Adventures in Montgomery County bureaucracy

[sethpo]

I’d contact my councilmember directly and the one whose district the light is in (if different).

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/contact.html

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/district_map.html

[cvcalhoun]

Thanks, sethpo! They are currently claiming they will deal with the issue within 2 days. But if they don’t, I’ll go ahead and contact the relevant councilmembers.

[skins_brew]

I bet if a revenue generating speed camera was broken, it would be fixed THAT day.

[cvcalhoun]

Cynic! Of course, that doesn’t mean you are wrong…

What is ironic is that if a traffic light goes out, apparently there is a computer system that automatically submits a report within seconds. But if the button for a pedestrian/bicyclist walk light is broken, there is no such system in place. Once again, whatever inconveniences/endangers motorists is a lot higher priority than what inconveniences/endangers pedestrians or cyclists.

@skins_brew 84709 wrote:

I bet if a revenue generating speed camera was broken, it would be fixed THAT day.

[ebubar]

Keep us updated. I’ve noticed this problem myself, as with the good weather i’ve biked through there on my work day commutes. Its quite annoying, but hasn’t been a problem as i’ve had people on the opposite side pushing the button. If its not fixed soon, i’m happy to contact someone as well! TEAMWORK! Law-Abiding Cyclists UNITE!

[cvcalhoun]

Yeah, that’s one reason I hadn’t gotten around to reporting it earlier. Another is that I was bicycling with someone else before, and didn’t want to make that person stop for long enough for me to get the pole number for the report. But today, I was biking that way later than usual, and there was no one coming the other way to push the button. And because I was alone, I was able to sit down right by the pole where I could see the pole number and call from there. (Of course, I didn’t have the presence of mind to write down the pole number, so when I discovered that the promised e-mail hadn’t come through and went to submit the issue a second time, I had to submit the report without the pole number.)

@ebubar 84712 wrote:

Keep us updated. I’ve noticed this problem myself, as with the good weather i’ve biked through there on my work day commutes. Its quite annoying, but hasn’t been a problem as i’ve had people on the opposite side pushing the button. If its not fixed soon, i’m happy to contact someone as well! TEAMWORK! Law-Abiding Cyclists UNITE!

[mstone]

I’m curious what kind of system could report that when people pushed the button, the button didn’t notice.

The bigger issue is that they keep expanding the use of beg buttons instead of just reserving some time for pedestrians.

[cvcalhoun]

I’m thinking that if a computer could report that a traffic light was out, they must have something that is reporting when an electrical circuit isn’t functioning. And the same system could report that the electrical system necessary to make the button work wasn’t functioning.

I can understand beg buttons being necessary at some intersections–ones in which cars also need to beg, by rolling over a circuit in the street, for example. If you’ve got a main street with constant traffic, and a side street (or trail) in which one person an hour comes through, it seems silly to keep the light cycling continuously for that side street or trail. However, I would agree that far too little attention is paid to bicycle or pedestrian traffic in determining whether cycling should happen automatically, or should require a beg button.

@mstone 84733 wrote:

I’m curious what kind of system could report that when people pushed the button, the button didn’t notice.

The bigger issue is that they keep expanding the use of beg buttons instead of just reserving some time for pedestrians.

[mstone]

The button is a switch. When nobody is there, the switch is open. When somebody pushes the button, the switch is closed. If the switch is broken, it stays open when pushed. Unless it knows someone pushed it, it doesn’t know it’s broken. This is different from the lights, which can be expected to cycle on a known schedule.

[brendan]

@mstone 84743 wrote:

The button is a switch. When nobody is there, the switch is open. When somebody pushes the button, the switch is closed. If the switch is broken, it stays open when pushed. Unless it knows someone pushed it, it doesn’t know it’s broken. This is different from the lights, which can be expected to cycle on a known schedule.

If these signals are able to report when they are non-functional, then they are computer controlled/monitored. In that case, you could have a routine which notes a significant drop in the number of “calls” via the button and/or a significant change in the ratio of calls from each side of the street.

B

[mstone]

@brendan 84756 wrote:

If these signals are able to report when they are non-functional, then they are computer controlled/monitored. In that case, you could have a routine which notes a significant drop in the number of “calls” via the button and/or a significant change in the ratio of calls from each side of the street.

I suspect it might still take a while to be statistically significant. Certainly not something that could report a problem “within seconds”.

[cvcalhoun]

I biked out the Georgetown Branch Trail today, and discovered that the button is working! My service request is still showing as “In Progress,” but I doubt it’s just a coincidence that after being broken for weeks, the button is finally working two days after I reported it.

[cvcalhoun]

• On May 8, I reported the problem. The online form indicated that action would be taken within 3 days.
• On May 10, I returned and discovered the walk signal working.
• On May 19, I got an e-mail saying, “Based upon inquiry we dispatched our signal technician to the intersection of Jones Bridge Road and Jones Mill Road and he found that all of the pedestrian push buttons were functioning properly. If you experience the problem again please contact Mr. Carlos Paniagua of our staff at 240-777-2190.” I figured maybe the request had gone in twice, and had already been fixed by the first people before the second people went out, so I didn’t think anything of this.
• On May 22, I discovered that the signal was again not working, but didn’t have time to stop and report it.
• On June 5, I discovered that the signal was again working.
• Today, I get an e-mail saying:
  

  We are writing in reply to your e-mail on May 8, 2014, regarding the operation of the pedestrian signals at the subject intersection.

  Based upon your inquiry we dispatched our technician to the intersection of Jones Bridge Road and Jones Mill Road and we replaced a malfunctioning pedestrian push button on the southeast side of the intersection.

  If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Mr. Juan Paniagua of our staff at 240-777-2190.

Apparently, a) they aren’t exactly taking their promise of a response within 3 days seriously, and b) Mr. Paniagua has changed his first name in hopes of avoiding detection. I just hope the walk signal stays fixed this time!

[cyclingfool]

Juan + Carlos = Juan Carlos. Maybe he’s just trying to lie low after his abdication by posing as a county employee in suburban Maryland.

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