VDOT Did A Good Thing!

[bobco85]

@Tim Kelley 112486 wrote:

After poking around for VDOT contacts, we were finally able to get in touch with the right people.

These photos are from the Route 50/Arlington Blvd Trail on the overpass that goes over Washington Blvd.

VDOT got the request and had it cleaned up by the next day!

[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8181&stc=1[/IMG]

[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8182&stc=1[/IMG]

Wow, I’ve NEVER seen it so clear before! Thank you! I use that sidepath/sidewalk occasionally, and it was like riding through a litter box.

This also changes my perception that “all VDOT road sidepaths never get any maintenance, so why complain?”. I’ll be more likely to bring up issues on VDOT-owned road sidepaths because of this positive response.

[chris_s]

@Tim Kelley 112486 wrote:

After poking around for VDOT contacts, we were finally able to get in touch with the right people.

These photos are from the Route 50/Arlington Blvd Trail on the overpass that goes over Washington Blvd.

VDOT got the request and had it cleaned up by the next day!

So now to close the loop – if we report these sorts of VDOT trail issues using the Arlington App, does the person who receives that request (I think it’s Kevin) know who to contact at VDOT to get them to take care of it?

[Tim Kelley]

@chris_s 112490 wrote:

So now to close the loop – if we report these sorts of VDOT trail issues using the Arlington App, does the person who receives that request (I think it’s Kevin) know who to contact at VDOT to get them to take care of it?

The Davids have the contact. I’ll suggest that they share with Kevin.

[chris_s]

@Tim Kelley 112498 wrote:

The Davids have the contact. I’ll suggest that they share with Kevin.

*happy dance* 😎

[Steve O]

I tried it, too. I reported the gravel and overgrowth along the sidewalk/bike route on Route 50 between Edison and Granada. I also reported the overgrown vegetation on the sidewalk on the south side of 50 between George Mason and Glebe.

My first attempt failed because I either placed the pin slightly off or entered an address they didn’t like. I got a response that they closed the ticket, because it was not their jurisdiction. The second try worked. I got this email on June 29

Dear Steve O,
Thank you for submitting your Service Request (#506718) to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Our Customer Service Center Agents will review your request as soon as possible (typically within 72 hours, depending on the nature of your request and the overall volume received) and take one of the following actions:

• Provide an answer to your inquiry if possible
• Forward your request to the appropriate field office for investigation and resolution
• Inform you if VDOT is unable to process your request (e.g. because it is related to a road that VDOT does not maintain)

You can click here to check the status of the request at any time.

We appreciate your efforts to help keep Virginia roads safe.

Sincerely,
Customer Service Center
Virginia Department of Transportation
[URL=”tel:+18003677623″]1-800-367-7623[/URL]
[URL=”tel:+18003677623″]1-800-FOR-ROAD[/URL]
https://my.vdot.virginia.gov

I actually got a call from a superintendent asking me to clarify where the issue was. Here’s the result:
[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9161&stc=1[/IMG]

I have not checked the other spot. If you are riding on 50 eastbound between Geo. Mason & Glebe, let us know how the sidewalk is.

[PotomacCyclist]

On a separate VDOT matter, I finally managed to get someone to remove the swastika that had been carved into the cement on the sidewalk along Rte. 1. I think it was intentional that the symbol was carved on that particular road. (Says a lot about what that road name represents and why I think it needs to go. It’s not about erasing history either. No history books would be changed.)

The symbol had been there for years. I had contacted various agencies from time to time, but I think I somehow overlooked VDOT. I had been told by different individuals that Arlington or the Crystal City BID was responsible for that sidewalk. (The CCBID suggestion didn’t make much sense to me.) Finally, I brought it up again this year. I said that the construction of the Metroway bus rapid transit line just feet away from that sidewalk meant that there were work crews right there, with the equipment necessary to clean up that spot of cement.

I don’t remember who I contacted. Maybe it was Arlington again. This time, they may have forwarded the message to VDOT. Someone from VDOT contacted me. They went to check it out for themselves and agreed that the symbol needed to be removed. I didn’t pass by there for a couple months. But when I rode by there (maybe in May or June?), I saw that the symbol had finally been removed.

I don’t know how many people saw the marking in the past. There are no buildings nearby. But now that the Metroway is about to open (in a couple months), there could be a lot more people walking around that area. In any case, the symbol needed to be removed and now it’s gone. So VDOT did a good thing there too. I only wish the process would have been easier. If a different agency is responsible for a particular sidewalk or road, shouldn’t there be a better way to inform the public? Shouldn’t the message get forwarded to the appropriate agency? Arlington and VDOT probably communicate often about Arlington roads. Or often enough.

This is the Google Maps image, dated August 2014.

https://goo.gl/maps/jOVKs

I’ve had difficulty reporting other road or sidewalk problems when the location falls near the dividing line between an Arlington-maintained road and a VDOT-maintained road. This includes the lump of concrete in the road at Potomac Ave. and S. Glebe Rd. I think I’ve communicated with VDOT and Arlington County about that issue, but it never gets fixed. That long lump of spilled concrete has been there for perhaps five years now.

https://goo.gl/maps/jVlRD

[thucydides]

Reminds me of the famous (perhaps apocryphal) story of the dead rat stuck in the Oval Office wall during the Carter administration. The GSA said it was Interior’s responsibility since the rat obviously came from outside. Interior said it was GSA’s responsibility since the rat was now indoors. Carter eventually threw a fit over it, so GSA and Interior formed a task force to remove the rat.

[PotomacCyclist]

Interesting story even if it isn’t true.

On a somewhat related note (about the Interior Dept. and rats), I was riding by the Interior Dept. building in Foggy Bottom recently, mapping bike racks for RackSpotter. I stopped in front of the building after I spotted a bike rack. I think the mosquitoes were laying off this time, but I heard a rustling noise. There was a security guard sitting on a folding chair down the block so I wasn’t too worried about safety. Until I saw it. Another giant rat, about the same size as the one I saw at the Watergate this month.

This thing was huge! Perhaps a foot long, not counting the tail. And fast too. He scurried back and forth, between a dirt area and the edge of the steps. He ran back to the construction area along the side of the building. Then he finally ran back to the steps and all the way along one of the long steps. I stayed alert in case he decided to turn towards me.

A photo of the steps, but not the rat. He ran from the left end to the right end, on the bottom or 2nd from bottom step.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9162[/ATTACH]

Usually they run away from people but I’ve had one of them run right at me, years ago, after I kicked a metal railing. (I think that transmitted vibrations into the concrete, which attracted the rat. I had to kick the rat away from me. This was somewhere in downtown DC, a long time ago, when I was waiting for a taxi.)

[I had always been under the impression that rats could get rabies, but I just read this article from the CDC that rats and mice (and squirrels and rabbits) are almost never found to be infected with rabies and are not known to have transmitted the disease to humans: http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/exposure/animals/other.html That’s good to know. They may carry other diseases but at least I won’t get rabies from them… ]

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