). The mortar between the slabs had long since disintegrated, and water was getting under the slabs. In several places there were gaps between the slabs that were easily wide enough to step in (or lose a tire into). The voids below were at least 6 inches deep. After several months (per perhaps even a year) the sidewalks were recently completely replaced. I was certain that my 311 notice had been long forgotten, but no.....it just takes time sometimes. The new sidewalks look fabulous, and have much smaller joints between slabs. Yay!
swalfoort
2015-10-29 11:36:18
Request 30146 for reinstalling bollard at entry point of southeast corner of Penn and 9th. Even after a year-plus, drivers are still turning into eastbound Penn, completely oblivious to the road signage. At least the bollard makes them back out of this maneuver.
chrishent
2015-11-01 18:56:00
Request 30146 for reinstalling bollard at entry point of southeast corner of Penn and 9th. Even after a year-plus, drivers are still turning into eastbound Penn, completely oblivious to the road signage. At least the bollard makes them back out of this maneuver.
As of last night, there is a full-size temporary 'Do not enter' sign planted directly in the bike lane on Penn just outbound of 9th.
epanastrophe
2015-11-06 17:22:53
I sent in a 311 request about installing buffer lanes on Thomas Boulevard: "ID 25593 Date 9/28/2015 7:34 PM Type New Request Closing Comments: Buffer lines will be taken under advisory for future projects."
jason-pgh
2015-11-12 13:41:04
@Pgh311 Please pave that bit of 5Av by 6Av that was recently milled. Couple of nasty holes got uncovered.— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) November 13, 2015
@bus15237 Thank you for contacting 311. Request number 33699 has been submitted.— PGH311 (@Pgh311) November 16, 2015
stuinmccandless
2015-11-16 12:41:22
D 39479 Date 1/4/2016 3:31 PM Type Street Obstruction/Closure Comments At the 4-mile run end, the existing gate on the Junction Hollow Path has been crashed into and ripped out of its foundation. As a result of this vandalism cars are starting to drive on the path, creating a hazard for people walking or riding bikes. Please repair the gate or otherwise secure the path so that vehicles stay off. Thank you. Date/Time 1/4/2016 3:31 PM
ahlir
2016-01-04 15:36:35
Request to 311 to plow EFT/Jail Trail. If folks would like to mass request 311 and send a request in for plowing EFT/Jail Trail, it would be appreciated.
ka_jun
2016-01-13 12:01:56
I'm new to the message board and Bike Pittsburgh but snapped a few photos if two different delivery drivers for "Cafe Milano" on 6th Ave who were parked (for extended periods of time, cars off, key out of the ignition, no hazards on) directly in the bike lane in the middle of 6th Ave..I will report this but as the drivers didn't understand after a calm and reasonable explenation:if Ie it the bike lane unexpectadly; I then enter traffic unexpectadlyandthat isn't fair tto those DRIVERS I cut ooff to swerve out of the way of their hard toseeat random vehicle parked in the bike lane. It's illegal parking anyway regardless of my explenation. They became pretty hostile and I cycled away peacefully.
raven50
2016-01-14 23:03:04
I think you mean Sixth Street, not Sixth Avenue. (Downtown has both.) Consider calling 911 to report a car illegally parked and blocking a bike lane. Because we use a central dispatch here, that's the right number for even non-emergency police matters like illegal parking. (In most parts of the country, 911 is for emergencies only, and there's a different number for all non-emergencies.)
steven
2016-01-15 01:09:46
@Raven50 I will agree with the comment that @Steven made, 311 sucks for illegally parked cars. Your best bet is a two-pronged attack on the car. I usually stop, take a picture of the liscense plate, the car, and proof that it is illegally parked in the bike lane and tweet this to 311, as well as any other local organization (Oakland CDC, Envision Downtown, etc). Secondly, I then call 911 to report the car, they usually say that a police vehicle will be there sometime, but illegally parked cars, from my experience are a low priority. There are also stickers you can put on the car if you want to have a little fun with it. http://iparkedinabikelane.bigcartel.com/product/i-parked-in-a-bike-lane-sticker
jason-pgh
2016-01-15 07:21:13
I'll call 911 next time I ride past there. Any one else riding past there should do the same. They park there every day like that. It's been like that as long as that bike lane was created. A lot of it is just defiance like the mentality that bicycles aren't transportation; They're for fun and no one's going to tell me where to oark. There are all sorts of alleys and area(s) around there to park. A "posse" of sorts gathered outside when the owner of the vehicle confronted me aggressively. I explained: "A person could be tucked and just slam head on in to your Kia. That doesn't really matter any way as it is really illegal to park like that."; their response: "You have eyes!!!! Use your eyes!!!! I'm making living!!!! I'm making money!!!!". Their aggressive response is, I think, what triggered their 8 froends who subsequently were parked in the alley which RUNS NEXT TO THEIR RESTAURANT which thry could park in. I will follow up on it but it is depressing to think no one cares about this stuff. I was calm the entire time. I have a feeling I will have to call 311 and stay on top of it if I want to see it changed. They work there but that's still no excuse. The bike lane might as well not exist if no one is going to respect it.
raven50
2016-01-15 15:12:03
I reported the ice buildup in the bike lane at 14th St in the Strip, using photo that Colleen shot: What: ice/snow removal Request ID: 44280 Ice in bike lane at 1400 Penn Ave. My friend crashed his bicycle there today and hurt his thumb. Bicycles are, of course, far more vulnerable to ice than cars, since they tend to fall over. The ice has been there since at least 1/27. See http://localhost/mb/topic/winter-riding-conditions-report/page/9/#post-322625 and http://localhost/mb/topic/winter-riding-conditions-report/page/10/#post-322746.
paulheckbert
2016-01-30 19:07:49
Reported the 2 sad abandon stripped bikes I come across. Red Schwinn next to Golden Triangle; blue & white Nishiki behind HofBrauhaus. Someone could probably still use those frames.
ka_jun
2016-03-04 18:30:32
Going to 311 one wild place southbound (uphill). Road is gawdawful but biggest issue is all kinds of rocks about a foot from the curb, meaning bikes have less of a buffer between them and the cars.
edronline
2016-03-05 22:30:17
Via MyBurgh app, reported at 8:50 am pothole in Spring Way next to the storm grate in the mid-1700 block. Update received 10:19 am: "Printed notification and gave to Supervisor to investigate." Printed and gave to Supervisor... >.<
epanastrophe
2016-03-22 12:01:14
Myburgh app is superior to their web interface, which seems a bit broken on my mobile phone. The web interface on a computer browser works better in my experience. I'm actually pleased with 311 with the 3 times I've used it. Quick response, problems fixed. And I'm not even a resident of Pgh.
edronline
2016-03-30 06:36:10
@edronline - My sentiments as well. I tweet problems to them fairly often, maybe once or twice a month, all of them legitimate, w/proper ID of location & significance, often with a photo. Often I cross-post the tweet here on this thread, with their acknowledgement response &/or post-closing follow-up. I think if you keep a steady dribble of real problems, like that, they will grow to know and trust you. I, too, am not a city resident, but they respond positively to me 7 or 8 out of 10 times, which I think is darn nice of them. Related: I've done pretty well with the @pgh2o folks (Pgh Water & Sewer), too.
stuinmccandless
2016-03-30 12:41:34
Massive pothole now on Bates Street, its just opposite the ramp exiting 376. Kinda off-center to the right and will cause a crash if you hit it especially given the speed of going downhill. Calling 311...
meaculpa
2016-04-25 15:01:58
I sent them a suggestion -- namely, that they have some way of handling a list of 10 similar requests rather than 10 separate requests.
stuinmccandless
2016-04-26 14:47:04
Sent them a suggestion. Work with the county to expand 311 service to the whole county and send tickets to individual municipalities as appropriate. Most municipalities won't have an advanced system to track requests like the city does, why not just use one system for all of them. Really, can't I just report potholes in mount oliver to 311? What about an issue with drain grates on a county bridge? A water main break in Millvale? It's a moonshot idea, but no harm in suggesting it.
benzo
2016-04-28 09:08:14
I gotta go back with a camera. I don't know if it's a low manhole cover, a missing cover to a utility box, or what, but I hit this thing straight on this morning and it about knocked a filling loose. Pinch-flat material. https://twitter.com/bus15237/status/727207333177217026 https://twitter.com/bus15237/status/727209711184044032 Edit: Soon enough after posting that that I was able to edit this, I got a reply: https://twitter.com/Pgh311/status/727213886991155201
stuinmccandless
2016-05-02 13:47:41
I reported to 311 this morning, that There's a fallen tree on the Southside Trail near latitude, longitude 40.431816, -79.986065 near the 10th St Bridge. You could reach it either from either 9th St or 18th St. It's on the trail between those two. The fallen tree is not blocking the entire trail, only a portion of it, but the tree should be cut up and moved away from the trail edge so the trail doesn't become more constricted. and got email from them that Tree was removed by the Park crew at approximately 1:00p Yay!
paulheckbert
2016-05-09 14:10:43
I asked to have this addressed back in March, https://twitter.com/Redinthe412/status/705410331049222144 But it seems they forgot about it... Another request after I could barely squeeze through the cars parked here: https://twitter.com/Redinthe412/status/728742869075382273 It actually caused damage to one of my Ortlieb panniers, squeezing through, my pannier got caught on the wheel well of one of the SUVs tore the magnetic closure off the bag, rendering it useless. Grrr. Hopefully Ortieb can help me fix the pannier and the city will get some no parking signs here, just in time for the trail to close again. *eye roll*
rustyred
2016-05-09 15:28:25
Bike / Bus traffic given the shaft at Neville and Center. Try to go from bayard to neville, to center, to south millvale during evening rush hour? You know, like most people who want to go to bloomfield or lawrenceville from oakland. The light at Neville and center changes for about 10 seconds to allow traffic on neville to proceed. By the time the first driver on neville looks up from their phone to proceed on green, the light is already turning yellow. A couple cars can usually make the right on to center each light cycle. Sometimes it's too backed up for more than 1 to turn at a time. There are several minutes between light cycles. It can take a long time to get through a queue of 5 or 6 cars, and usually there are a couple P3 busses headed to the busway. Similar issue for traffic coming from S. Millvale to cross Baum heading in to oakland. I'm not even sure if the traffic sensors recognized me on a bike as it seemed to take an exceptionally long time to change this morning. There needs to be some more fairness in signal timing at these lights. https://twitter.com/Pedal412/status/735833369037180928 https://twitter.com/Pedal412/status/735834249933279234 https://twitter.com/Pgh311/status/735839899178389504
benzo
2016-05-26 12:02:29
Follow-up on my request for a temporary crosswalk across 5Av downtown where sidewalk closed, forcing people either to backtrack or jaywalk. Denied, but did result in a request for improved signage. link
stuinmccandless
2016-05-27 07:11:15
My ticket about the lights at neville / center was sent to CMU to check their SURTAC system!
benzo
2016-05-27 08:39:01
A couple weeks ago, I saw someone nearly flip over his handlebars because he hit badly a curb ramp that doesn't match the painted crosswalk at Ft Duquesne & Smithfield. https://twitter.com/infinitebuffalo/status/733455833644830722 Today I got a response from 311: "no problem found, cyclist need to be more careful" Really?
epanastrophe
2016-06-02 10:41:38
Time to go out with yellow paint.
edronline
2016-06-02 12:23:06
6/3/16 tree down on EFT/Jail Trail. 311’ed.
ka_jun
2016-06-03 08:27:18
Where is this tree down, does it block the trail, and any news on if it has been removed?
helen-s
2016-06-04 06:36:58
buffalo-buffalo: regarding the Fort Pitt & Smithfield (not Fort Duquesne & Smithfield, as you said in post) curb cut, I think you need to diagram more precisely what the danger is, with annotations on your photo, or maybe a dramatic reenactment, to get your message across best to 311: which way were they traveling, where did they hit the curb?
paulheckbert
2016-06-04 20:58:45
@helen s I posted about it in Spring riding conditions. that tree was removed, another is down on EFT/Jail Trail, though as of today. 311'ed that one, too. also described on Spring riding conditions.
ka_jun
2016-06-08 13:30:23
Baum & Millvale plates removed. Patchy pavement was poorly compressed and could be a bit hazerdous. They are probably going to be repaving this section later this summer, so it should be resolved then. In the meantime, watch out for a weird dip as you enter S. Millvale after crossing baum.
benzo
2016-06-15 13:38:39
OTOH, whoever did a couple of excavations and patches on Babcock Blvd northbound, just north of Siebert, did an amazingly good job. No sinkage, smooth as silk, nicely aligned with existing pavement. The paving contractor here should conduct a seminar.
stuinmccandless
2016-06-15 13:52:28
On the downhill side of the Friendship Ave and just before joining the N Negley Ave, there is a 4-in deep pothole near the center line. I don't think most cyclists would hit it since it's so close to the center line, but I reported it to 311 nonetheless.
ninjaturtle0304
2016-06-22 21:54:46
Hopefully friendship will be paved next year.
edronline
2016-06-23 07:43:51
I reported a dead Bambi at the trailhead of Panther Hollow Trail on the Greenfield side. I wondered how she was killed. If she was hit by a motor vehicle, someone must be speeding in or near the trailhead parking lot.
ninjaturtle0304
2016-06-30 08:56:01
It's possible it was hit not hard enough to kill it immediately and walked to that location before succumbing to its injuries. It's also possible it died naturally...
epanastrophe
2016-06-30 09:17:58
Gross story. Another 1.5 years ago I was walking under the delafield route 28 overpass and I saw a deer leap off route 28. Fell about 30 feet into parking lot below. Obviously both front legs broken but with adrenaline still hopped on back legs across the parking lot, across delafield, and up the big hill into the woods. It was freaky.
edronline
2016-06-30 14:51:11
I was going to leave a flower next to the deceased Bambi in the evening yesterday, but she was already picked up by the city cleaning crews.
ninjaturtle0304
2016-07-01 10:26:53
I reported 3 really deep potholes on center ave (in eastbound lane) along the side of pep boys before S. Millvale Ave. I could see rebar in one, another was at least 4in deep, and all of them would definitely throw me to the ground if I was on a road bike.
benzo
2016-07-01 10:33:38
I received a follow-up tweet saying the lane was swept.
stuinmccandless
2016-07-14 06:10:13
It's been over two months since Bouquet was paved, but still no crosswalks at Forbes*. https://twitter.com/infinitebuffalo/status/759124742192427008 (this comes a couple weeks after I asked why Bellefield has no crosswalks at Fillmore https://twitter.com/infinitebuffalo/status/753736097453248513 ...which hasn't been fixed yet, either, although Gilman's office PM'ed to say they were 'on it'.) * and, for all i know, the other cross streets, but i didn't go investigate...
epanastrophe
2016-07-29 15:50:06
Request ID: 95719 The traffic lights at Liberty Ave and S Milvale Ave were not working this evening (8/10/16). It created a very hazardous conditon because the W Penn hospital is nearby and there were many pedestrians.
ninjaturtle0304
2016-08-10 20:31:11
My god, was that scary going down liberty ave last night with no traffic lights. About 1/3 of the drivers on liberty didn't treat a malfunctioning light as an all way stop and just kept driving down liberty at speed. I stopped at every damn light because I'm not a huge fan of being t-boned.
benzo
2016-08-11 13:58:08
Not exactly 311, but perhaps close enough: As some may recall, lighting the Junction Hollow Trail was supposed to be part of the Greenfield Bridge project, since it's the major detour route from Greenfield to Oakland for people not driving cars.  A year later, of course, it still hasn't happened.  After I was reminded me of the multiple OTMA and other detour notices claiming it was pending, I decided last week to inquire. https://twitter.com/infinitebuffalo/status/776192049494228992 A week later, OTMA finally responds to say they've been 'advised' the lighting is delayed (gee, really?). I was unimpressed. (I...often am unimpressed by OTMA, who seem to get large amounts of state and City money to do it's-really-not-clear-what....) https://twitter.com/infinitebuffalo/status/779038783899570176 This time instead of Corey's office and the general City account, I tagged in the Mayor's Office's obnoxiously-named NextPGH account.  That seems to have gotten their attention; after asking for further clarification, they've asked DPW to explain. https://twitter.com/TheNextPGH/status/779065350042312704 https://twitter.com/infinitebuffalo/status/779066955932270592 https://twitter.com/TheNextPGH/status/779071780816379904 Stay tuned....
epanastrophe
2016-09-22 18:11:11
it’s the major detour route from Greenfield to Oakland for people not driving cars
Uh, it actually is a detour for people driving cars, though thankfully not yet a major one... If you've succeeded in getting a dialog going through the city office on lighting that is great. Getting 311 or the local councilors (and/or their staffs) to respond on the car issue has been ineffectual (heck, and I even vote). I guess the right thing to have done was to go directly to the City.  
ahlir
2016-09-25 17:20:53
There is a tree down on the trail off of commercial Ave near the Irish center heading toward the bridge that goes over the creek, heading toward duck hollow. I think it's called the 9 mile trail.   Anyway, I don't have twitter so I was going to post the photo here and ask someone to do it for me. But the site isn't allowing me to put the picture in.  So........just be aware it's there I guess.
italianblend
2016-09-25 18:32:33
I 311ed the sidewalk leading up to the highland park bridge on Butler due to shrubs blocking the oath.  Got a message back that they need to "establish ownership" of the property. Which makes no sense. That's all city land I assume. It would be faster if I went over with some shears and cut it myself.
edronline
2016-10-07 08:00:44
You assume, but they can't, especially when you're talking about what might be the city forcibly rearranging someone's landscaping... You can help, though; visit the County's RE website (http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/) and find the property; submit a screenshot of the page showing the map and ownership as a follow-up to your 311 request.
epanastrophe
2016-10-07 09:54:43
It is the sidewalk that goes across the bridge.  It is right where it hits butler street from the bridge to the intersection by the zoo.  I 311ed it last year and they came out and cut it.   I marked it specifically with the map and described in on their webpage.  Oh well.
edronline
2016-10-07 15:44:04
I have been riding that section of sidewalk a lot lately- I do not think wild growing goldenrod qualifies as landscaping.  I also thought of trimming it, but thought better of it as it is a good source for nectar this time of year for our embattled honey bee population.  I think after the flowers are gone, it should go also.
helen-s
2016-10-10 08:51:56
Told that bushes on Butler st sidewalk by highland park bridge sidewalk is penndot. How do I contact them?
edronline
2016-10-10 17:20:48
Oh, ffs. I should've guessed they'd say that. 1. Call 1-800-FIX-ROAD. This is PennDOT's hotline for all state-owned road issues, up to and including dead deer on the side of a rural highway... 2. Be prepared to be told they don't handle sidewalk issues, especially not within the City. Ask for it in writing at your preferred email address. 3. Forward the email to Better Streets Lawrenceville at lvbikeped@gmail.com. 311 has been asserting that sidewalk issues along State roads and bridges are PennDOT's responsibility for years.  PennDOT has been asserting that they don't deal with sidewalks, and that in fact they pay the city rather a lot of money to deal with them, for just as long. Better Streets Lawrenceville had in fact just last week discussed working on getting the City and State to actually settle this issue—particularly in relation to whom do we pester to get sidewalks cleared when it starts snowing, but we'll include this problem as well....
epanastrophe
2016-10-10 18:08:19
Sick of the large gaps on liberty ave climbing up from center to baum. Request ID:109835 Date:10/11/2016 9:32:00 AM Request Type: Road/Street Issues > Potholes Service Request Open - ID 109835 Routed To: Council_District_7, DPW2ndDivision Comments: Several potholes have formed perpendicular to the traffic lanes on Liberty ave between Center Ave and Baum Blvd. These appear to be the result of widening of seams in the concrete paving that have opened up several very wide and deep potholes. They are between 20-50 ft from the intersection of Liberty and Center Ave in the north/west bound lane.
benzo
2016-10-11 09:39:46
4 months minus 1 day ago I 311ed longitudinal drain grates on one wild place. Finally got a response that they will be inspected.
edronline
2016-10-15 13:05:09
A Pittsburgh 311 success story: On 10/8 I reported to 311 a big fallen tree on the Nine Mile Run Trail close to Commercial St in Swisshelm Park. On 10/10 I got an email “Handed request to supervisor” and the next time I was on that trail, on 10/20 the fallen tree was gone.
paulheckbert
2016-10-21 15:45:37
That's good. I still have things listed as open from April and June.
edronline
2016-10-21 21:12:29
I wanted to point out to 311 a second entry point (using Google StreetView) where people were using the 10th St bypass to access the trail and sure enough, Streetview caught a minivan driving on the trail back in June.   https://twitter.com/Redinthe412/status/793510930046910464
rustyred
2016-11-01 13:58:54
They need a gate that can be opened only by the city, police, ems.
edronline
2016-11-02 17:18:28
Flexible bike lane bollards would do fine.
stuinmccandless
2016-11-03 19:49:26
As seen on the Penn ave bike lane they don't stand up very well to cars
edronline
2016-11-03 21:30:56
It does look like a driveway/turn off. I think also a no entry sign would be helpful. I honestly think that some of the people really have no idea this isn't a legal park n fish.
edronline
2016-11-03 21:32:03
Request #118411 to fix water puddling on the GAP trail, close to where Carson St meets Becks Run Rd. This has been going on for some time now, and will be a potential icy spot during the winter, if it's not fixed.
chrishent
2016-11-30 10:57:05
More issues with intersection at S 26th and Tunnel Blvd. Missing stop sign when others state 'All way'. I'm sure a real sign existed on all ways, and it was removed. You can see that there isn't a sign opposite the one in the foreground in the picture on twitter. There is a little stub of a post where the sign used to be. There is even a "stop sign ahead" sign before the missing sign. At least it's better than before, when there were no stop signs in any direction, but it's still confusing, dangerously so, especially if you're expecting traffic in other directions to stop. https://twitter.com/Pedal412/status/803251953069330432 311 created a ticket for this.
benzo
2016-11-30 12:00:54
That picture is southbound on 10th St, approaching Liberty, right, @StuInMcCandless?
paulheckbert
2016-11-30 23:10:00
Yes.
stuinmccandless
2016-12-01 06:48:58
I think I posted this on another thread already-- but I was annoyed that 311 seems to take care of some reports very quickly and other ones linger for months and months. I spoke to someone in Michael Lamb's office -- he's the city controller/auditor.  The person said that 311 is purely a reporting mechanism.  They take the report and send it onto the proper city department.  It is up to each city department to a) check out the situation and decide what needs to be done, and b) report back to the 311 system what they discovered/did.  311 has zero control over whether the work gets done, or done properly.
edronline
2016-12-01 07:47:11
Intersection at S 26th and Tunnel Blvd missing stop sign was replaced. Looks like it was fixed before supervisor had a chance to inspect it. They reported back that all signs were present. My guess is the developer for the building may have removed and replaced it as it looked like a brand new pole was installed, but can't be certain. I don't really care, it's no longer ambiguous as now. It's an all way stop with signs all ways.
benzo
2016-12-05 14:13:19
In 2010, when there were broken glass problems on the 40th St Bridge sidewalk, I complained to Pittsburgh 311 that the sidewalk looked like this, the city told me "that's a county issue", the county told me "that's a state issue", and 3 months later, PennDOT sent me a note saying "cleaned area" but they ignored (of course) my request for sweeping several times per year. Today I filed a "concern" to PennDOT District 11 at http://www.dot.state.pa.us/penndot/districts/district11/d11ccc.nsf saying: Complaint Location: 40th St Bridge sidewalk, upstream side Upstream sidewalk of bridge had lots of broken glass for months. Cyclists biking here commonly dismount and carry their bikes 30 feet to get through the glass field to avoid a flat tire! Sick of this, today I took along a whisk broom and my friend and I swept much of the broken glass off the sidewalk into the river. Photo: https://flic.kr/p/Qu3a35 . WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DO THIS. THIS IS YOUR JOB. Please run a small sweeper along the upstream (preferred by cyclists) sidewalk of this bridge 4x a year to remove broken glass. Will you put regular sweeping of this sidewalk on your schedule? https://flic.kr/p/Qu3a35
paulheckbert
2016-12-29 22:11:50
Almost three months later (Oct 6 to Dec 30), I get a response to my tweet about a drain grate.

@bus15237 A REQUEST HAS BEEN SENT TO THE WATER DIVISION FOR INVESTIGATION
NO-676430

— PGH311 (@Pgh311) December 30, 2016
stuinmccandless
2016-12-30 08:19:58
Who would be best government wise to sort this out?  Pgh city council,Allegheny county council, or PA state Rep?  Would be best to go to government rep and apply pressure top down.   There's an intersection by my house that's been dangerous for decades. It involves 2 boro roads and a county road. It was only after I contacted my county council rep that a very easy fix (stop bars painted on the street) was done. I suggested the fix.
edronline
2016-12-30 10:17:29
Btw, never receive an email back from Pgh bike/peds coordinator re who takes care of side walks on state roads in Pgh. Sent the email a few weeks ago.
edronline
2016-12-30 10:18:31
The passing-the-buck story gets better! Starting at the beginning: In 2010, regarding broken glass on the 40th St Bridge sidewalk, I complained to Pittsburgh 311, the city told me “that’s a county issue”, the county told me “that’s a state issue”, and 3 months later, PennDOT sent me a note saying “cleaned area”. For future reference, I wrote myself a note "40th St Bridge problems - contact PennDOT". A week ago I filed a "concern" with PennDOT about more glass on the sidewalk and today I got a phone call. The upshot is "that's a city issue"! Around and around we go, and where we stop, nobody knows! Hah! PennDOT told me they have an agreement with the city of Pittsburgh that the city does sidewalk and street-cleaning, while PennDOT does structural repairs, similar to other Pittsburgh bridges. You might think that there would be a map or database somewhere that tells citizens who maintains what, but apparently not. Do they keep it written on post-it notes? You can find a map of which roads in Allegheny County are state at http://www.penndot.gov/ProjectAndPrograms/Planning/Maps/Pages/County-Type-10.aspx. State roads are shown in red. But there's no indication on this map of maintenance agreements with the city. PennDOT told me they forwarded my request to the city, and I submitted it to 311, also, asking them to sweep the upstream sidewalk 4 times a year.  
paulheckbert
2017-01-04 16:36:22
and not only are the railroad tracks hazardous along River Ave and Railroad street in the strip just for being in the lane of travel, but the River Avenue ones have metal sections sticking up about 4-6" from the pavement which are no big deal for cars but very hazardous for bikes. Wondering if the city can't touch them because they are rails.  Wondering if they are still officially owned by a railroad.  It was obviously a short spur to whatever was there a long time ago.   I 311ed this a long time ago and city never responded.  Thanks for doing this again.
edronline
2017-01-10 18:31:26
Honestly, if that's the reason the city can't do it, then I'll pay for a couple bags if cement, drag a wheelbarrow and a couple of traffic cones down there and fill the damned things myself. I might even think to bring a roll of Saran Wrap and some duct tape to keep the spatter down until it cures.
stuinmccandless
2017-01-11 08:04:28
I reported, request #126713: Fence that was just put up around the Science Center construction site has narrowed the bike & pedestrian trail unacceptably. I understand that CSC told people to inform 311 if the contractors ever pinched the trail excessively. That has already happened, unfortunately. The attached photo [from Jerry Green] is from 1/21. That trail is not that wide to begin with. We need the full width. Get all fence bases and sandbags off the trail, please. This trail must stay open for the entire construction period. https://flic.kr/p/QU89cw
paulheckbert
2017-01-22 22:52:33
Paul, can you also email this to the nice guy who answers these messages at the CSC?  I'm not sure my email (that I posted in another thread) conveyed the issue with the "feet" of the fence.  Even if the feet were off the sidewalk, it'll still be very hard to pass or have more than 1 person using that part of the trail at the same time given that one side is downhill and the other side in the fence.   http://www.carnegiesciencecenter.org/about/contact/
edronline
2017-01-23 06:46:11
Jerry Green spoke with the contractors, and I saw pictures that showed that the fence was moved off that sidewalk. I encouraged Jerry to post a summary here on bikepgh's messageboard.
paulheckbert
2017-01-27 08:59:54
Honestly with the rate of broken glass accumulation over the winter (with less peds traffic on the bridge) they prob need to sweep 4x a month.   There must be a rip in the space time continuum there as the laws of gravity and friction don't seem to apply on that sidewalk. I mean, all those dropped bottles. Maybe someone could get a (perhaps the last ever) NSF grant to study it.
edronline
2017-01-27 09:16:10
https://twitter.com/Pgh311/status/827536153536499713 Particularly relevant, since this is precisely where I got snarled at by a motorist for being in the lane -- and going 23 in a 15 zone. That was the first I noticed that the 15 sign was missing. (Totally irrelevant that the motorist in question was Councilwoman Darlene Harris. I have video and a plate #.)
stuinmccandless
2017-02-03 10:21:17
Darlene is so bike friendly. Can't imagine that.   Glass and rocks in climbing lane of one wild place. Rocks toward the bottom, glass after the turn by the zoo mural. Will 311
edronline
2017-02-03 12:59:56
Stu said "this is precisely where I got snarled at by a motorist for being in the lane — and going 23 in a 15 zone". You were going 23 or she (Darlene) was?
paulheckbert
2017-02-03 14:45:19
I was. She came up behind me and was upset that I was there. This was mere yards before the dogleg turn to cross 279. The video is not public.
stuinmccandless
2017-02-03 22:27:03
Regarding my 311 for broken glass on the 40th St Bridge (http://localhost/message-board/topic/have-you-made-your-311-complaint-this-week/page/20/#post-337739), in which I asked them to sweep the sidewalk four times a year, I got a response on 2/8: "The 2nd Division does not sweep bridge. G. McCain, Supervisor" and they closed the request. 2nd division of the Division of Public Works (map) includes Lawrenceville. That's a pretty unsatisfactory answer, because I don't know if it means (1) no, we're capable of doing it but refuse to, or (2) that's somebody else's job, or (3) nobody has swept or ever will sweep that bridge, or (4) we don't sweep, but we could do a sponge treatment with concrete pore rejuvenation, if you'd like.
paulheckbert
2017-02-10 22:58:25
I read this more as #2, the "city of pittsburgh doesn't take care of that bridge sidewalk" crap.  you know, it's penndot's job.   I think I remember someone posted in the past about how Lawrenceville United has gotten involved in this issue before (penndot vs. city pass the buck). Maybe you could reach out to them, tell them what you've done, and see if they can firmly plant their foot in the rear of someone in the city to take charge.
edronline
2017-02-11 09:44:32
Thanks. There was an entry bollard down around there that I saw and was going to report but forgot the location. Maybe around the conv center and hotel.
edronline
2017-03-02 10:09:17
The downed bollard, now that I see the combo of Twitter and message board software didn't display it.
stuinmccandless
2017-03-02 13:56:08
Several of us have filed 311 requests and/or spoken with Corey O'Connor (city councilperson) requesting a port-a-john at Haysglen St under the Glenwood Bridge, both for regular GAP trail users and for the surge of bald-eagle-watchers we get each Spring. That strip of land happens to be in Pittsburgh. But we've gotten responses from Pittsburgh 311 like this: "Unfortunately we have no room in the budget for extra Port-a-johns, and all requests for new ones are denied."
paulheckbert
2017-03-23 16:12:38
What about pit/compost toilet bathrooms like they have along the gap?  And trail group funding to build it?
edronline
2017-03-23 18:11:37
Trail group funding? Do you use the trail? Would you use a toilet? Are you a member of the Steel Valley Trail Council? Have you made a donation lately-for a toilet--not in it. Building our own is much more costly; tens of thousands of dollars; also there would probably be zoning and engineering issues/costs at that location--maybe not. And then there are the maintenance costs: cleaning, stocking; treating; vandalism; etc.; and they have a limited lifetime, depending upon the size of the pit and its design--they need to be cleaned out--that's the fun part. Locally Port-o-Pottys rental is about $1500/year. Period. Includes everything--we just supply the dough and the crap. [The building below Kennywood is a municipal water treatment plant--we thought that would be an ideal place to have a toilet--they didn't] I'm hopeful the City will take care of this (we're still working with them)--else the SVTC will be tired of this crap and quite pissed off...and will probably find the paper to clean the mess up--last year it was partially funded by donations.
yalecohen
2017-03-23 22:15:47
Got it.  I didn't know that the trail council donates for the portapotties too. I do wish there was more infrastructure along the trails (more bathrooms, water fountains) but as has been pointed out on the threads before compared to other states PA funds the trails very poorly, meaning local gov't and private groups need to pick up the slack.
edronline
2017-03-24 07:12:31
To be clear: The Pottys along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail are paid by and put there by the City of Pittsburgh--little or no input from FriendsOfTheRiverfront (as far as I know)--which was discovered when we asked if they would, at least split the cost with SVTC. The Steel Valley Trail which starts at Sandcastle and goes to McKeesport along the GAP; then along the road through Glassport to Clairton (and the terminus of the Montour Trail), has been FULLY responsible for the pottys there (at Haysglen and near Kennywood as an amenity for trail users; as our budget and coffers allow. Since Haysglen is in the City of Pgh, the hope was the City would take care of it. Funding can come from various sources--memberships, volunteers, local, state, federal, parent trail organizations, private people and organizations, etc... And often requires filling out involved grant applications--If anyone has such experience, please contact the SVTC--maybe we can get a nice bathroom and some water fountains...
yalecohen
2017-03-24 11:02:02
I requested a bike rack in front of La Gourmandine in Hazelwood using the request form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/170tbA_m0rFtQIgJCHeRGILFxkFUtDv6H5tcJXqaPeM0/viewform. I wrote: I've been locking my bike to the small trees in front of the bakery, but too much locking there could damage the trees. There are bike racks across the street at the library, but Second Ave is busy and dangerous to cross. This bakery is new and getting quite a bit of business. It's attracting more cyclists to Second Ave (me, for one!).
paulheckbert
2017-05-18 14:35:24
Paul, you should contact La Grourmandine as well. I'm pretty sure they have a 3 rivers rack in front of their lawrenceville location too. They may need to put in a request to the city for one to actually get it installed. (I could be totally wrong on this though). Love the Almond Croissants! Good stuff.
benzo
2017-05-18 15:38:19
Can confirm, LG Lawrenceville does have a 3R rack: https://goo.gl/maps/qPLk8Eoqgqw It's my understanding that the City is somewhere between severely backed up and not moving on bike rack requests at the moment, so in fact the most expedient solution may be for the bakery to install a rack themselves.... :-/
epanastrophe
2017-05-18 15:49:51
Yes, though they probably need to fill out some paperwork to get it offically approved for sidewalk use, otherwise the city could (at the behest of some bike complainers) remove the 'illegal' and 'unsanctioned' bike racks. I bet good info about sidewalk bicycle rack permits can be found here: http://pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/bicycleparking
benzo
2017-05-19 10:23:14
I emailed the Gourmandine people and the manager sent me a picture of the four new staple bike racks across Tipton St from their business. This is half a block away from their front door. I replied, suggesting they put at least one rack close to their front door.
paulheckbert
2017-05-20 18:51:22
I forgot a few weeks ago to 311 one wild place downhill bike lanes.  Were all covered in debris, especially the really sloped part right before Butler st. If anyone is that way can you check it out and 311 it if is still "needs cleaned."
edronline
2017-05-20 19:24:44
@edronline - not sure how to check status for twitter or phone calls, but if you submitted your request via the web form with an account, you can login and click requests and you can see all your past requests entered and their status.  
benzo
2017-05-22 09:54:20
This one nearly got me on my Vespa this weekend, but definitely would be a bad time for a bicycle too, it's narrow and very deep. ID 155530 Date 5/22/2017 1:22 PM Type Potholes Address 5520 CENTRE AVE, Pittsburgh Comments There is a pothole on Centre Ave eastbound between Graham and Negley, just before the Giant Eagle entrance. It's right in the middle of the lane, very deep, and just about the perfect size to send a motorcyclist or bicyclist over the bars - extremely dangerous. Date/Time 5/22/2017 1:22 PM
salty
2017-05-22 13:26:18
this is the part of centre that's being redone this year?
edronline
2017-05-22 15:44:36
http://pittsburghpa.gov/311/form Nine Mile Run Trail is becoming overgrown. Trail used to be much wider (maybe 8 feet) but the plant growth has encroached to the point that the trail is now only 5 feet wide. Mow the sides of the trail to maintain the trail width, please! The most overgrown section is between Old Brown's Hill Rd and the NMR Bridge. Request ID: 159861
paulheckbert
2017-06-06 18:55:34
I was at Penn and 11th St at 1:30pm today and they didn't look like that, so the mowing down of the bollards must have happened since then.
paulheckbert
2017-06-20 23:23:41
The pothole on Centre I reported earlier was closed as "completed" on June 8... when I went by there today (again on a scooter) I forgot about it and found myself lined up perfectly as it emerged from under the car ahead.  I took quick evasive action but came as close as I ever have to losing control of the bike.  It's right after the intersection with Graham, heading east.  Argh. photo
salty
2017-06-24 22:01:58
@edronline I just 311'd a few other North Short spots where weeds are overgrown (and the Science Center bush) so maybe if we yell loud enough?
katzenmiau
2017-07-03 14:53:13
Ok so I opened a twitter account just to do 311. I reported something early yesterday. I see people get responses on their page. How long does that generally take?
italianblend
2017-07-26 08:56:42
Depends.  It has been all over the map.  And just because the 311 person acknowledges the complaint doesn't mean anything much to get fixed. All they do is pass on the complaint to the proper City Department. It is up to the department to fix the issue and then to report back to 311 the status of the complaint. Many times the department never feeds back to 311 what they did or didn't do. Think of 311 as just the telephone switchboard operator.
edronline
2017-07-26 09:06:58
Note also that many departments still don't have the ability to receive trouble tickets electronically---this has been a major push of Peduto's administration, but you'll still often get a response back "Printed and given to Supervisor", because that's literally all they can do: print off the complaint and hand it to someone in person.  DPW may still be receiving theirs by fax to the Second Avenue Bunker or the division offices....
epanastrophe
2017-07-26 09:54:08
Some things, like unshoveled sidewalks, I've seen a response in a half hour and action within the day. Other things, like drain grates, have yet to be worked on, months or years later. Reporting it to 311 assures that there is a paper trail, and posting it here makes it easier for you to follow up later with "Hey, I reported this six months ago, and it hasn't been addressed yet. Status, please?"
stuinmccandless
2017-07-26 10:07:20
Also for liability purposes there is a paper trail. For instance, we have 311 the river Ave train tracks of death enough so that the next time someone gets hurt on them they can contact an attorney and the attorney can foia request all the 311 requests to get them fixed and then sue the city for damages... I've switched from the website to Twitter. The website isn't optimized for mobile devices. Also is a pita to use. Twitter request takes about 20 seconds to generate and also any other internet enabled person can see the request.
edronline
2017-07-26 12:10:07
I 311ed the sidewalk along Becks Run a while back, the holdup on getting any work done is the fact that the sidewalk is shared by the City and Baldwin Boro.   I'm not comfortable using the lane going up Becks Run (I've fine with going down it, I can maintain 28-35 MPH) but going UP is a different story and I need to use the sidewalk. There's landslides, big piles of gravel, weeds, garbage, parked trucks, etc...   https://twitter.com/Redinthe412/status/905607098402254848
rustyred
2017-10-01 20:12:24
I submitted a request to fix the potholes at the intersection of terminal way and where the gap trail 'ends' (near the railroad tracks and parking lot). I previously submitted a request for this location and the operator replied that this is not a city owned property. Not very hopeful anything will come of this, but resubmitting to see if they will take a second look at that. Coordinates
kieran
2017-10-04 10:32:56
Terminal Way *is* privately owned, which might be part of the confusion---but that's South 4th St.  The parking lot is also apparently City property. As an aside, I'd swear I've reported the potholes on S 4th north of the railroad/at the parking lot+trailhead, but I can't seem to find it.
epanastrophe
2017-10-04 12:10:03
@buffalo buffalo, thanks for the correction. I amended my 311 request to reflect South 4th st.
kieran
2017-10-04 13:16:39
This doesn't help. I *gave* them the additional information already, in a follow-on tweet. If they had bothered to actually look at Twitter, at the tweet itself, they would have seen the second linked tweet. It appears they only see the forwarded-to-text-only tweet, and don't actually use Twitter itself. And because of that, they simply closed the complaint and have me start all over again. That's kinda stupid. Manhole Covers, PWSA ID 190759 Location JACKSON ST, Pittsburgh, PA Status Closed Comments @pgh311 Highland Park(will get you a more exact position in a later tweet) The bad grate is on Connecting Road in Highland Park between Jackson St and Lake Drive. History Created 2 days ago @pgh311 Highland Park(will get you a more exact position in a later tweet) The bad grate is on Connecting Road in Highland Park between Jackson St and Lake Drive. Closed 4 hours ago THANK YOU FOR REPORTING THE ISSUE. BUT FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE REQUEST. PLEASE REPORT IF STILL AN ISSUE. PLEASE CONTACT 311 TO CREATE A NEW REQUEST. STREETS DO NOT INTERSECT.
stuinmccandless
2017-10-05 10:38:01
Someone threw glass bottles onto Junction Hollow Trail from the Blvd of Allies last night. The trail is littered with broken glasses and pose a danger to trail users. This has been reported to 311.
ninjaturtle0304
2017-10-27 11:29:37
Majority of the broken glasses on the Junction Hollow Trail were cleaned up, but there were still some residues this evening. I saw a rider fixing a puncture at the nearby soccer field, which may be the result of the residues.
ninjaturtle0304
2017-10-27 19:13:08
@Gordon, Why would someone do that?
zzwergel
2017-10-27 20:40:28
Is there some kind of anti-bike movement going on ot there?
zzwergel
2017-10-28 11:58:50
Could be that, could just be your typical average bored teenager trying to cause trouble, and succeeding. This type has always existed. Clean up the mess, try to catch them so as to rub their noses in it, but otherwise just shake your head and move on. You can't fix stupid.
stuinmccandless
2017-10-28 23:48:11
Sent a message about water runoff on McClure and Eckert.  Over the summer I haven't cared, but now that it can freeze i don't want to fall with traffic.
jstalnaker2112
2017-10-30 21:43:47
How long before a request should be addressed? I filed one on 10/4 and it's just sitting there open, with no response. Usually I feel like I've had movement or at least a comment within a day or two. Thoughts on following up on requests?
pinky
2017-10-31 13:01:51
After a week or two, I think it's reasonable to inquire about the status of a request, and ask when you can expect a response of some kind, or their best guess of when the problem will be addressed.
steven
2017-11-01 00:50:09
I'm not sure that the 311 people even know. Their job is just to route the request to the right department. Pittsburgh is still in the stone age, with some city departments taking 311 referrals via fax!  Plus, if the city department doesn't give status updates to the 311 human, they can't update the status   Obviously the city needs a centralized and universal work order tracking system. Until that happens 311 is a glorified paper routing system for work requests.
edronline
2017-11-01 07:17:13
@Gordon wrote on 10/27 about broken glass on the Junction Hollow Trail under Blvd of the Allies bridge, and that most of it got cleaned up. When I biked there this afternoon, there was lots of glass, some of it large pieces, on or near the trail. Perhaps there was a new round of bottle dropping. In any case, I cleaned up the biggest pieces. It still needs more cleanup. Ideally, somebody should go back on a dry day with a good broom, a vacuum, and/or something sticky to pick up the remaining pieces. Did the city do the earlier cleanup, or was it volunteers?
paulheckbert
2017-11-02 20:23:43
Re: my request - oddly enough, the thing that was broken is now fixed, but the ticket is open. I may tell them they can close it.
pinky
2017-11-06 09:10:15
I just 331'd the super dangerous concrete slab on the North Side Trail. Weirdly enough, i 311'd the half jersey barrier on the trail (that had no reflective on it) a few weeks ago, and it was removed promptly.
erok
2017-11-07 10:36:08
I'm on that trail all the time.  How have I not noticed that?   Where is it located?  Between the w end bridge and the prison?
edronline
2017-11-07 13:21:59
311'd glass and debris on 40th street bridge last week. On Friday, it looked like it had been properly cleaned. Today I get a message "Public Works does not service this bridge" so I have no idea how it got done.
katzenmiau
2017-11-13 11:11:31
Supposedly Allegheny County maintains 40th, though apparently it's often just @DaniErdosne.  I'm not sure why it would be the County's responsibility, other than because the State refuses to do it and it's split between two municipalities. https://twitter.com/Allegheny_Co/status/888122047183806466
epanastrophe
2017-11-13 13:19:17
I just got a 311 response saying that the one i submitted above was "done." If anyone rides along the north shore trail, can you report on what was done? for a refresher it was this:
erok
2017-11-29 09:15:27
I called 311 about the traffic light on the 31st Street Bridge because it would make me wait forever to cross River Ave. See Bike/Ped unfriendly intersections for details.
zzwergel
2017-11-29 18:12:57
That's a very long light but a very complex intersection. Route 28 n and s, ritalo, 31st street bridge, and river Ave. I think they are doing the best they can with that intersection.
edronline
2017-11-29 18:37:55
@erok The gaps in the sidewalk/trail have been fixed. They put a layer of asphalt, so now you have a sweet little ramp. I ride the at section of north shore trail and never thought to say anything to 311.
jstalnaker2112
2017-11-29 22:36:02
@jstalnaker2112 thanks for the update. that's great news!
erok
2017-11-30 13:59:23
311ed an abandoned bike on the ramp that takes you from Hyde Park steak house to the north shore trail. It has been totally stripped.   There's also an abandoned bike, non stripped, in Millvale leaning against the picnic shelter. It has been there for weeks. I didn't tell Millvale Bei give up with them.  I've emailed, called, tweeted, and Facebooked messagedabout the glass in the river front park parking lot for weeks and they don't respond. If anyone wants to try, go ahead. Also, I 311ed a broken grate on river Ave by the Heinz plant and I got a thanks for "drainspotting.". Cute!
edronline
2017-12-20 20:10:51
I see so much glass these days, I'm tempted to start carrying a gride and broom with me, and a bag to sweep it into. (gride: dustpan, to most people; why it isn't actually called a gride is beyond me) That broken grate, wouldn't happen to be an unbroken but deadly grate at the corner of River and Chesbro, would it? That's been 311'd so many times it's not funny. It's lined up perfectly to nail cyclists making the transition from the trail to the 16th St Bridge.
stuinmccandless
2017-12-21 21:06:01
Watch out for the broken glass on the path between Arsonia Place and the South Bank T station.
zzwergel
2017-12-21 22:19:06
Swept away the months old broken glass in Millvale riverfront Park parking lot as my millions of emails and calls to the boro didn't accomplish anything. A cop even drove by and didn't stop. So I guess they don't really care.
edronline
2017-12-24 10:27:52
Grate wasn't that grate. It was further down river Ave.
edronline
2017-12-24 10:28:36
311 a broken bollard base on 3 river heritage trail near island ave. I have stood the bollard up a few times, but any touch and it falls.  
jstalnaker2112
2017-12-29 21:39:08
I think that one was over in the bushes for a while?
edronline
2017-12-29 22:21:07
It did disappear for a day or two.  I tend to zone out and kept forgetting to look on my rides home.  By the time I remembered to stop someone else had placed it back on the bolts.
jstalnaker2112
2018-01-02 08:26:23
Tis the season for the freeze-thaw to start hammering our streets with potholes. Don't forget to put in tickets for potholes. I reported one on 44th today across from the children's hospital ambulance entrance.
benzo
2018-01-08 16:42:44
On 1/24 I reported to 311 "bad potholes on Bigelow in the Schenley Farms area, for several blocks" and today they replied "service request closed", "Completed by 3rd Division". I don't get to Bigelow often, so I hope others check if the city did a decent job here.
paulheckbert
2018-01-27 11:11:52
There is broken glass on the sidewalk leading from the 40th Street Bridge from Millvale. There is also mud on NST near Heinz Plant. Campers have been in the area all Spring and Winter so far.
zzwergel
2018-01-27 13:41:50
Those are the usual homeless people who live along the trail .
edronline
2018-01-27 14:22:13
I've been a bit obsessive while riding around recently. there's some real craters out there. The 24th block of Smallman is no joke.
erok
2018-02-14 09:46:30
the mayor seems to be playing defense on twitter right now on the pothole issue. explaining how they need dry weather to fill them, etc. my guess is there will be another pothole blitz, so save a cyclist and report your potholes!
erok
2018-02-14 23:01:31
Always reporting... I don't doubt they use these reports somewhat in choosing roads to pave next season. I submitted a complaint to penndot for ped crossing button hit by vehicle and torn from it's base at the end of the 40th street bridge:  Pics on Imgur  
benzo
2018-02-16 11:06:46
A sinkhole on Ellsworth between Neville and Devonshire. This is a real danger; be careful. 311 report: westbound there is a very deep hole in the street. This is not a pothole! Radius is ~2 ft but you can see several feet down. Please mark asap, and fix. If you see it please send in your own report.
ahlir
2018-02-19 11:23:00
With sinkholes in the past, I've had some success of calling the PGH20 emergency line, specifically for one that formed on S. Negley this summer. If you want to call them, the number is 412-255-2423.
jason-pgh
2018-02-19 12:06:22
Well, I 311'd and I called PWSA. On the way home I passed the spot again. It now has a second, so far smaller, crater developing... On the whole I prefer geysers; at least you can tell there's a problem up ahead.
ahlir
2018-02-19 17:36:35
On Ellsworth, the City got there first and put up a DPW barrier (and "closed" my 311 item). The craters continue to develop nicely. On a related note, I received the following note:
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is meeting with customers and residents to forge relationships and re-establish trust during this year of transition. 2018 is a year of transition for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA). From transitioning to PUC oversight and beginning to address long-standing challenges, it’s the start of a new era for PWSA. One that puts customers, and our accountability to them, first. [...] Several meetings with neighborhood community groups are scheduled through May. Later this year, PWSA will host its own community forums to have an open, engaging discussion about the future direction of the organization. All meetings are open to the public. We've already met with the Homewood Concerned Citizen Council, the Highland Park Community Council, and the Elliott Community Group. The next few meetings will take place on: March 13th Hazelwood Initiative March 21st Stanton Heights Neighborhood Association March 26th Lawrenceville 6th Ward Block Watch Please use the link below for a complete list of meetings already scheduled. More information about this outreach initiative as well as the meeting schedule is available on our website at www.pgh2o.com/communitymeetings.
ahlir
2018-02-21 19:19:26
Keep 311ng potholes. There was an item in the paper today that while the state and county seem to be exempt from damage from potholes the city isn't if the pothole is reported and not fixed in a "reasonable" amount of time.
edronline
2018-02-21 20:36:47
I'm twitter-annoyed with the city over the railroad tracks on river ave, as some other bike-pgh members have been supporting me on twitter.  The city seems to be playing dumb with the problems re: the railroad tracks.  They are the worst shape i've ever seen, terribly unlevel, rocks all over the place. 311 requested "more information" because, obviously, my photo attached to the 311 request wasn't good enough. They're also trying to put some of the blame on conrail, since they maintain the tracks, even though they are orphaned tracks. So, can I get some help with 311 requests for this?  Your photos attached to 311 requests will hopefully bump up the priority of this dangerous crossing. I think 311 has learned to tune me out since I 311 a lot.  More voices would be helpful.   Also, I contacted penndot because some helpful penndot employee left a orange detour sign on its side on the highland park bridge sidewalk, blocking the sidewalk for wheelchairs and bikes.  Luckily penndot seems to be very responsive to ADA violations and will probably remove this today.
edronline
2018-03-02 10:02:11
Watch out re river Ave triangle tracks. Today I checked on them after getting cranky with pgh311 on chitter (thanks to benzo and buffalo for backup) and there is a huge hole from where a buffer once was. Someone's tire is going to get eaten up and the same someone's head is gonna get mushed on the pavement. https://mobile.twitter.com/uncoolPGHdad/status/969606629070123011 I also 311ed Homewood Ave between frick park and Penn Ave. The entire street is potholes. I think there are more potholes than actual functional road.
edronline
2018-03-02 15:37:12
@RustyRed, Are the signs posted in both directions, and do they work?
zzwergel
2018-03-11 15:21:43
Bollard finally replaced on North Shore Trail and Island Ave.  Looks like 311 also took the neighbors  giant orange cone that was used to cover the bolts for the last few months.
jstalnaker2112
2018-04-04 07:28:44
They’re also trying to put some of the blame on conrail, since they maintain the tracks, even though they are orphaned tracks.
It looks like they are correct. http://www.universalhub.com/2016/court-rules-abandoned-rail-line-isnt-really  
The state's highest court said federal law gives a federal agency - currently the Surface Transportation Board - the sole power to declare a rail line "abandoned"
mikhail
2018-04-05 15:50:51
Wish that the city would compel the RR to make them non dangerous. They are awful right now. City was working on them last summer. Guess they didn't know it was the RR responsibility at the time.
edronline
2018-04-05 21:28:29
After five years of 311ing the wheel eating drain grate at River and Chesbro, it finally got replaced.
stuinmccandless
2018-04-08 14:33:47
A few weeks ago I noticed a no trespassing sign on the North Shore Trail right where River Avenue climbs to meet the 31st Street Bridge. It was in the grass median between the trail and River Avenue. The sign was terribly rusted in was probably there for 20 or 30 years. I 311. And I noticed today it was gone. A small victory. I'm amazed that I never noticed that sign before giving that I use the trail several times a week and I have for the last several years. I think we all suffer from sign fatigue.
edronline
2018-04-25 17:04:58
I'm sure there's a history of why that sign was put there in the first place, and why it stayed up for so long. Related: Have they *yet* removed the "Sidewalk Closed" signs at the PA65 end of the McKees Rocks Bridge sidewalks? The bridge work wrapped up in 2009.
stuinmccandless
2018-04-25 19:40:16
Tree still there at noon. Be careful. Easy to get around tree but hard to see what's on the other side.
edronline
2018-05-11 13:59:49
Path is clear. Tree and all associated debris is gone
jstalnaker2112
2018-05-15 12:01:36
311 request 254646 There are I think 8 plastic bollards on the Penn Ave bike lane bent to the ground between 11th St and Stanwix. Apparently a car or truck has driven over them. Please straighten or replace, as a bollard bent over like this is no longer effective at discouraging cars from invading the bike lane and endangering cyclists. Thanks. The attached photo from 928 Penn Ave shows three bent to the ground. https://flic.kr/p/27JtRqg
paulheckbert
2018-06-01 00:43:07
311 request 254647 I saw three plastic bollards bent down so far that they touch the ground on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail (Chateau Trail section). The one pictured is just south of Island Ave at latitude & longitude N40.46109 W80.03566. Apparently a car or truck drove over it. Bollards help keep cars off the trail and they protect cyclists and pedestrians from injury. Please straighten or replace the bent bollards. thanks. https://flic.kr/p/27DYqnU
paulheckbert
2018-06-01 01:15:17
Thanks to both of you. I've 311ed.both of these areas repeatedly. Especially on the North shore trail they are rarely replaced. The excuse during the winter was that they were waiting on bollards. I think the issue now is that they are considered low priority.
edronline
2018-06-01 12:41:44
There are a total of 5 bollards down between the Casino and the Penitentiary. Some of this is conjecture , but I know the city runs a maintenance truck down the path at least every few days.  I believe since they can't go around the bollard they are going over them or trying to go around them and running over them with a tire.  After a few trips the bollard won't bounce back and stays bent over. The bollards need replaced but at the same time a long term solution is needed for the maintenance truck running over them every week.
jstalnaker2112
2018-06-01 12:58:55
Is it the city or alcosan? They check all of the sewer outlets daily using a truck. Or is it people from the Marinas? The bollards are better than the old gates. Those sucked. You basically had to stop to get around them. But I agree that if they're going to have bollards they need to be in Viagra position.
edronline
2018-06-01 13:55:59
What, pray tell, do they need to haul around with them every day that requires a truck? Can we find someone in the bike community to work with them to devise a plan for a bike trailer to which can be attached or loaded with the necessary equipment? Even if it's a hundred pounds of stuff, it's not like they have to pull it up a hill.
stuinmccandless
2018-06-01 17:51:35
3 of the 5 are replaced.  The 2 still down are on the ends (one at penitentiary and other at Cardello). My ride time has changed a little and I haven't seen the truck in a while, but it was a city truck.  At the same time Alcosan could be there and I just never see them. I was guessing the city truck was checking trash cans and just generally looking at stuff, if I see them again I will have to ask
jstalnaker2112
2018-06-04 08:02:28
Someone needs to 311 each individual bollard with pictures. I can probably do that Friday if I have time to ride the trail.
edronline
2018-06-05 06:02:02
jason -- I just did the same thing this morning. I rode the NST from end to end today and 311ed the 2 bollards down. I also yet again 311ed the area behind the industrial park for weed pruning. Last week I 311ed the section between millvale and the 31st bridge for pruning. That's all city of pittsburgh but good luck getting them there. And I also emailed millvale last week to have them take care of the section behind the boathouse, but they never respond to any emails, ever, or any contact forms from their website, or any tweets, etc. etc. The last bit I want to have taken care of is that huge bush outside the carnegie science center, by the submarine. It's getting quite wide and the sightlines are super bad there. Hard to see peds on the trail. The science center needs to prune it back.  I'll send an email about that today.
edronline
2018-06-06 11:53:16
Just got tweets back from 311 that bollards on nst were replaced.
edronline
2018-06-08 07:02:44
Rode the north shore trail with wifey today. All bollards are up! Now only if they'd follow through with trimming the bad knotweed especially between w end bridge and sci Pittsburgh... I also 311ed the 2 dumped tires by Washington landing peds bridge and I emailed the Carnegie science center about a large bush on their property that needs (to be) trimmed.
edronline
2018-06-08 12:49:04
Dpw said they fixed all the bollards on Penn , Clemente bridge, and Allegheny center. Can someone verify? I'm in NYC.
edronline
2018-06-13 18:02:26
Bollards still down at Ridge & W Commons around Allegheny Circle, but Clemente, 6th, and at least the 600 block of Penn have been replaced along my morning route.
nmr
2018-06-14 07:41:00
Japanese Knotweed is cut down on the narrow section of North Shore Trail to Penitentiary.  
jstalnaker2112
2018-06-14 14:13:56
I actually only reported the E side of Allegheny Commons. They were too limited to check them all. Can you 311 the west side ones? Thanks.
edronline
2018-06-14 21:52:46
Should I 311 the non-functional water fountains in Schenley Plaza and gravel in the East St. bike lanes?
zzwergel
2018-06-14 23:33:06
Should I 311 the non-functional water fountains in Schenley Plaza and gravel in the East St. bike lanes?
Always. Cost of 311=free. So always 311 it.
edronline
2018-06-15 06:46:55
request 262890 mini sinkhole in Guthrie St on west side of Peebles St. This problem is just inside Pittsburgh city limits (east side of Peebles is Wilkinsburg). Someone has set a garbage can in the depression, so people don't drive into it! https://flic.kr/p/28vbUAZ
paulheckbert
2018-06-24 23:56:47
request 262891 One bollard missing and four plastic bollards bent to the ground, all on Penn Ave bike lane. Please replace or repair these bollards. This is a followup to request 254646 from about 3 weeks ago (closed prematurely, perhaps?). A list of the problems I observed during Open Streets on 6/24: 1. missing bollard at SW corner of Penn & 6th. 2. bent bollard at SE corner of Penn & 7th (next to Benedum). 3. bent bollard at 908 Penn Ave. 4. bent bollard at 938 Penn Ave. 5. bent bollard at Penn & 12th. These bollards help protect cyclists in the bike lane, allowing them to feel more secure about cycling. Thanks.
paulheckbert
2018-06-25 00:09:32
Re the bollards, that's just sad. They were all replaced 2 weeks ago so the rate of bollard crushing is pretty.high.
edronline
2018-06-25 06:50:47
any thoughts / need your help. I've been 31ing the overgrown shrubs on the north shore trail between 40th st br and 31st st bridge. 311 now says that DPW says that this is millvale, not pgh. The line between pgh and millvale is actually about 10 feet past where the 3 rivers rowing boathouse ends. It is actually in that very back parking lot, well before when the bridge starts. however, I'm sure pgh DPW won't take any ownership of that trail bridge now. THey probably feel that they can stop at the 31st street bridge. Any suggestions on where I go from here? the peds/bike coordinator has never responded to any emails in the past from me. do I hit city council? If so, any idea who that person is for that area?
edronline
2018-06-28 11:26:03
Eric, that would be Council District 1 represented by Darlene Harris. Before you lose all hope, she is generally supportive of trail work. Bikes are fine as long as they don't interfere with the almighty car. I'd also suggest contacting Valerie Biechner at Friends of the Riverfront and request that be the location of their next stewardship effort.
nmr
2018-06-28 12:58:53
I'd start with your own city council member, since part of that person's job is to help their constituents (i.e. you) by working with other parts of the government. The city council member for the area with the problem isn't trying to earn your vote, so at best you're alerting them to something in their area that their own constituents perhaps couldn't be bothered to complain about.
steven
2018-06-28 13:05:11
Also, you might try replying to the DPW message by clarifying that you mean the part of the trail west of the Pittsburgh/Millvale border, "which as you know lies about halfway between the 31st and 40th Street Bridges". Treat it as if they just didn't understand which part of the trail you meant, and you're helping to clarify that for them. It wouldn't hurt to mention as specifically as possible where the problem is, in relation to the structures and the Pittsburgh/Millvale border. Maybe use Google Maps to make a little diagram with arrows for the border and the problem area, and send that to them as an attached image.
steven
2018-06-28 13:21:39
Thanks. I don't live in pgh city. I live in the burbs. I tried clarifying that it is really the city of pgh. I even sent a pic of where it was. Dpw is being lazy, I fear.
edronline
2018-06-28 17:12:49
whatever happened, the tree blocking 1/2 the width of the n shore trail bridge between 40th and 31st street is gone. The rest of the vines/bushes haven't been trimmed there.   Also, between Wednesday at 11 am and today yet another bollard was knocked down on the north shore trail, right by the W End Bridge. I already 311ed 2 being down between W End Bridge and Aerotech, so now there's a third. I'm not going to re: 311 this since the original 311 request is still open.   But, just be careful -- as you may remember there are the two 1 foot tall metal car barriers on each side of the bridge. After a bike crashed last year and lost some teeth they've been locked in the upright position.  Until today. The millvale side one is in the down position...   Will cross post in the road condition forum.
edronline
2018-06-29 11:50:09
Bollard man strikes again. 7 bollards down n shore trail. 11 down on Penn Ave bike lane. I 311es them all.
edronline
2018-07-20 13:19:12
Why do the bollards keep getting knocked down? Tall steel posts should be installed instead of the plastic pieces of junk that just keep getting knocked down.
zzwergel
2018-07-26 17:17:40
Cars run into them and they get knocked down, both on the north shore trail and on penn avenue. someone else somewhere on here posted a response from the city that they're aware that bollards keep getting knocked down but they don't have a plan to replace them with anything else. And, as you can see on the penn ave bike lane, for the areas where they get mowed down all the time, they just totally took out the bollards and have no separators (or, some orange traffic pylons) instead.
edronline
2018-07-26 18:01:13
also remember—cars run into the plastic flexible ones and knock them down.  everyone agrees, this is suboptimal.  however, consider the alternative: riders run into hard metal ones and get hurt, and occasionally die. I've known folks in Pittsburgh who hurt themselves hitting the metal car-blocker bases on the Rte 28 trail (did this ever get a proper name?  the sidewalk between Rialto and Penn Brewery along the base of Troy Hill...) and elsewhere, and it's not that long since someone on a trail outside Cleveland hit a metal pole so hard he died from his injuries. (Also, didn't Pittsburgh just go through a program of removing the big metal bollards from the North Shore/Chateau Trail because they made it impossible to get cargo bikes and other wide rides through?)
epanastrophe
2018-07-26 18:26:31
Out on the Steel Valley Trail portion of the Great Allegheny Passage, we have an on-road section of trail on East Waterfront Drive in Munhall near the Pump House (https://goo.gl/maps/sjwy5tAPZPw) marked by delineators (plastic bollards). One of our volunteers in the Steel Valley Trail Council, Bob MacGregor, checks the delineators almost daily, and replaces any that have become bent or damaged. We have delineators that are designed to flex and withstand some blows, but sometimes they break, and sometimes the bases detach from the asphalt. Compared to Penn Ave, we have the advantage of very few delivery vehicles making stops, but the disadvantages of being on the inside of a bend, and of high car speeds. I think Bob's diligence at quickly replacing damaged delineators has (slowly) taught the drivers on that road that the delineators are here to stay, and that they should avoid them, if they want to avoid small dents to their front end, and loud noises.
paulheckbert
2018-07-27 02:41:11
The NST used to have big metal pillars that were a pita to get through.
edronline
2018-07-27 06:21:43
Thinking more about the issue,.it seems that trails should have something flexible that can be easily replaced for the middle of the trail to stop cars (or get them to think before going) but that are also not dangerous when struck by cyclists. Something like the Penn Ave bike lane needs physical separators. A barrier if you will.
edronline
2018-07-27 08:08:01
lori
2018-08-19 14:03:46
Bless you! I feel like I'm the grumpy old "get off my lawn" man when it comes to 311ing these. Every little bit helps. You did a fantastic job.
edronline
2018-08-19 14:24:30
ugh, I posted my 311-ish complaint on the wrong forum!  Here's what happened when I hijacked the tag-o-rama thread--   Eric Member 08/22/2018 at 8:39am #Reply My quest to get someone, anyone to trim the north shore trail between the Millvale boat house and the 31st st bridge has failed. Pgh311 says it isn’t pittsburgh (most of it is according to Google maps) and Millvale doesn’t respond. Anyone else have any pull? jonawebb Participant 08/22/2018 at 9:29am #Reply Did you try the council representative for that district? They have someone on staff whose job it is to help with citizen requests. From this map it looks like district 1, which is, gulp, Darlene Harris. Anyway I’d give her office a call. Maybe emphasize how important the trail is to keep cyclists off the street. 412-255-2135 Eric Member 08/22/2018 at 10:24am #Edit | Reply ah, dammit. I posted this in the wrong forum! a) super sorry, b) don’t reply anymore to this and carry on tag-o-rama. Thanks @jonawebb.  My old eyes and brain had a collective fart.
edronline
2018-08-22 10:25:22
311-d 2 vehicles parked in bike lanes today, one at convention center hotel on Penn Ave and one at Nova Place, North Commons & Federal. I've taken to including photos of license plates.
jdgpgh
2018-09-20 13:11:19
id 296423 Location 1001 10TH ST, Pittsburgh At Penn & 10th, 3 bollards bent to ground, 1 quite bent (photo). On Penn near 11th, 2 bollards bent to ground. On Penn near 12th, 2 bollards bent to ground. At Penn & 15th, 2 bollards bent to ground. (photo) Please straighten or replace the bollards. Bollards help protect cyclists in the bike lane. The more of them that remain bent and damaged, the less safe people will feel when using the Penn Ave bike lane, and the more difficult it will be to encourage people to take up cycling in this area. This is particularly important toward helping women, seniors, and parents with children to feel safe. https://flic.kr/p/2cc7XQ8 https://flic.kr/p/2c7xB6U  
paulheckbert
2018-10-18 16:34:52
There is approximately 3 month lag between bolkard 311 request and went it gets done. Especially on the North shore trail. I think they only bollard replace once a year. :(
edronline
2018-10-18 17:37:09
I had been delaying posting 6 of 11 bollards down on north shore trail between casino and penitentiary just because they keep getting run over by Alcosan and other maintenance people and not a lot of people with the lack of brain cells to drive on what is clearly a trail. But at 7 this morning I had 3 cars in a row driving on the trail from around Casino to the Cardello lot.   Does anyone know who to contact about changing the type of bollard to one with a spring that will withstand being driven over?
jstalnaker2112
2018-10-22 10:16:51
From discussions on here before when it has come up re: the bollards, the spring back ones don't really spring back after being driven over repeatedly. It also won't stop anyone from going on the trail -- if they know it just springs back up, they'll continue to drive. So I don't think the city is going to change. What really needs to happen is that they need to get serious about no cars on the trail and enforce it. I'm afraid if they put in a hard bollard (i.e., metal) then a biker will crash into it and die. Or they could go back to the super annoying gates, which cut down on traffic on the trail but made it so you had to stop every so often to go through tiny spaces... Or maybe a coalition of the willing can get some huge boulders and dump them on the trail in such a way that vehicles can't get through... Though no idea how we'd be able to do that. and, it probably isn't legal. and stops appropriate vehicle users (DPW, emergency responders) from getting to the trail.... ugh..
edronline
2018-10-22 13:16:30
@jstalnaker2112: You could contact Valerie Beichner at Friends of the Riverfront. That organization maintains the trail (I'm a volunteer with them). FOTR does light work such as picking up litter and minor pruning, while the city's Department of Public Works does heavy work such as replacing bollards, patching asphalt, or mechanized pruning.
paulheckbert
2018-10-26 09:44:43
311ed the dead canoe on the NST outside of PNC park. It's right next to the pgh police boathouse.
edronline
2018-10-26 12:11:42
request ID 305834. Glass in westbound bike lane on Forbes Ave in Frick Park (just west of the west end of the bridge). Please street-sweep the glass. Thanks. Today, while biking the bike lane, I rode at the left edge of the bike lane there to avoid the glass, but that puts me in greater danger of being struck by an inattentive driver. Bike lanes clogged with debris like this put cyclists at greater risk.
paulheckbert
2018-12-17 21:10:58
Someone dumped a huge 1980s projection TV (one of those that are basically 6 feet by 6 feet and weigh a million pounds) on the north shore trail (about 1 foot off of the pavement, in the bushes) right next to the pedestrian ramp/bridge to washington's landing.  I 311ed it, and 2 days later it was gone. I guess someone didn't want to pay a zillion dollars for disposal costs for that.  Basically the only place that will take an old TV for recycling is Evolution E-cycling in the southside and a big TV like that will cost $60 to help defray the expenses of getting rid of all of that lead. My guess is that Evolution e-cycling will lose money for every TV like that that shows up.
edronline
2018-12-19 20:00:58
those 9 have been down at least since last september or october, when they replaced them the last time.  Or maybe it was august.  I don't think there was more than 5 days where all the bollards were up.  I complained to 311 a long time ago about the bollards on the trail and I got a "we'll replace them the next time we go out bollarding" type of response.   THey must only replace the bollards once a year.  It doesn't stop the ALCOSAN truck (as well as people looking for shortcuts to get to their boats) from crushing them within days of replacement.
edronline
2019-02-05 12:36:14
I sent a message to 311 the day before you, I counted 3 missing and only 3 of 13 still standing.   Yesterday I went through and removed the bolts from the 3 spots that are missing, hopefully to reduce a tripping and/or puncture hazard.
jstalnaker2112
2019-02-06 07:20:52
Thanks. I cycled that last week and forgot to 311 it. I did 311 the north shore trail coming apart with loose mounds of asphalt by the Morgan Apartment building. Within 2-3 years the n shore trail asphalt will be pretty far gone over most of the stretch between downtown and millvale... Wish they'd seal it every so often
edronline
2019-02-15 20:12:07
The North Shore trail from 16th St to Millvale got a tar-and-chip treatment in (I think) 2013.
stuinmccandless
2019-02-16 20:35:36
Illegal Parking ID 319456 Location 5100 ROSECREST DR, Pittsburgh Status open Comment There are many cars parked on sidewalks throughout the Stanton Heights neighborhood. Many of the cars are completely obstructing the sidewalks. Please issue warnings to residents. I attached some photographs
zzwergel
2019-02-18 15:46:50
Yesterday I reported the following and today I got an email "Your service request ID#: 326102 has been registered and forwarded to the appropriate representative for action". There were ten bollards down (base ripped out of asphalt) on the Southside Trail just west of the intersection of S 1st St & McKean St on 3/17. (Earlier I reported three bollards down here on 3/14: https://twitter.com/paulheckbert/status/1106422861609095174 . Perhaps St. Patrick's drunks saw the 3 down and got "inspired"). See picture. Please repair. https://flic.kr/p/T7yCrs
paulheckbert
2019-03-19 22:43:07
When I rode through this area on Wednesday afternoon, all of these bollards were fixed.
jrs
2019-03-22 10:50:01
I reported this to Allengheny County at http://www.alleghenycounty.us/contact-information/contact.aspx as I was told by PGH 311 that the county maintains the sidewalks of this bridge. Please clean up the bumper, side mirror, and other car debris from the east sidewalk of the Homestead Grays Bridge. Cars chronically endanger cyclists and pedestrians on the roads. Now their junk is endangering us on the sidewalks, too! See attached picture. https://flic.kr/p/2gcaAr9
paulheckbert
2019-06-10 19:53:07
Could use support reporting the Negley bike lane at Black St heading towards Stanton. I have reported this spot since August, as the outer bike lane is completely worn away right after the light. I have entered at least 6 tickets and I always get "printed for supervisor for review" and nothing changes. Today, in the rain about 730pm, I was 6" from being struck by a truck from behind. I don't know what the driver thought I was doing, but the shift after the light is so dangerous and more so when people cannot see the lane. 538 Negley St is where I continue to report it. Maybe if we have a lot of messages they'll stop ignoring it as a real issue. It won't take much paint to just go over it, though I've requested bollards be placed there. Though then I'd have to report flattened bollards constantly. I'm just very sick of hoping I don't get hit there every damned day.
katzenmiau
2019-06-10 20:09:19
I haven't been there in a few months. Small note: it's not Negley Ave, but 538 North Negley St. Not to be confused with 538 S. Negley St.
paulheckbert
2019-06-10 22:52:48
I think it may be time to take your complaint to the city council person for that area. Is that deb gross? my guess is that if you tell her what's been going on a staff member will be better able to knock heads at public works than an ignorable 311.
edronline
2019-06-11 10:58:43
https://flic.kr/p/2mLXF4V sent this in today- sign forces eastbound bike lane into oncoming traffic at 9th and Penn Avenue downtown. Sign can be moved over a bit.
dave
2021-11-25 15:11:13
Tweet #1 without photo: Liberty Ave outbound at the end of the Bloomfield Bridge has a nasty hole developing next to a storm grate. Couldn’t get a photo but just cross from sidewalk to sidewalk across the end of the bridge & you’ll see it. Big enough to eat a bike wheel. Tweet #2 with photo. (Yay for the rear camera working!) Here is that hole I mentioned last night. Liberty Ave outbound at end of Bloomfield Bridge. https://twitter.com/bus15237/status/1502663865988964359?s=20&t=aewjb15fjb1FHMw30WdpUQ
stuinmccandless
2022-03-12 13:31:18