Possible Sidewalk Repair CivDis in Concord, late Julyish

[Giggan]

I was biking home from a friend's house 2 nights ago (biking as in on a bicycle) on a newly paved section of Peasant Street in front of the hospital. Roads and sidewalks all over Concord have been churned up and repaved lately, not all of them seeming to especially need repair. Coming down a hill, a curb now juts out of the pavement that wasn't there a few weeks ago, probably a good three inches for no reason. Upon hitting it, my front wheel popped off and I was flung face-first into the cement. I walked home dragging the bike which was now in two pieces and dripping blood from my face. A half-mile later, while at home cleaning the numerous scrapes and burns which cover sections of my arms, legs, and face, I look in the mirror and notice a two-inch Y-shaped opening in the flesh which had been covering my chin. The rest of the scrapes were annoying but treatable at home, but this gash would definitely have to be stitched up. So I walk back to the hospital and spend two hours between registering, waiting, and getting stitched up. I believe they put 7 stitches in my chin. Here's the result:



To the hospital's credit, everyone I dealt with was professional and efficient, and the registration process was not excessively tedious.

So I'm thinking, how could I turn this into liberty activism?

I have little to no interest in suing the city for my injuries, damages, etc. I'm not sure if my bike is fixable at this point either, but for the time being, trying to get money from the robbers isn't my prerogative. I don't think I couldn't feel guilty taking it, and I don't think they're 100% at fault since riding a bike is inherently risky, despite the fact that curbs don't belong jutting out of otherwise smooth pavement. So I've got an idea.

There's a Concord City Council Meeting July 13th (this coming Monday). This gives me a perfect opportunity to point out the problem (an asinine architectural mistake), and suggest that it be fixed it in a liberty friendly way. Most of us would love to see government people start providing all their services in a voluntary manner. It's unlikely that will all change immediately. However, as the first 'victim' of this tyrannical curb, I'm in a unique position to demand the following.

-That the curb be removed or paved over, but ONLY if the resources to commence with such a project are obtained voluntarily, ie, not from some taxpayer fund.

I seriously doubt they'd be willing to go out of their way to find donations for such a project, so if they refuse, I'd be willing to repair the curb myself, regardless of whether or not such action is illegal (which I'm sure it is). Right now I'm thinking of just buying a bag of Quikrete to smooth out the area (like a sort of ramp leading up to the curb). I'm not experienced in paving as of now, but am willing to do the appropriate research, so long as some sort of fix is not in the hundreds of dollars (unless people wanna donate to this act).

So here's what I'd offer the city: X amount of time to fix the curb, at which point if not yet fixed, I'd do it myself. I'd demand it be done voluntarily, but at the same time, if they do it quickly yet non-voluntarily, I'm not gonna go monkey-wrench gang on them and rush out there to do it myself. So I'd want the time frame given to be about how long it would take to fix this sort of problem. In mid August, I'll be heading out of state and gone until December, so I'm thinking 30 days from the meeting.

I'd like feedback on the timeline, if 30 days sounds reasonable, or if it really ought to be shorter and why.

If I do end up fixing it myself, obviously I'd want it done right, as I live half a mile from the spot and walk/bike it often. If it looks strange because the concrete is a different color, I don't care (it's black tar right now, and if tar is a possibility for a quick fix, someone let me know. It may be outta my price range).

Worst case scenario is probably the best case scenario, maybe I'd get fined/arrested for fixing a curb that caused me an ER visit. If fined for it, I wouldn't be paying, and would take the jail time (though I have no idea how they'd react, they might ignore it and let me fix it. They might use tax dollars and fix it by the deadline. In that case, I'd probably go to the press, if they'd listen, and see what coverage the story could get).

Anyways, feedback greatly appreciated. Anyone wanna film the city council meeting? Anyone wanna film the repair if it happens?

~Garret

[Kat Kanning]

Ouch!

I think repairing it yourself sounds like a great idea.

[Tom Sawyer]

First off, sorry for your injury and I'm glad you weren't more seriously wounded.

I wonder if asking for restitution for your expenses would be in order? It would be interesting to attempt to find out who made the poor decision to put the curb there and seek payment for your loss. This could reveal that it is practically impossible to hold government employees accountable.

The performance of the repair is the chance to bring attention to the lack of accountability. In addition there could be a sign embossed into the concrete with your choice of message. A good media event is created.

[dalebert]

Chicks dig scars.

[Pat McCotter]

Sorry to hear it, Giggan.

Sine when did Concord start making curbs of asphalt or cement? When I lived and worked there they were all granite.

[Giggan]

The curb is granite, the pavement is tar. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

Thanks for the input so far. I may include in my testimony something about finding who's responsible for designing it that way, or if it wasn't in the design, why the workers decided to leave it that way, seeing if that gets anywhere.

[cathleeninnh]

I don't know what this piece of curbing or pavement looks like, but I was immediately reminded of when cities redo an intersection, they often do the curbs, sidewalks and manholes first. That leaves a large ridge (possibly 3 inches) everywhere just waiting for the pavement to be brought up to that level at the next stage. Doing that sometimes takes months and months leaving those very dangerous ridges at the edge of roads and the end of sidewalks. Typically piss-poor execution of what may be a decent design and plan.

I hope you find out what and who is responsible for what happened to you.

Cathleen

[dalebert]

I had a bicycle accident years ago and it left me in pain for a month. Even when I did get back on the bike, I was very timid and careful. I think I have a very low pain tolerance. I feel for you.

[Giggan]

This is actually my third and least troublesome bicycle incident, and is the first time I escaped with my teeth intact. At age 8, I chipped 2, which remained chipped until freshman year of highschool, when I hit chunky pavement just up the road from where I fell this time. That time I was knocked out for a few seconds, with 3 teeth chipped and I required oral surgery. But afterwards, my teeth had never looked better. This is the first time I'd needed stitches for anything, though.

[Pat McCotter]

Alright! We need to pass a law here! Giggan must be in full nomex gear before venturing out on bike trips!

Also, this incident appears to have taken place at night. No more night bike riding for Giggan!

Oh, and repeat the above for his skateboarding antics as well!

[Giggan]

City Council meeting was tonight, the breakdown:

I arrived 10 minutes early. I asked a dude if there was a card to fill in if we wished to speak and he instantly went and got the mayor. The mayor came down and talked about the format of the night's meeting, explaining how booked they were and how this wasn't exactly a public input applicable gathering. He asked why I wanted to speak, and I gave him the short version of my fall and hospital story. He referred me to two city bureaucrats who are in charge of street stuff, and they were also accommodating given the situation. I began the story with them and they asked if I was seeking retribution. I said not really, I just want to see the sidewalk fixed.

One of them told me it may have been initially paved, but require a second layer and this would explain why the curb was raised. I asked how long it should be between pavings, he said about 2-3 weeks. I don't remember exactly when they finished paving Pleasant St by the hospital, but I believe it was at least 2 weeks ago. He said either way, anything significantly protruding should be at least flagged/marked with a cone, etc.

They said they would be checking the area within the next day or two and having it tended to as quickly as possible. They did seem legitimately concerned, so I didn't even bother doing the '30 days or I'll fix it myself' bit that I had been planning. If they drag their feet from here on out, then I'll set a deadline, but judging by their reaction tonight I expect it'll be fixed soon.

I was out of there in under 15 minutes. I think that was the quickest productive dealing with bureaucrats of my life.