Curb cuts poorly done?

[Carp]

Were most of these new curb cuts poorly done, or is there some future plan to somehow bring them level with the street? Some of the new "ramps" are a good 2" above the street, which I can't imagine is ADA compliant. There was an attempt to bring them level with the addition of black fill-in, but even that was so poorly done in some instances that it crumbles apart when stepped on. Is there a plan to build-up and repave the streets so that the curb cuts are actually at street-level? I just don't understand what was done here.

[mixiboi]

Yes, a part of the new Ada curbs is that they can not pave the streets untill that is done first.

So.in many of the areas they aren't worry about leveling yet, as they are going to come back and do that.

They are going that right now on RIDGE ave. I have pics coming soon.

[Carp]

Thanks for the useful info!

[ACretin]

Yeah, we REALLY need those new ADA compliant curb cuts. We need to spend millions on this now, so that FAT CAT UNION GUYS FROM JERSEY CAN MAKE THEIR BOAT/SHOREHOME Mortgage Payments. How is this helping to stimulate our economy? Paying 3X the going rate of labor for some crap we don't even need is not exactly money well spent. Not when we will be paying that $5 Trillion debt bill from the stimulus and other junk for the rest of our working lives. How is that going to help me succeed? By forcing me to pay higher taxes to service the ever growing debt? Federal mandates like this are a giant waste of money and breed corruption, not a better life for most of us.

[Jayfar]

ACretin
Banned
Join Date
Nov 2011
Posts
505

Awwwwww!

[the mule]

Awwwwww!

Haha stupendous. I'll miss ACrouton's reasoned insight on all matters.

[mixiboi]

Anyway, here the pics:






So everyone worrying about the curbs, chill...

[Jayfar]

Only thing left to worry about now is how many millions of our tax dollars locally (and billions nationally) are being wasted remaking what were already perfectly adequate curb cuts in order to meet the new ADA specs. Meantime the clock is ticking on neglected infrastructure such as bridges that could have used those billions.

[the mule]

Only thing left to worry about now is how many millions of our tax dollars locally (and billions nationally) are being wasted remaking what were already perfectly adequate curb cuts in order to meet the new ADA specs. Meantime the clock is ticking on neglected infrastructure such as bridges that could have used those billions.

Let me preface this with saying that I'm against almost all government spending, but I've come to terms that it will always be there so long as this is a "democratic" republic and special interest groups demand monetary satisfaction.

To people in wheelchairs, many if not most of the existing curb cuts were not at all adequate. It's easy for us able bodied people to take a quick glance at them and say they're fine, but we're not traversing several blocks in a wheelchair so our opinion isn't too relevant. With that said, the city is indiscriminately tearing up every existing curb cut, many that are just barely out of compliance, as well as some brand new curb cuts that are actually in compliance just because the contractors already have their contracts. That last bit of insanity represents one of the many reasons I'm against government spending. Saying that it's inherently wasteful just doesn't go far enough.

[DocAwesome]

All the corner cutouts to install the bumps continue in force. Every time I walk by one of the construction zones I think of the second nominee in the Awards Show KITH sketch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmMCbsaiuNQ

[Jayfar]

Not specific to SWCC, but since we have a substantial thread on the subject here...

Stu Bykofsky: Those cement bubbles on sidewalk corners are costing you a lot of money!

Here's the shocker: The cost of installing the now-mandated ramps at each of the city's 22,000 intersections will be $858 million, according to Streets Department Deputy Commissioner David Perri. (Ramps are upgraded when other paving work is done.)

The cost is high in part because in 2010 the government mandated two ramps per corner instead of the previous one. It had a good reason. It always has a good reason.

Installing new ramps eats up 65 percent of the city's $20-million annual paving budget, leaving only one-third for everything else, says Perri.

[eldondre]

holy cow. I knew they had to be eating a lot of money (yet another unfunded mandate botched by the feds) but wow.

[Gaillimh]

It's a crime that the city has to pay $15,000.00 per corner. Its basically welfare for the unions. Not only does each interection cost a futune, but it takes about three weeks for the approximately 10 different unions to complete the job. These corners are a prime example of everything that is wrong with the union-dominated environment. If those corners were non-union, I am willing to wager that the costs would be about $3,000.00 or less per corner. At a time when everyone is living with much less, why is this acceptable?

And, try talking to corner businesses who have to try to operate with a three-week construction project at their front door....

[mixiboi]

Installing new ramps eats up 65 percent of the city's $20-million annual paving budget


That explains why Market West is taking so long...

[bradley]

Only thing left to worry about now is how many millions of our tax dollars locally (and billions nationally) are being wasted remaking what were already perfectly adequate curb cuts in order to meet the new ADA specs. Meantime the clock is ticking on neglected infrastructure such as bridges that could have used those billions.

It would be helpful if you crunched the numbers and told us exactly how many bridges we could repair, instead of doing these curb cuts. For your reference, the Platt bridge rehab costs $42,000,000. And it's relatively small in terms of area bridges. The Second Ave subway in Manhattan is costing $1.7 Billion per kilometer. Closer to home, near the Cottman Ave exit on I-95, we will be spending a grand total of $246 million on reconstruction. That stretch is only 1.4 miles long.

It's a crime that the city has to pay $15,000.00 per corner. Its basically welfare for the unions. Not only does each interection cost a futune, but it takes about three weeks for the approximately 10 different unions to complete the job. These corners are a prime example of everything that is wrong with the union-dominated environment. If those corners were non-union, I am willing to wager that the costs would be about $3,000.00 or less per corner. At a time when everyone is living with much less, why is this acceptable?

Construction costs money. In contrast, buying consumer goods from China (smartphones, computers) is relatively cheap because restricted immigration makes it profitable to pay those workers a pittance. The problem is that we can't outsource construction work to save money in this way. We have unions to protect the rights of the workers that do this work.

In case this isn't obvious, let me say that construction work is difficult. Shake the hand of a man who's worked in construction for twenty years, and you'll see what I'm talking about. They're like football players; they can't work as long as your average office worker because, simply put, the work is physically strenuous. This is why we pay them relatively well. There is also a market-capitalist explanation: we can't pay them any less because nobody will do the work. it just wouldn't be worth it. You seem to be arguing that the unions are exploiting the political system. If that's the case, then I'd be happy if you (A) volunteered to get out there with a jackhammer and start working on half-priced curb cuts with poor benefits and wage-slavery levels of pay. Or, (B) perhaps you could propose a solution for paying people to do difficult work that takes years off their working lives, provides them with little training for jobs that can be done in their old age, and absolutely must be done stateside.

I think that people who complain so much about unions are resentful that we can't exploit labor more effectively, don't know what a hard day's work looks like, or simply don't understand the true costs of infrastructure construction. I apologize for my harsh tone here; it seems as if these forums have devolved into lots of misguided taxes, budgets, and benefits complaints that tend to insult hard-working people. Your use of the word "welfare" to describe construction labor makes no sense to me.

[JasonMcElroy]

I love beer.

[boognish]

Yeah, that union construction work is difficult. Explains why I watched a guy sleeping off a hang-over in his truck, wake up drink a few beers, and then wait around until his boss dropped off the checks while "working" on a curb cut around the corner from my house. One of my subcontractors and I watched the whole thing over the course of a day from our porch when he took his smoke breaks.

The four corners took well over a month to complete. On a highly traffic'd corner by an elementary school where families had to cross into traffic to get around 1/2 completed work.

[qweezyq]

What this is showing is a repaire strip. You can't put in new curb without digging in the street, so a 2' strip is milled out and then repaved.

Anyway, here the pics:






So everyone worrying about the curbs, chill...

[Gaillimh]

I am all for paying people a reasonable wage. Do you really think it is reasonable to charge $15,000.00 per corner????? There are plenty of people who work in construction, that are not part of a union, make a good living, and retire comfortably.....its called the suburbs. If you really think that $15,000.00 is reasonable, just say it. For anyone who has paid $300.00 or $500.00 per block to good, hard working, well paid americans to install concrete, I think $15,000.00 is indefensible. You act like its a choice between paying outrageous union rates and illegal migrant labor, whcih is certainly a gross misreprestation of the issue.

And, it is the defense of indefensible, extortionary union rates that are an insult to hard-working people. Just think, how many contruction project DID NOT HAPPEN because we spent almost 2/3 of the budget on those corners.

[thoth]

Might not mind paying that much if they were doing a good job, but as Byko mentioned, I've seen tons of botched curbs.