Residents of the lake communities of the Township of West Milford were happy when Public Works Department people used snow/ice-control materials on their streets and roads during the winter but the grits that are left are again causing the annual clean-up problem.
Lakes Committee Chair Dave Lynch complained at the March 15 meeting that left over grits settled about ten feet from the road onto lawns and are also finding their way into the lakes as runoff.
Lynch said he and many other lake residents are concerned that the township in its budget crunch will not buy a new street sweeper truck which cleans up the grit-debris each spring.
The town presently has one sweeper in use that is about ten years old, reported Councilman Phil Weisbecker, council liaison to the committee. "I believe we are doing the best we can with what we have," he said.
Weisbecker agreed with Lynch that the present aging sweeper may not be working as well as it should and outsourcing the service may be a consideration.
He said if people at the lake communities pile up the grits at the side of the road where the sweeper travels it picks up the piles of remaining grits. This will keep the grits from going into catch basins, Weisbecker said.
It was decided to have the committee representative or a designated person chosen at each lake community to take the responsibility of communicating the request for the street sweeper to pick up the grits to people living in the lake communities.
The persons also are to alert the people in their particular lake community date when the sweeper will be present so everyone will have the opportunity to be ready to participate in the grits clean-up if they wish to.
Weisbecker shared that the Public Works Department will be conducting a pilot program with the state of New Jersey to see if salt would be a better alternative in the lake areas rather than the current mix of grits and salt.
He said a section of flat roadway at Upper Greenwood Lake will be used for the project that will probably happen next year.
Weisbecker said hopes were that the experiment would have started this year but first a separate structure has to be built to hold the straight salt material. The grits /salt shed will remain for storage of material for roads not included in the experiment.
If the salt works quicker to clear the roads and leaves less debris its use will be expanded to other lake communities. Weisbecker said the elevation of the Upper Greenwood Lake area and the frequent harsh weather there are seen by the state as an appropriate place for the experiment.
He was unable to give more details but filled in as best he could with Public Works Supervisor Jerry Storms and Township Engineer Richard McFadden not at the meeting.
Storms and McFadden were scheduled to speak with the representatives of the lakes about problems people wanted to bring to them for responses. Weisbecker said they had worked many hours during the weekend storm and would come to another meeting.
Residents of the lake communities of the Township of West Milford were happy when Public Works Department people used snow/ice-control materials on their streets and roads during the winter but the grits that are left are again causing the annual clean-up problem.
Lakes Committee Chair Dave Lynch complained at the March 15 meeting that left over grits settled about ten feet from the road onto lawns and are also finding their way into the lakes as runoff.
Lynch said he and many other lake residents are concerned that the township in its budget crunch will not buy a new street sweeper truck which cleans up the grit-debris each spring.
The town presently has one sweeper in use that is about ten years old, reported Councilman Phil Weisbecker, council liaison to the committee. "I believe we are doing the best we can with what we have," he said.
Weisbecker agreed with Lynch that the present aging sweeper may not be working as well as it should and outsourcing the service may be a consideration.
He said if people at the lake communities pile up the grits at the side of the road where the sweeper travels it picks up the piles of remaining grits. This will keep the grits from going into catch basins, Weisbecker said.
It was decided to have the committee representative or a designated person chosen at each lake community to take the responsibility of communicating the request for the street sweeper to pick up the grits to people living in the lake communities.
The persons also are to alert the people in their particular lake community date when the sweeper will be present so everyone will have the opportunity to be ready to participate in the grits clean-up if they wish to.
Weisbecker shared that the Public Works Department will be conducting a pilot program with the state of New Jersey to see if salt would be a better alternative in the lake areas rather than the current mix of grits and salt.
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Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Mother Nature Keeping RoadPatcher Truck Busy
MTA Bridges and Tunnels' pothole repair crews are keeping busy; thanks to a rainy, snowy winter season that has included seven winter storms to date and the snowiest February on record in New York City. Maintenance crews, with help using the agency's RoadPatcher pothole repair truck, have filled more than 2,500 potholes since January, including 1,000 potholes in the first full week of March.
"There's no doubt that this we are in one of the busiest pothole repair seasons in recent memory thanks to the constant freezing and thawing that has occurred this winter," said Patrick Parisi, the Authority's Chief Maintenance Officer. "We know how important a smooth roadway is to our customers so we have crews out every day filling as many as we can."
The repair season usually starts in early March, but it began in January this year due to the December 18th blizzard that dumped mounds of snow on the City, followed by warmer temperatures in January. So far maintenance crews have used 3,200 gallons of liquid asphalt emulsion, 55 tons of stone aggregate, 8 tons of hot asphalt and 5 tons of cold patch mix to patch potholes at Bridges and Tunnels facilities.
Repairs are primarily done in off–peak hours to minimize the impact on traffic, and a backup truck is always used to ensure the safety of both motorists and Bridges and Tunnels employees, Parisi said.
Potholes occur when icy water and snow seeps into concrete and asphalt, solidifies and then expand. This causes cracks that continue to widen into potholes as vehicles travel over them. Each time a freeze–and–thaw cycle occurs, potholes are likely to form. Potholes are a nuisance on any road, but when they occur on bridges and tunnels, ramps and plaza areas there is less room for drivers to maneuver around them so agency workers must act swiftly.
More substantial potholes are dealt with by the Hot Box crews, named for the container where the 180–degree asphalt is kept. Using shovels and power tools, workers first clear loose debris from the potholes before filling it in with asphalt; a heavy roller vehicle then smoothes over the holes. If the pothole is very large, two lanes may have to be closed during the repair work to ensure the safety of the crews.
Another weapon in the seasonal war against potholes is Bridges and Tunnels' self–contained "RoadPatcher" truck, which can fill up to 100 potholes in a single shift. This self–contained pothole repair unit uses a method called spray–injection patching. In this method, the driver of the truck positions the RoadPatcher near the pothole and lowers the nozzle–and–boom attachment into the pothole. First, the nozzle sends a high–volume blast of air into the pothole to clean out loose debris and moisture. Next, using remote controls, the operator switches to a filling of hot emulsion, followed by a mixture of asphalt. After spraying a covering of dry stone aggregate over the filled in pothole, traffic can immediately begin driving on the patched surface.
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"There's no doubt that this we are in one of the busiest pothole repair seasons in recent memory thanks to the constant freezing and thawing that has occurred this winter," said Patrick Parisi, the Authority's Chief Maintenance Officer. "We know how important a smooth roadway is to our customers so we have crews out every day filling as many as we can."
The repair season usually starts in early March, but it began in January this year due to the December 18th blizzard that dumped mounds of snow on the City, followed by warmer temperatures in January. So far maintenance crews have used 3,200 gallons of liquid asphalt emulsion, 55 tons of stone aggregate, 8 tons of hot asphalt and 5 tons of cold patch mix to patch potholes at Bridges and Tunnels facilities.
Repairs are primarily done in off–peak hours to minimize the impact on traffic, and a backup truck is always used to ensure the safety of both motorists and Bridges and Tunnels employees, Parisi said.
Potholes occur when icy water and snow seeps into concrete and asphalt, solidifies and then expand. This causes cracks that continue to widen into potholes as vehicles travel over them. Each time a freeze–and–thaw cycle occurs, potholes are likely to form. Potholes are a nuisance on any road, but when they occur on bridges and tunnels, ramps and plaza areas there is less room for drivers to maneuver around them so agency workers must act swiftly.
More substantial potholes are dealt with by the Hot Box crews, named for the container where the 180–degree asphalt is kept. Using shovels and power tools, workers first clear loose debris from the potholes before filling it in with asphalt; a heavy roller vehicle then smoothes over the holes. If the pothole is very large, two lanes may have to be closed during the repair work to ensure the safety of the crews.
Another weapon in the seasonal war against potholes is Bridges and Tunnels' self–contained "RoadPatcher" truck, which can fill up to 100 potholes in a single shift. This self–contained pothole repair unit uses a method called spray–injection patching. In this method, the driver of the truck positions the RoadPatcher near the pothole and lowers the nozzle–and–boom attachment into the pothole. First, the nozzle sends a high–volume blast of air into the pothole to clean out loose debris and moisture. Next, using remote controls, the operator switches to a filling of hot emulsion, followed by a mixture of asphalt. After spraying a covering of dry stone aggregate over the filled in pothole, traffic can immediately begin driving on the patched surface.
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Frostburg can’t use street sweeper
Street sweeping of Frostburg’s thoroughfares is on hold because the Maryland Department of Environment said the fine stone grit the city uses is hazardous, according to Public Works Commissioner Susan Keller.
“Every city treats snowy streets differently,” Keller said Friday. “Some use just salt. Some use salt and ash. We use salt and also a grit material,” she said.
After past winters, the city has simply swept the streets and dumped the material at a county site used for such purposes, according to City Administrator John Kirby, but MDE has ruled out that option, claiming it absorbs the gas, oil and lubricants from motor vehicles.
After $2,000 of laboratory testing, the grit was cleared to be placed in the public landfill just down the road from Frostburg. The problem is, according to Keller, the grit must be dried first, another major expense to an already shrinking budget and actually a capability the city does not currently have.
“Just the cost of dumping it at the landfill would be $15,000 to $20,000,” Kirby said at Thursday night’s public meeting of the mayor and council. “We would pay $42 a ton and we get 500 tons of it in a normal year.”
Keller said the city used substantially more grit this year than in other winters.
“We are in a tough spot with this,” Keller said. “I have written a letter to the secretary at MDE asking that if we can’t do what we have done in the past, what can we do.”
Keller said the fine stone grit is everywhere, including on sidewalks and in yards. She said it can be dangerous for pedestrians because it slides beneath feet.
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“Every city treats snowy streets differently,” Keller said Friday. “Some use just salt. Some use salt and ash. We use salt and also a grit material,” she said.
After past winters, the city has simply swept the streets and dumped the material at a county site used for such purposes, according to City Administrator John Kirby, but MDE has ruled out that option, claiming it absorbs the gas, oil and lubricants from motor vehicles.
After $2,000 of laboratory testing, the grit was cleared to be placed in the public landfill just down the road from Frostburg. The problem is, according to Keller, the grit must be dried first, another major expense to an already shrinking budget and actually a capability the city does not currently have.
“Just the cost of dumping it at the landfill would be $15,000 to $20,000,” Kirby said at Thursday night’s public meeting of the mayor and council. “We would pay $42 a ton and we get 500 tons of it in a normal year.”
Keller said the city used substantially more grit this year than in other winters.
“We are in a tough spot with this,” Keller said. “I have written a letter to the secretary at MDE asking that if we can’t do what we have done in the past, what can we do.”
Keller said the fine stone grit is everywhere, including on sidewalks and in yards. She said it can be dangerous for pedestrians because it slides beneath feet.
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Roadpatchers fighting potholes on city streets
The arch enemies of Winnipeg drivers are back again for another season, but city officials say this year's crop of potholes is not as bad as last year.
Plus, city crews are equipped with new machines to fix them.
The pothole-patching machines – called Roadpatchers – can get the job done in only a few minutes. Road crevices are blown dry and then sprayed with a combination of asphalt, oil and limestone.
Three of the machines, worth $200,000 each, are already on the job. Three more will be added next week.
The machines are meant for major routes with high volume traffic.
“It's a temporary patch just to ensure that the roadway is safe. And crews come back once the hot asphalt mix is available a little later in May -- and then they make the permanent repairs,” says city spokesperson Ken Allen. “For the Roadpatcher, the patches that are created with this machine can last anywhere from three to six months.”
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Plus, city crews are equipped with new machines to fix them.
The pothole-patching machines – called Roadpatchers – can get the job done in only a few minutes. Road crevices are blown dry and then sprayed with a combination of asphalt, oil and limestone.
Three of the machines, worth $200,000 each, are already on the job. Three more will be added next week.
The machines are meant for major routes with high volume traffic.
“It's a temporary patch just to ensure that the roadway is safe. And crews come back once the hot asphalt mix is available a little later in May -- and then they make the permanent repairs,” says city spokesperson Ken Allen. “For the Roadpatcher, the patches that are created with this machine can last anywhere from three to six months.”
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Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Port Allen deals with huge mess
PORT ALLEN — The unmistakable sound of beads crunching underneath car tires could be heard throughout downtown Port Allen on Monday as motorists went about their business on a rainy weekday morning.
Two days after an estimated crowd of 40,000 descended on the city for a parade honoring the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV victory, overturned garbage cans, broken folding chairs, discarded water bottles, beer cans and of course, beads, littered streets from Rivault Park to Louisiana Avenue and all along Sunday’s parade route.
On Monday morning, city workers and about 20 inmates from the jail were hunched over at Jefferson Avenue and Court Street collecting trash as a large street sweeper followed behind them.
At the parish courthouse a few blocks away, it was a similar scene as dozens of workers moved mountains of trash to street corners to be picked up later.
Terry Vincent, the city’s director of roads and drainage, said the city expects to fill between 1,200 and 1,500 garbage bags during the cleanup effort.
Vincent said the city normally collects between 150 and 200 garbage bags of trash after a typical Mardi Gras parade.
“When I came in this morning, I had to go up and down these streets,” he said. “I couldn’t believe how big this thing was.”
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Two days after an estimated crowd of 40,000 descended on the city for a parade honoring the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV victory, overturned garbage cans, broken folding chairs, discarded water bottles, beer cans and of course, beads, littered streets from Rivault Park to Louisiana Avenue and all along Sunday’s parade route.
On Monday morning, city workers and about 20 inmates from the jail were hunched over at Jefferson Avenue and Court Street collecting trash as a large street sweeper followed behind them.
At the parish courthouse a few blocks away, it was a similar scene as dozens of workers moved mountains of trash to street corners to be picked up later.
Terry Vincent, the city’s director of roads and drainage, said the city expects to fill between 1,200 and 1,500 garbage bags during the cleanup effort.
Vincent said the city normally collects between 150 and 200 garbage bags of trash after a typical Mardi Gras parade.
“When I came in this morning, I had to go up and down these streets,” he said. “I couldn’t believe how big this thing was.”
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Road work leads to trouble
A Florida driver would be hard pressed to travel any real distance without running into road repairs or highway construction.
While the department of motor vehicles does not keep records on just how many accidents are caused by road side heavy equipment, mishaps do happen. This sweeper truck made a turn toward traffic lanes and just swept the rocks out in traffic.
"These rocks, I picked up a few of these at the site. It was just like hundreds of little pinging noises all over my car," Scott Astringer says.
Better Business Bureau attorney John Zajak says Scott did the right thing by stopping and reporting the incident. "You can use your cell phone to take pictures as evidence of what happened."
"This picture here I took I wanted to show the intersection." Scott claims he submitted a $400 damage estimate, but DAB Construction only offered to pay half of the repair bill. "They were not going to pay me more than 200 for this claim."
After listening to Scott’s story, I contacted the attorney for DAB construction. He claims they are careful because he asked that Scott submit two more estimates. Both were for far more than the $467 original.
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While the department of motor vehicles does not keep records on just how many accidents are caused by road side heavy equipment, mishaps do happen. This sweeper truck made a turn toward traffic lanes and just swept the rocks out in traffic.
"These rocks, I picked up a few of these at the site. It was just like hundreds of little pinging noises all over my car," Scott Astringer says.
Better Business Bureau attorney John Zajak says Scott did the right thing by stopping and reporting the incident. "You can use your cell phone to take pictures as evidence of what happened."
"This picture here I took I wanted to show the intersection." Scott claims he submitted a $400 damage estimate, but DAB Construction only offered to pay half of the repair bill. "They were not going to pay me more than 200 for this claim."
After listening to Scott’s story, I contacted the attorney for DAB construction. He claims they are careful because he asked that Scott submit two more estimates. Both were for far more than the $467 original.
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Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Flushed – no success
A COCKATOO man has labelled Cardinia Shire ‘environmental pigs’, fearing a stormwater flush will lead to the contamination of the town’s creek.
Wayne Powers said the drain near his home in Caroline Avenue was flushed last week, leaving rubbish littered in land adjacent to the creek.
Mr Powers said if it rained the trash would go directly into the creek and ultimately end up in the Yarra River system.
He said it was not the first time it had happened, and it was environmentally irresponsible for the council to continue to do nothing about it.
“I have told them time and time again,” Mr Towers said. “I have asked them to do something before and 15 years on they are still doing the same thing.”
Mr Towers said the council should install a drain pit with a grate to catch the rubbish before it ended up in the creek. He said ‘pigs’ would be cleaner than the council.
“They just don’t care about the bigger picture and don’t take responsibility for their actions which they should,” he said.
Mr Towers said more than a garbage truck full of rubbish would flow into waterways if the 30 or 40 stormwater drains around Cockatoo were flushed.
But Cardinia Shire’s spokesman Paul Dunlop said the council was committed to maintaining and improving its road and drainage network.
“These assets are increasing substantially each year with development of the shire,” Mr Dunlop said.
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Wayne Powers said the drain near his home in Caroline Avenue was flushed last week, leaving rubbish littered in land adjacent to the creek.
Mr Powers said if it rained the trash would go directly into the creek and ultimately end up in the Yarra River system.
He said it was not the first time it had happened, and it was environmentally irresponsible for the council to continue to do nothing about it.
“I have told them time and time again,” Mr Towers said. “I have asked them to do something before and 15 years on they are still doing the same thing.”
Mr Towers said the council should install a drain pit with a grate to catch the rubbish before it ended up in the creek. He said ‘pigs’ would be cleaner than the council.
“They just don’t care about the bigger picture and don’t take responsibility for their actions which they should,” he said.
Mr Towers said more than a garbage truck full of rubbish would flow into waterways if the 30 or 40 stormwater drains around Cockatoo were flushed.
But Cardinia Shire’s spokesman Paul Dunlop said the council was committed to maintaining and improving its road and drainage network.
“These assets are increasing substantially each year with development of the shire,” Mr Dunlop said.
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Monday, March 1, 2010
New manager pitches financial plan
LANSDALE - The tough times won't last forever, and Lansdale still has plenty of work to do even in a slow economy.
How to pay for that work with a tight borough budget is the question, and was the subject of a presentation by borough Manager Timi Kirchner at a meeting.
"We've put together a five-year capital improvement plan for the borough as part of our 2010 budget process," said Kirchner, before outlining the projects described in the plans.
Her plan for the next five years incorporates an estimated $482,500 of projects paid for from the borough's Capital Reserve Fund, with an estimated $142,500, slightly more than one-fourth of that money, being spent in 2010 and totals tapering off to $122,000 in 2011, $92,000 in 2012, $65,500 in 2013 and $60,500 in 2014.
The plan calls for some $37,000 in upgrades to the borough's general administration equipment this year: $10,000 for a Web site upgrade, $11,000 for implementation of an E-news system, $11,000 for repairs and maintenance of borough hall windows, and $5,000 for desktop computers.
Only that last item is projected to happen again, with $5,000 in upgrade costs projected for each year through 2014.
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How to pay for that work with a tight borough budget is the question, and was the subject of a presentation by borough Manager Timi Kirchner at a meeting.
"We've put together a five-year capital improvement plan for the borough as part of our 2010 budget process," said Kirchner, before outlining the projects described in the plans.
Her plan for the next five years incorporates an estimated $482,500 of projects paid for from the borough's Capital Reserve Fund, with an estimated $142,500, slightly more than one-fourth of that money, being spent in 2010 and totals tapering off to $122,000 in 2011, $92,000 in 2012, $65,500 in 2013 and $60,500 in 2014.
The plan calls for some $37,000 in upgrades to the borough's general administration equipment this year: $10,000 for a Web site upgrade, $11,000 for implementation of an E-news system, $11,000 for repairs and maintenance of borough hall windows, and $5,000 for desktop computers.
Only that last item is projected to happen again, with $5,000 in upgrade costs projected for each year through 2014.
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Van crashes into brick wall
FRANKLIN — Police and fire units are cleaning up the scene of a two-car crash on Second Street in front the Church of the Nazarene.
According to Franklin police, the driver of a Toyota Camry was traveling westbound on Second Street when the car went left of center and struck a white van coming in the opposite direction. The impact sent the van crashing into a 3-foot-tall block wall in front of the Church of the Nazarene.
The accident occurred just after noon today, Feb. 26.
There was one adult and three juveniles in the van, while only the driver was in the Toyota Camry. No one was transported from the scene, according to Sgt. Shannon Cotton of the Franklin Police Department.
Two separate towing companies were moving the cars from the scene at about 12:35 p.m. A street sweeper was also being called in to clean up debris, according to scanner traffic.
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According to Franklin police, the driver of a Toyota Camry was traveling westbound on Second Street when the car went left of center and struck a white van coming in the opposite direction. The impact sent the van crashing into a 3-foot-tall block wall in front of the Church of the Nazarene.
The accident occurred just after noon today, Feb. 26.
There was one adult and three juveniles in the van, while only the driver was in the Toyota Camry. No one was transported from the scene, according to Sgt. Shannon Cotton of the Franklin Police Department.
Two separate towing companies were moving the cars from the scene at about 12:35 p.m. A street sweeper was also being called in to clean up debris, according to scanner traffic.
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