A newly paved and painted raised bike lane in Newton has utility poles and big orange construction barrels running right down the middle. WBZ-TV’s David Wade reports.
>>> WE ARE DONE QUITE A FEW STORIES OVER THE YEARS ON BIKE LANES BUT THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT. >> IN TONIGHT’S QUESTION EVERYTHING, I MEET UP WITH A VIEWER WHO ASKED US ABOUT A NEW BIKE LANE JUST BUILT BY THE STATE WHERE SWERVING IS AS IMPORTANT AS PEDALING. >> WE ARE HERE MANY NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS. >> Reporter: WHEN IAN WHITING SAW A BIKE LANE AS AWKWARD AS A PAIR OF BIKE SHORTS. >> THERE HAS BEEN NEW INTERESTING SIDEWALK BIKE LANES. >> Reporter: THE AVID CYCLIST DECIDED TO MAKE A VIDEO. BEFORE I SHOW IT, LET ME SET THE SCENE. THIS IS BUSY NEEDHAM STREET. AFTER THREE YEARS, MASS DOT IS WRAPPING UP A 22 MILLION-DOLLAR PROJECT TO MAKE THE ROAD WIDER AND SAFER. PART OF IT WAS THE INSTALLATION OF RAISED BIKE LANES. OKAY, NOW THAT WE ARE WARMED UP, LET’S ROLL IAN’S VIDEO OF THE NEW BIKE LANE. THE SOUND TRACK IAN SHOWS IS KIND OF PERFECT BECAUSE THIS IS JUST PLAIN SILLY. UTILITY POLES IN THE CENTER OF THE FRESHLY PAVED, FRESHLY PAINTED BIKE LANE. >> THIS ISN’T GREAT. >> THAT IS NOT GOOD AT ALL. >> Reporter: BIG BRIGHT ORANGE BARRELS BLOCKING THE POLES AND SIGNING WARNING CYCLISTS THAT THE BIKE LANE IS CLOSED. >> HOW MANY DID YOU SAY YOU SAW? >> PROBABLY BETWEEN 12 AND 20. >> Reporter: ACTUALLY, LET’S GET A RECOUNT. THERE’S ONE. TWO. THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, AND NUMBER 30. AND THERE’S 15 ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD. AS WE WERE SHOOTING THIS STORY, ONE BIKE CAME DOWN THE BIKE LANE DOING THE SIDEWALK SLALLOM. THAT IS WHAT HE WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE. >> MY WIFE SAW IT AND SAID SEND THAT TO SOMEBODY. LET’S SEND IT TO QUESTION EVERYTHING. >> Reporter: IAN ASKED US WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THESE POLES AND WHEN. WELL, IT’S A MASS DOT PROJECT SO I STARTED THERE. MASS DOT TOLD ME IT HAS DONE ITS WORK SAYING THE POLES ARE OWNED BY BOTH EVER SOURCE AND VERIZON. AND THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MOVING THEM. AND THE STATE HAS URGED THEM TO GET IT DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. >> LOOKS LIKE THEY HAVE THE NEW POLES THERE. >> Reporter: THE NEW POLES ARE THERE. JUST ACROSS THE SIDEWALK. BUT ALL OF THE WIRES NEED TO BE MOVED. ELECTRIC, PHONE, CABLE, SOMETIMES MORE. EVERSOURCE TOLD ME IT HAS ALREADY TRANSFERRED A QUOTE SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE ELECTRIC SERVICE TO THE NEW POLES AND IS NOW WAITING ON ALL THE OTHER UTILITIES THAT USE THE POLES WHICH IS A QUOTE DETAILED AND COMPLEX PROCESS. VERIZON CO-OWNS MANY OF THOSE POLES AND SAID IT IS NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH OTHER COMPANY’S EQUIPMENT. AND ONCE THEIR EQUIPMET IS REMOVED, VERIZON WILL PROMPTLY REMOVE ALL POLES THAT WE MAINTAIN. THEN IT WILL ALL BE BETTER. ACTUALLY, IT WILL BE BETTER WHEN THE HOLES FOR THE POLES ARE FILLED IN AND THE BIKE LANE IS REPAVED. AND IF IT IS NOT GREAT, WE KNOW A GUY WITH A BIKE AND A CAMERA WHO WILL CERTAINLY LET US KNOW. SO HERE’S THE BIG QUESTION. WHEN WILL THE POLES BE REMOVED? WILL IT BE D DAYS WEEKS? MONTHS? THEY COULDN’T TELL ME. SO MANY COMPANIES ARE INVOLVED. >> THERE’S A LOT TO DO THERE AND HOPEFULLY
33 Comments
No critical thinking here! This is a lawsuit waiting to happen!
I remember poles in the middle of a national bike route bike lane in the UK.
Charlottesville VA has maybe fifty years of ADA infractions mainly due to Power Company VS Telephone Company on the poles. Completely asinine. The City has very little enforcement power.
And why poles ?
Why not put it in ground like we do Europe ? Then no one can damage anything in case of traffic accident 😉
Oh Casey neistat needs to make another bike lane video now lol! This is so stupid
40 years ago we had a similar problem where a utility pole was in the road after replacing a bridge. The Road Crew Foreman, a WWII Combat Engineer veteran of D-Day, got fed up waiting after 6 months. He called the power company and asked at what height he should chainsaw off the pole because he was getting ready to move it himself. The power company showed up in an hour and moved the pole off of the roadway. RIP George. As the town's engineer, I got the board of selectment to enact a series of road ordinances to protect the town from shenanagans of utility companies and property owners. Impose fines and the companies notice.
Sounds like the state / city needs to step in and give them a mandate with a deadline. Than again it's a Dem run town so that's out of the question. Government never does the right thing in a timely manner regardless of the party.
Just fine all the companies with wires on the poles a million dollars a day until they move all the wires
Never underestimate the power of government to f—k up something simple.
Perfect example of "Not my job, I did my job".
This is an insane waste of my tax money!
They built awesome infrastructure that I cannot comfortably use!
Next, they will spend my money, again, ruining the new bike path and sidewalk to move the poles.
Then – more of my mone to repair it all!
Finally, I'll see my taxes and electricity rate increase because of that
WTF?!
you can't cure stupid
incompetent news story its says the bike lane is closed so its a work in progress. utterly incompetent reporting
Do bikes pay excise taxes, inspections, tolls, insurance? Asking fora friend. Oh Oh.
The poles are being moved, and the lane is clossed. This isn't news. Look at them they don't have any wires on them. They have to wait for all the company with wires on the pole to move them before they can be pulled.
They gonna move em bro. But they allow utilities to much leeway
It took 3 years to move and remove the poles on the stretch f Cranberry Hwy in Wareham that was re -designed. It's not uncommon to see a portion of an old pole bolted to a new pole. Being monopolies, utilities have no incentive to do better.
"We'll fix it in post"
Well, the problem really is that reduce. The sidewalk poles were existing their and one hand didn’t talk to the other properly knows gonna take at least two years if not longer.
Looks like it's actually Verizon that's being lazy hear.
L M A O
22 mil and this is the result.
Polls were there first. Obviously they planned to move the poles at some point; it should have been done before before they paved and painted the bike lane. Probably the power company is delaying moving the poles because it costs them money they don't have. The poles look old enough that they should be replaced anyway.
What does, "Bike Lane Closed" mean to you?
Typical low IQ city planners. Stupid is as stupid does. 😊
How soon? Days?, Weeks? Months? Years? Decades? Centuries?
Upside down land 🙃. Cant imagine the line up of idiocy that thought this was a job well done.
So what, new poles are in place, utility has to move the lines so what.
Why don't they resupport the top of the poles and the existing wires from the new pole to clear the bike lane?
The land of the carbrain, home of the expanding waistband.
But weren't there signs saying "Bike lane closed"?
Who Fing cares…another rich a hole bike rider,…he needs to take the seat off…way more comfortable
they turned the sidewalk into a bike lane…what did you think would happen? you know how expensive it is to move utility poles? and where do you expect them to put the poles if/when they decide to?