The Sandpit of Death Clean-up

before the clean-up!


after the clean-up!

This is the Sandpit of Death if you are riding a bicycle on the pedestrian sidewalk and bridge connecting Bushnell Park to the LOB/Armory area. Well, pedestrian except for the all the various police cars that drive across the narrow bridge! The soft sand has been threatening many a riders’ balance for years now, but it’s gotten much worse in the past few weeks. Many of us have almost busted our asses here lately, especially with skinny tires! I made a spur of the moment plea via texts and emails Sunday afternoon to friends while eating lunch at JoJo’s on Pratt Street. As fate would have it, Maureen had ridden through the sand only minutes earlier and thought someone was gonna bite it soon there. She and Hanna volunteered to help out at 6pm! Good on ya, mates!


We met up at my house for a beer and some delicious homegrown salad. We happily packed up my bike with a snow shovel, a heavy metal rake, one spade shovel, 2 brooms and a pickaxe garden hand tool thingee.


Here’s me, Hanna and Maureen taking a break as a Statey watches us from his cruiser in front of the LOB parking garage. We were certainly not looking for attention, but figured, due to the location between Amtrak and the National Guard, we’d be getting harassed. But up to this point, no one had paid us any attention and he soon drove off without a word.

There was a whole lot more dirt and sand than we had realized. Most of it was at least a few inches thick and the middle half was all 3-4 inches thick with a very solid bottom layer. We had a bit of an assembly line going for the thicker parts. First the heavy metal rake or spade shovel was used to loosen it up. Next was the snow shovel to move the stuff to the edge of the sidewalk. Most often the above was repeated, as the dirt was quite stubborn. Finally the broom whisked away the remaining dust. And it was quite dusty indeed.

Hanna and Maureen helped with most of the job before leaving due to dinner plans. Helder of Mira Hartford passed by with his doggy minutes later as I was continuing with the work. Soon after that we were joined by the Statey who pulled up to us in his cruiser, got out and walked over to us.

Click Read More for the rest of the story and more pics!




The officer walked up politely and asked what I was doing. I explained that the dirt and soft sand had made the sidewalk super dangerous for bicycles and a few calls to 311 had not gotten the walkway cleaned (311 is a city services phone line). I mentioned the situation had gotten considerably worse in the last few weeks. He agreed that skinny tires were super sketchy on that type of service and asked, “ And so y’all just decided to clean it up yourselves?”
“Yeah, pretty much” I answered, “We’re sick of almost bustin’ our asses here!”
He laughed and explained he had seen us and needed to check it out and left with a smile. No worries, no problems! I had also worn my 2007 CCBA Discover Hartford Tour t-shirt…perhaps that gave me the bicycle cred I needed!


I pretty much finished it up except for some very damp, sticky dirt that wouldn’t move easily. It’ll dry up in the sun manana and then be easy to scrape and sweep away.


This kid passed by Hanna, Maureen and I on a scooter. This would not have been possible an hour earlier due to all the sand! Great job guys!


Here’s the next mission. I will call 311 again on Tuesday and see what happens. There is quite a bit of sand on the lower right side of the bridge where water tends to pool up due to drainage issues. Also, both sides of the bridge sorely need a sweeping. The whole bridge would benefit from a sweepin’ actually. Hopefully the city can send over that sweet street sweeper gator thing and make it happen.

Mad thanks to Hanna and Maureen for all their help with the hardest, thickest and most brutal part of the battle with the sand monster. Helder pushed a broom for a bit until his doggy protested with much vocal vigor. My landlord, Mary Lee unknowingly helped as I used a broom from the garage and Joey Babaganoush unknowingly hooked us up with a snow shovel.

UPDATE TUESDAY, SEPT 2ed.

here is the email i sent to 311:
Good morning,

The sidewalk and bridge connecting Bushnell Park with the Armory and LOB is in need of a very good sweeping. There is much dirt, sand and broken glass along the walkway.

There are also two spots with drainage issues, that will continue to cause a sand problem after it rains, the southwest end of the bridge and the sidewalk along the armory.

If possible, could the larger cracks in the sidewalk also be repaired. It is easy to trip on them while walking and can damage bicycle wheels.

Thank you for making the city cleaner and safer for cyclists.

William


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How bike cops get to be so awesome

I like the idea of cops on bikes. It makes good sense for an urban environment, where bikes are often the fastest and most versatile way to get around, and it makes the cops seem less disconnected from ordinary people than they would in an idling cruiser. (Also, gasoline costs, environment, carbon, etc.!)

One of the things I've often wondered, though, is how the departments choose their bike cops: Do the biking enthusiasts who are already on the force volunteer for bike duty, or is it a punishment ("O'Malley, because of your failure to obtain a warrant, the chicken bomber got off on a technicality! You're gettin' six months of two-wheel duty!" "OK, Sarge.")? The main reason I wonder this is because I think it would make a difference if I ever had to outrun a bike cop on my bike, something I don't recommend but always like to think about. Because if bike cops are actual bicycling enthusiasts, they might be able to catch me. But if they're just regular cops who have been obliged to ride bikes, I might have a shot.

I mention all this is because I got a rare glimpse on Tuesday into the rigorous process by which ordinary police officers are hardened into nimble, fast-moving dispensers of two-wheeled street justice. I was at the University of Bridgeport, which is right by Seaside Park, and there in the park, about twenty cops were straddling their mountain bikes while some other guy on a mountain bike (presumably some sort of bike cop expert) talked to them and showed them moves. I watched for a while, and while I was unable to discern whether the trainees were cycling aficionados (although I might hazard a guess about the guy in the orange shirt on the far left of the photo below), I did learn something important: Bike cops learn how to do some super-tough bike-to-bike grappling! Seriously - the instructor guy would ride up to his trainees and do crazy judo-style takedowns while remaining on his bike. It was very impressive, in a wow-I-really-don't-want-to-fuck-with-cops kind of way.

Here is a photo of the learning process in action. You should definitely click on it to see a larger version with more glorious detail.

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Good bridge news

Great news for those of you who want to cross the Salmon Brook bridge! I just received this email from the Farmington Valley Trails Council:

Dear Trail Friend,

Thanks to the truly extraordinary efforts of many dedicated people, construction is scheduled to begin on the Salmon Brook bridge during the week of July 21! This is an event we have all looked forward to and feared we might not see.

During construction, the trail will be CLOSED between Floydville Road and Hartford Avenue. While Hartford Avenue will be used as the main access for the construction, there will occasionally be equipment on Floydville Road.

We STRENUOUSLY encourage you to resist the lure of curiosity and stay away from the construction site because of the safety risks. Police will be monitoring the area, especially on weekends, but we really need everyone's cooperation on this issue.

We're certain you will understand and please SPREAD THE WORD.

Thanks,
Farm[i]ngton Valley Trails Council

So, there's the good news. But, don't hang out there because you'll get arrested. Also, be careful riding through Simsbury to get there, so as not to get injured by a poultry-based IED.


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