Since the temporary road that runs across the pedestrian mall went in, the traffic flow has been continuous. Trucks love to use it as a nifty shortcut. Buses love to drive through and drop off groups of people. Cars just come through for no reason at all.
Anyway, for those that actually stop and walk across the mall, you may have noticed that with every day that passed the bricks were getting looser and looser. If you reached down you could pull out dozens of them. When a car when over them there was a lovely ka-chunk sound as the bricks rocked back and forth. Today the tribal elders decided to send out a team to work on this.
The original estimate for making this a permanent road (across a pedestrian mall) was close to a million dollars. Today I watched people throwing brick-colored dye in to a cement mixer. The person doing the mixing had a nice city employee shirt on and had a cigarette dangling from his lips during the entire mixing process. The cement eventually made it towards the ground and the loose bricks. As the sun was going down the work was continuing. Will it continue tomorrow? Only half the temporary road was closed today.
I wonder how long it takes to rack up 1 million dollars at this rate. I hope everyone is used to this permanent/temporary road, since it won’t be going away. Long live the non-pedestrian road.
They seem to have a lot of brick roads in Germany. They also park on the sidewalks. They often have sidewalks that seem to double as roads. Plus, it all works and they keep it all looking nice. (They also have a thing in Europe called “public transportation”. I’m not sure what that is. I was born in America. No one here who can afford a car will take a bus, and forget about looking for convenient trains or trams, unless you live in a huge city.)
Maybe brick technology is too advanced for C-ville. Maybe they should stick with sticks or hay.
Too bad about your downtown pedestrian mall turning into a road. Who wants to sit outside on a nice day and breathe fresh air, when they can use a drive-thru instead? Let those smelly Europeans walk and take public transportation… the road is KING in America, baby!
Instead of being so concerned about the bricks underneath the vehicles on the mall, how about re-grouting the REST of the mall? Every morning, I wobble my way to work on the sturdy heels I’m forced to wear. God forbid I attempt wearing stilettos! I’d maybe get a day of wear out of them, before the heels broke off, in between bricks. As it is, I twist my ankles at least every other day, trying to navigate the mall in grown-up, office footwear. I’ll be damned if I’m going to become one of those people who has to have in-office and out-of-office shoes. Why can’t they simply maintain the mall in a fashion which doesn’t require a balancing act similar to walking a tightrope, just to get to work?
How’s that public transportation into France’s housing estates where violent clashes injure an average of 14 police officers each day working out for you?
Yeah, Europe, W00T!
Are they not liable for injuries to people because of uneven and somewhat treacherous walkways?
Palestar, I’m afraid the most cities, states and even the federal government are immune from suit for all but the most overt actions. Mere negligence is rarely going to get you into court, when you’re up against the government. An actual knowing act is generally required. Were it possible to get the city council on record saying something along the line of, “Sure, people are injuring themselves, but who cares? We need that money for a new golf course!” you might have a shot. Or if they put spiky nails in the cracks, in hopes that falling people would impale themselves. But it practically takes one or the other. Just for a good example of the fun, read the 11th amendment to the US Constitution. Sovereign immunity. It’s in there.
Actually, if you have even .0001% contribution to the injury then there is no liability. And of course, anyone that chooses to wear high heels has the liability of vanity over common sense.
TJ, I was only in part of Germany. I don’t mean to generalize about Europe or draw any conclusions that I would rather live in Europe than the US. I wouldn’t. As a tourist it appeared nice, but they have different lifestyles, traditions and issues. A lot of what I saw is frankly not economically viable in the US.
What a crock!!!
Fine, wtf. Everybody rag on me today. What’s economically feasible in the US is what consumers want to pay for. Period. Tough shit if you don’t agree the majority of Americans on what our priorities should be. I don’t, but that’s life. Maybe when our gas prices quadruple like in the EU we will change our priorities.
Buses are there for POOR people. People with money drive cars in the US. Trains are inconvenient and don’t run on schedule here. There is some decent public transportation in huge US cities. Outside of that, it is for the poor because people do not want to spend tax dollars on it. Buses are not an attractive way for people to travel. We are a society in a rush, eating fast food, working long hours. That is our choice. This is not what “should be” it is just FACT. Time and again proposals have failed to institute better public transportation throughout this country because of our lifestyle and how we as consumers choose to spend our money.
Stop picking on me. I’m taking my ball and going home!
Don’t forget, too, that Europe is smaller in area compared to the US. Makes public transportation on a massive scale much more feasible. Indeed, in places in the US where the population is densest is also where you see the most use of public transportation, e.g., the Northeast Corridor from NY/NJ thru Boston.
Me, I’m waiting for teleporting. That’s what I want my tax dollars to go to.
Dan, most states have comparative liablity these days. If you sue someone who is more than 50% liable for causation, you’d still have a recovery. But you do make a good point. Although, not about my “choice” of footwear; my office is the one pretty much requiring me to wear heels. Regardless, there would certainly be contributory negligence on my part. It would have to be determined how much of any injury was due to the heels and how much was due to a poorly maintained public surface. After that, damages would be assigned and apportioned based on percentage of fault. But really, that’s all fairly immaterial in this case, given that you might have a better shot at suing Santa Clause, than a local goverment.
I heard Santa isn’t real. I’ve been crushed. Now, where is my dreidel.
In some cases of injury due to falls on city owned sidewalks the city does pay some of the medical expenses of the injured person without being sued.