Xerxes Avenue south has had a Mpls. water dept. project most all summer. From approx., 5300 south to the Crosstown has been a street construction and hazard zone. Nothing particularly unreasonable about it; it was an appropriate infrastructure improvement. The project involved "lining" the main with plastic emulsion (?). Good.I wonder what that stuff is, too. Looks like a cross between concrete minus the gravel and playdoh. Hardens like both, too.
It is most all wrapped up now; except at the corner of 58th and Xerxes. There is a condition there that demands proper attention. Let me describe it here on The List.This is near my neck of the woods, and I regularly drive that stretch of Xerxes.
I guess there is still a hole in the street, there. Currently there is a "bump-out" and detour at the intersection across, fully, all Northbound lanes. All northbound traffic, at the intersection, is literally THRUST into the Southbound lanes. Compounded by no forewarning, a slight rise in grade, and cars parking on the southbound side, this causes a dangerous game of fast "chicken" to be played out continually, without warning any of the participants.
Let me point out that the problem is really the result of three basic things: petty crime by miscreants who find it funny to steal or vandalize construction site warning signs, inattentive bad drivers, and construction site crews (whether city or contracted -- much of this project was done by contractors) who don't bother to replace warning signs in the right place when they've been moved.
In defense of those workers, however, let me point out that in front of my house where another one of these holes existed, the workers reset the signs over and over, even replaced some which were stolen. However, it's hard to stay ahead of the criminals who come out every night and move the signs, or steal them (tossing a few in the creek). The 58th intersection was correctly signed and had the opposing lanes of traffic divided by a string of tall traffic cones earlier this summer. By August, though, most of those cones had disappeared to parts unknown. If there's any justice in the world, the house which "received" the truck was the home to one of the crooks who stole the cones.
The dumb drivers don't help either -- they hit or run over the traffic cones with regularity because damned if they're going to be inconvenienced by having to slow down and drive carefully in their mad rush through my neighborhood. Nor do they both to think about what it means to have northbound traffic blocked -- you know, something along the lines of "maybe I better slow down, be careful and gosh, maybe the oncoming traffic is going to be in MY lane." Selfish (me first, screw the laws and neighbors), ignorant driving seems to be the norm. By actual statistical survey, over 97% of the hundreds of cars that pass my house daily run the stop sign on my corner. Much of the traffic on Xerxes and 54th is there intentionally avoiding the stop lights (much harder to get away with running them) on Penn Ave and 50th Street. Short-cutting through the neighborhoods where there are only stop signs in their rush to get to or from the Crosstown, 35W or other places is more important than safety and courtesy.
One last detail: Xerxes has ONE southbound lane and ONE northbound lane. PennBroKeith can be forgiven for getting that wrong, being only a visitor and no doubt noticing that stupid drivers attempt to drive 2-abreast in the single lane in that area.
Chris Johnson Fulton
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