Five Minutes of Service
The diverter for the greenway at Clinton and 32nd Ave., partially destroyed by a car.
UPDATE: The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) responded almost immediately; the broken pole was securely back where it belonged in just a few days! A huge thank you to the city staff who work incredibly hard to maintain our streets and keep them safe for everyone.
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We are lucky enough to live in a neighborhood near to a greenway: a street lightly protected from car traffic that allows people on foot, in wheelchairs, in strollers, and on bikes to make full use of the road.
This greenway has some relatively inexpensive but permanent infrastructure designed to divert cars away from it, including concrete barriers with reflective signs.
Last night, someone wasn’t paying attention. A car jumped the concrete barrier and mowed down one of the signs, leaving hundreds of plastic and glass shards in the middle of the intersection.
As Parker and I walked by, I stationed her stroller on the sidewalk and started picking up the shards of plastic and glass. It only took a few minutes, but it was enough to mostly clear the intersection and reduce that chance that someone’s bike would have an untimely flat or that our stroller would need yet another tube (we just replaced one the other day… blackberry thorn!)
Five minutes of glass and plastic pickup may have saved a few people a big headache.
It made me think a few things:
Five Minutes of Service. That’s all it takes to make a difference where we live. If every day when we are out and about we pick up some trash, scrape some mushy leaves off a sidewalk ramp, or unclog a drain, we are providing exponentially more time value - for hours, days, weeks or more - for dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people.
Hard infrastructure protects us. It’s too bad about the pole, but if the person driving the car was paying so little attention that they rammed a highly reflective metal sign… what if it would have been a person on a bike? Or me and Parker? That small amount of concrete and metal cost peanuts compared to lots of other kinds of infrastructure, but it did its job and it did well.
Being responsive matters. I talked with a neighbor walking by with their infant son, and she asked if I knew how to report the broken sign. I did (call 3-1-1 or use PDX Reporter!), and I sent the report in when I got home. When the pole is fixed, I will offer an update, and while I know they must get a ton of requests, I couldn’t help but think… what if this broken sign sits on that concrete island where I dragged it for weeks? For months? What if it doesn’t catch the attention or stop the next car? Maintenance of our streets is really important: if the city builds things, there needs to be funding and planning to take the maintenance and inevitable repairs seriously. And the quicker the feedback loop between when folks report a problem and when it’s solved, the more trust is built in that moment between our city government and the people its there to serve.