Getting Things Done
Sometimes it feels like it’s quite difficult to get anything done. That being the case, it’s really important to acknowledge the wins that we do manage to enjoy. So, I’d like to point out a couple of things that were recently accomplished.
Have you seen the new lights?
If you attended our March Member’s Meeting at Woodland Park you heard neighbor Jim Chambers call out a pet issue. He had been seeking changes in the traffic lights at the intersection of Studewood and White Oak Drive. More specifically, he argued that traffic turning from White Oak onto Studewood struggles to turn given the heavier, faster traffic on Studewood. This long que of cars would be reduced by providing protected left turns lights.
Council Member Castillo’s team helped us arrange a site visit with managers from the Traffic Light team at Public Works. It was going to take some time to investigate whether the existing switch gear would be up to the task. Happily, this turned out to be true. Appearing at our May Member’s meeting CM Castillo reported that the changes to the lights were anticipated by the end of May.
The installation took a little longer than that. Jim Chambers himself observed the working being done on Friday, June 19th. Two days later, on June 21st, WHCA Treasurer, Doug Carroll sent a picture of the new turn signals in action!
These new protected left turns should improve the flow of traffic transitioning onto Studewood during peak travel periods.
Major Pothole Patched on Bayland
This is really a small thing, but it feels like a good thing. Some work on a water main resulted in a 5-foot wide pothole at 623 Bayland. On June 9th I hit it hard enough to loosen a filling. Naturally, I opened a 311 ticket on the matter.
The following week, repeated rains kept making it deeper and more dangerous. I later discovered that the neighbor at 623 Bayland had also created a 311 report. She noted that she could hear cars hitting it hard from inside her house.
Just a week later Public Works patched the wannabe Marianna Trench on June 15th.
Storm Drain to Nowhere
On the 14th of this very rainy June I noticed the neighbor at 101 Parkview had a submersible pump deployed to at the corner of Parkview and Houston Avenue. Even though there’s a storm drain right there, the water was not draining away. Josh Pokluda was pumping the standing water across the street so it could flow to a storm drain that was flowing.
Julio and I approached Josh to inquire as to why this was necessary. He told a tale of woe, describing the fact that the storm drain nearest his home literally is not connected to any main storm drain line. Apparently, this was an error made some years ago when there was major work on Houston Avenue.
Taking pictures and filing a new 311 request, I was able to learn something about the trouble. Apparently, resolution requires a significant capital project. It appears that there is funding allocated in the coming city budget, which starts July 1. While the problem remains for now, there is it hope that it will be addressed. We'll keep an eye on it and keep pushing for the repair.
You may not always see it, but WHCA is always working behind the scenes. Doing what we can to enhance our little “Hometown Near Downtown.”