[SBC] Fw: Cambridge Hazard ID Survey Follow-Up

[walker2468 at earthlink.net]

FYI-

I came across this again in my Inbox, and thought I'd send it around.

Improving the condition of the pavement we all ride on seems to me a priority item that the SBC could work on that could produce tangible results in the short term. 

-Greg


>-----Forwarded Message-----
>>From: mbmb-d group <noreply at googlegroups.com>
>>Sent: Dec 8, 2006 3:53 AM
>>To: mbmb-d digest subscribers <mbmb-d at googlegroups.com>
>>Subject: 1 new message in 1 topic - digest
>>
>> 
>>MassBike Metro Boston discussion
>>http://groups.google.com/group/mbmb-d
>>
>>mbmb-d at googlegroups.com
>>
>>==============================================================================
>>TOPIC: Cambridge Hazard ID Survey Follow-Up
>>http://groups.google.com/group/mbmb-d/browse_thread/thread/76b3c25f433047fb
>>==============================================================================
>>
>>== 1 of 1 ==
>>Date: Thurs, Dec 7 2006 5:57 
am 
>>From: Christopher Porter  
>>
>>
>>Hi folks - I just wanted to pass along some follow-up with the City of 
>>Cambridge on the bicyclist hazard survey we did in September.  Councillor 
>>Craig Kelley met with staff from the DPW last night and others in a very 
>>positive meeting about the survey and follow-up items.  Many of the 
>>problems we identified are being addressed so we should all congratulate 
>>ourselves on a successful and productive effort!
>>
>>SUCCESSES
>>- Cambridge DPW staff note that we did a good job filling out the survey 
>>forms and we clearly put a lot of thought into designing and completing 
>>the survey.  DPW reports that the survey has been useful to them in 
>>helping to identify problems that need to be addressed.
>>- The survey has raised their awareness of problems faced specifically by 
>>bicyclists, that might not be apparent to a motorist - for example, 
>>potholes near the side of the road, small holes that a car might drive 
>>over without noticing, and longitudinal cracks - so it has been an 
>>educational process for their staff. 
>>- DPW staff note that they have addressed many of the more severe 
>>potholes/pavement problems that we identified.  Also, they have met with 
>>the water and gas utilities to get them to address their problems (e.g., 
>>missing or sunken water and gas main covers).
>>
>>CHALLENGES
>>- The city was somewhat overwhelmed by our list of 140+ problems, coming 
>>in all at once, since normally they only receive individual problem 
>>reports by citizens.  Our moderate vs. severe prioritization helped, but 
>>even so, it has been a daunting challenge to work through the list and 
>>decide what to prioritize.  Every problem needs to be inspected first, to 
>>determine an appropriate fix. 
>>- Our reported problems need to be prioritized against the estimated 1,500 
>>- 1,800 other reported issues with roads and sidewalks that come in every 
>>year.  Coupled with limited staff and budget, they can't address all of 
>>them immediately, and some may simply not be high enough priority to do 
>>anytime in the near future.
>>- The city can't say exactly how many of the problems have been fixed, or 
>>will be fixed in the near future.  While they do log reports into a 
>>database, they don't necessarily track every individual pothole, fix 
>>status, etc. in this database.  For example, for a street that needs a 
>>bunch of patching, they may just take a truck down the street and do all 
>>the patches without recording the exact location of each one.  An 
>>additional challenge is that there is no easy way of matching what they 
>>fix with our hard-copy reports. 
>>- Many of the problems we report are the responsibility of other agencies, 
>>including water and gas and other utilities.  While the DPW has met with 
>>the other utilities to bring the problems to their attention, the 
>>scheduling of repair work is beyond the DPW's control, and again, there is 
>>no good way of tracking exactly which problems have been addressed.
>>- Some problems do not have an easy fix, or the fix would be as bad as the 
>>problem (e.g., patching a small hole would create a small bump).
>>
>>NEXT STEPS
>>- Patching and filling work, as well as most construction work, is on hold 
>>until spring due to (1) cold weather (asphalt does not set well) and (2) 
>>the need for the city to be ready for snow.  However, some work such as 
>>replacing missing utility covers and raising sunken covers will continue.
>>- In March, the city always does a survey of all the streets to look at 
>>problems that have cropped up over the winter.  An intensive patching, 
>>etc. effort is made in April and May.
>>- DPW suggested that June would be a good time for us to re-survey to make 
>>sure that past problems have been fixed and identify any other new 
>>problems.
>>- DPW is continuing to discuss internally how this type of 
>>reporting/surveying effort can be integrated with their existing problem 
>>tracking database, as well as how they can better identify hazards that 
>>would specifically affect bicyclists.
>>
>>LESSONS LEARNED FOR FUTURE REPORTING
>>The DPW had three general suggestions for future reporting efforts:
>>- Focus on the more severe/high-priority problems.  It might be worth 
>>having a "severe" vs. "immediate attention required" differentiation (or 
>>something similar) and we might consider not recording the more more 
>>moderate problems.  This would help them prioritize and would be less 
>>overwhelming in terms of the volume of problems that we report.
>>- Focus on a few streets or areas of the city instead of trying to be 
>>comprehensive - again, to reduce the volume of problems that get reported 
>>at one time.
>>- If the problem is associated with a utility access (gas, water, cable, 
>>etc. cover), identify which one -- we did a pretty good job of this, but 
>>doing it systematically would help them to assign responsibility without 
>>as much fieldwork on their part.
>>
>>Again, great work everyone!  Let's look forward to some more 
>>pothole-hunting next June!
>>
>>~ Chris Porter
>>Chair, MassBike Metro Boston Chapter
>>
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