Posted on: Thursday, November 4, 2004
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BUREAUCRACY BUSTER
Base yard's barrels not for roads
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Q. Why does it take such a long time to fix the busted sand bumper guard barrels at the viaduct near Kahuapa'ani and Salt Lake Boulevard? Across the street in a base yard, there are dozens of the yellow safety bumper barrels just sitting there.
A. State Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said the barrels were repaired Oct. 22, for a second time after being damaged and repaired weeks ago.
He said such barrels normally get fixed quickly, but this area was missed the first time around. "We normally stabilize the area — remove the debris and clear the road — and repair within one week, assuming that parts are available," Ishikawa said.
However, he said a six-person crew is responsible for a whole variety of work, including maintaining 170 lane miles of concrete pavement, 64 miles of jersey barriers, 2.3 million square feet of sidewalk, 765,000 linear feet of fence, 1.14 million linear feet of guardrail and 975 guardrail end treatments.
Ishikawa said the nearby base yard does belong to the state but does not handle maintenance and repair. Barrels in that yard are used for construction projects and that's why they couldn't just roll them across the street.
• • • Q. I have noticed that the curb in front of the Makiki Village Market on Wilder Avenue is painted red but there is no "No Parking" sign and cars are parked there all the time. I have seen police vehicles parked there while the officers were on breaks.
I have seen so many cars parked that the bus has to stop in the street. What's going on here?
A. City spokeswoman Carol Costa said that location is an official bus stop, which is marked with a "No Parking" sign, tow-away symbols and a red curb. She said anyone who sees people parking there — even police officers — can report the violations by calling 911.
• • • Q. The bike path along the rim of Pearl Harbor has a big litter problem from Lehua Elementary School to 'Aiea Kai Way. What can be done?
A. According to city spokeswoman Costa, crews from the city Department of Facility Maintenance said a gate was left open some weeks ago that allowed some people to drive on the path and dump even more trash.
It remains puzzling why people would dump rubbish along a bike path rather than taking it to a free city drop-off site or calling bulky item pickup, Costa said.
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