Saturday, June 16, 2007

Taking A Step In The Right Direction?

At long last: the entrance to the city library is being permanently fixed. Or is it?

Individual steps are being replaced instead of the entire entrance. Maybe this will work, but how is it different from patching up broken sections of the old steps? No, I’m not a construction expert, but it seems that this will only work if the new steps completely adhere to the old foundation.



Also, as I pointed out before, the old steps had a design flaw: each one had a one-inch overhang or lip. Between all the foot traffic and the skateboarders, such overhangs have a tendency to break off. Solidly square steps would hold up better. Unless metal plates are put down, I don’t see how the same flaw will hold up any better.

I could be wrong and everything is hunky-dory with the reconstruction. Time will tell.

One suggestion for the city: install a motion-activated camcorder at the library entrance to catch skateboarders in the act. They’re camera shy. I know when I take out my small compact camera, skateboarders on Marion Street act differently. They freeze and then start to drift away.

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