BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

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7

Be careful riding, walking and jogging in Point State Park

Got this email today:


"Dear biking friends,


Warning you of a hazardous condition in Point State Park. A sealant was applied to the surface at the area approaching the underpass under the portal bridge from the point side, perhaps other areas as well. XXXXX and I were riding from the north side on Saturday, came over the Fort Duquesne bike/ped bridge, down the ramp into the park, turned left to go under the portal bridge, and XXXXX's bike flew out from under him like a cartoon banana peel. It was not funny. He broke his hip. A bystander called 911, an ambulance threaded through Veteran's Day parade gridlocked traffic to Allegheny General. Surgery yesterday closed the fracture, and he is in less pain now, but faces a long and painful recovery. Fortunately, as always, he was wearing his helmet, but this hazard was not visible or avoidable. Please be careful. Perhaps by now it is not so slick, but I suspect it will always be hazardous when wet."


scott
2012-11-12 15:04:20

holy crap!


I don't know anyone associated with State Park maintenance, but passed it along to a couple of people who might have those connections.


This can't be an intended permanent "fix", can it?


Edited to add: I filed a 311 report on it this morning. This is what I wrote:


As ped/bike coordinator for the Southwestern PA Commission, I was very concerned when this came across my desk this morning:


Got this email today:


"Dear biking friends,


Warning you of a hazardous condition in Point State Park. A sealant was applied to the surface at the area approaching the underpass under the portal bridge from the point side, perhaps other areas as well. XXXXX and I were riding from the north side on Saturday, came over the Fort Duquesne bike/ped bridge, down the ramp into the park, turned left to go under the portal bridge, and XXXXX's bike flew out from under him like a cartoon banana peel. It was not funny. He broke his hip. A bystander called 911, an ambulance threaded through Veteran's Day parade gridlocked traffic to Allegheny General. Surgery yesterday closed the fracture, and he is in less pain now, but faces a long and painful recovery. Fortunately, as always, he was wearing his helmet, but this hazard was not visible or avoidable. Please be careful. Perhaps by now it is not so slick, but I suspect it will always be hazardous when wet."


I believe this to be a PA State Parks issue, but have no contacts within that organization. Perhaps the City does....


This obviously needs to be identified as a temporary situation, with hazard signs posted, or remedied as quickly as possible.


Thank you,


swalfoort
2012-11-12 15:17:11

Yea I saw them mopping this on on Friday. I figured it was a concrete sealant and it looked like they might be doing more of it the way that had it "coned" off.


lou-m
2012-11-12 16:35:56

I hope I can remember this when I come through in the morning! Thanks for the heads up.


edmonds59
2012-11-12 16:57:00

the sealant they used in front of our old office building at barkley was like that too. they never did anything about it though. it was most definitely not a temporary sealer.


cburch
2012-11-12 22:23:21

I thought I smelled something on Friday while passing through. Thanks for the heads up.


stefb
2012-11-12 23:14:02

Thanks for the warning. I guess I was lucky because I went through there twice this weekend.


2012-11-12 23:40:57