A sidewalk mystery revealed, plus a little see-through something
Posted on July 5th, 2009 – 10:28 PMBy Roadguy
Here’s my weekly column from the paper. The first item might seem familiar to regular Roadguy blog readers — it’s based on the last couple of blog posts from last week. But feel free to comment away anyway.
Many of the thousands of people who walked or drove into downtown Minneapolis over the holiday weekend kept their eyes on the fireworks. But at one intersection, they were asked to watch for a glow much closer to the ground.
A few blocks from the Stone Arch Bridge, a chain-link fence blocks off a portion of the sidewalk at Portland and Washington Avenues, and parking has been banned along the curb. Inside the enclosure, large pipes jut out of the concrete and connect at an odd angle, and the sound of rushing water can be heard. On three sides, mysterious signs say, “If red light is on, please call …” and offer a phone number.
Above it all, on a wooden utility pole, is the red light.
This isn’t something Roadguy has seen very often around town, and he found it curious that members of the traveling public were being asked to monitor a bit of infrastructure. What happens if the red light goes on while nobody’s looking? World War III?
No, nothing so dire, says city spokesman Matt Laible. Below the street is a pump that’s removing water from soil around a sewer pipe in preparation for repairs. Disaster would not strike if the pump stopped, but the city would prefer that it keep doing its thing so the work can proceed, he said, and signs are cheaper than assigning city staffers to check on it.
So if you’re driving by and see the red light, do your civic duty and make the call. Your fellow citizens will thank you even more if you pull over before you dial.
See-through sound barriers
Noise walls along freeways tend to make homeowners happy, but drivers aren’t always wild about the blocked views. Roadguy recently heard from motorists who were pleased that transparent sound barriers have been installed on Interstate 35W where it crosses Minnehaha Parkway, so folks zooming by can get a glimpse of the greenery below.
I’m all for scenery, but when I’ve seen such barriers, I’ve often wanted to stop and get out the Windex — freeways aren’t the cleanest of places, as anyone with a windshield knows.
The clear acrylic walls on 35W won’t have built-in sprayers, but Steve Barrett, a project engineer for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said they can be pressure-washed.
“Dirt will not readily adhere to this polished surface,” the manufacturer’s website says. “As a result, rain or the dew that frequently forms at night will rinse the sheet clean. In most cases, Paraglas Soundstop needs no additional cleaning.”
We don’t get a lot of dew around here in January, so we’ll have to see whether the parkway views fade during the winter.
Roadguy on camera
Speaking of the Crosstown construction zone, its ever-changing lane markings are the subject of this week’s Roadguy video, available here.
7 Responses to "A sidewalk mystery revealed, plus a little see-through something"
I spotted one of the red lights that was “on” at the corner of 32nd & Bryant in Minneapolis. I called the number. The woman who answered had no idea what the hell I was talking about. “What red light?,” she asked. “Where?” “Call this number?” I can almost see her eyes glossing over I told her what the sign said. Next time I’ll ignore the red light and go on my way.
They make sensors that will automatically call when an event occurs. It seems like that would be a better idea than relying on passersby to phone it in. Yet, the city office said the only other alternative was to pay a person to monitor it. They need to get up to date on technology that is available to them….
Okay, another light question: What are the blinking lights for on 394’s underpasses?
The lights are single, simple circular dots, mounted (if memory serves) on square panels. They’re affixed to the undersides of bridges over the highway, usually tucked under an overhang, and as one drives by they blink intermittently.
I have assumed that they’re related to the HOV lane’s permit system; not having a pass to drive that lane without a passenger, though, perhaps I am inclined to think conspiratorial thoughts about those who have ‘em.
Does roadguy know?
Roadguy does know — click here to read all about it.
It’s easy to install a sensor that will call automatically, but it’s much more difficult (read: expensive) to get a phone line installed and an account set up with the phone company for such a temporary use. You could put a cell phone out there but it needs a charging source, which poses similar problems as the phone line. There’s probably some kind of radio-based battery device, but either way, it sounds like it’s only a minor problem if it stops pumping, so why spend anything more than a few bucks for the sign?
How resistant are the glass panels to gang tags?
I ride my bike past the SE corner of Washington & Portland most mornings and for the past couple years the sewer at that corner absolutely STINKS. I feel for the poor people who bought condos there, unawares. Hopefully the red light is part of an odor reduction plan.
