Saturday, August 22, 2009
Lakewood's Twitter Complaint
I originally titled this Lakewood's First Twitter Complaint, but I've been talking to Lakewood folks before. Maybe what this should be called is 'An Instructive Lakewood Twitter Complaint." Because this really shows the potential of digital communication to make government better.
So we begin a couple mornings ago when I was getting ready to go to a conference, and saw this on Twitter. And then you can see my reply.
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So of course I sent a note to the city manager, who forwarded it to the public works director, who replied ...
Walter, while the sidewalks on both sides of GLD are under construction it’s limited to those areas where ADA standards weren’t met such as at curb returns at intersections and certain driveways. Further while they are under construction the contractor is required to maintain pedestrian access for which in most areas where the sidewalk was removed a compacted crushed rock path is provided. Where such a path can’t be provided then he can divert with proper signage pedestrians to the other side of the street. We are rechecking as I write this to assure pedestrian access being properly maintained throughout the project limits. Not much else can be said other then if a citizen has or sees a problem then they should contact us directly. Can’t fix what we’re unaware of and our inspectors can be everywhere at once so citizen’s eyes are helpful.
Well, duh, they needed to know where and when. I should have thought of that sooner. So this is the next exchange:
I then reported this to the city staff, and the public works director asked the construction inspector to speak to the contractor. This is what was reported back to me:
Don, thank you for forwarding the message about the sidewalks and pedestrian traffic. I have talked with the contractor about the work on the sidewalks, and we addressed the issue by widening our tapers in the areas that are getting improved, so that they will remain open during the construction. They also removed the sidewalk closed signs once the approaches were redone, as well as adjusting signs as needed, such as business open ,sidewalk closed etc. As for the comment about the contractor forcing a man out into the street and not holding traffic for him, what I have seen is that the flaggers have been doing a very good job at watching for people and helping them across areas in the work zone as well as doing there best to keep the traffic moving efficiently. On Friday the contractor will be continuing with the roadway excavation and saw cutting , they will also be falling back and making sure all the ramps and temporary crushed surfaces are smooth and accessible for the weekend. Let me know if there are any other concerns that I can help with
One might wish for a more aggressive response, but it does seem like the concern was heard loud and clear. Score one for Twitter. My lesson, of course, was next time to ask right away for the specifics of the complaint.
A final note: by sheer coincidence, the day before this event, I met Frank Eliason, who works for the same company I do, Comcast. Frank is nationally regarded for using Twitter to provide customer service. So it was rather symmetrical, the very next day, to reflect the same approach in government.
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So we begin a couple mornings ago when I was getting ready to go to a conference, and saw this on Twitter. And then you can see my reply.
\
So of course I sent a note to the city manager, who forwarded it to the public works director, who replied ...
Walter, while the sidewalks on both sides of GLD are under construction it’s limited to those areas where ADA standards weren’t met such as at curb returns at intersections and certain driveways. Further while they are under construction the contractor is required to maintain pedestrian access for which in most areas where the sidewalk was removed a compacted crushed rock path is provided. Where such a path can’t be provided then he can divert with proper signage pedestrians to the other side of the street. We are rechecking as I write this to assure pedestrian access being properly maintained throughout the project limits. Not much else can be said other then if a citizen has or sees a problem then they should contact us directly. Can’t fix what we’re unaware of and our inspectors can be everywhere at once so citizen’s eyes are helpful.
Well, duh, they needed to know where and when. I should have thought of that sooner. So this is the next exchange:
I then reported this to the city staff, and the public works director asked the construction inspector to speak to the contractor. This is what was reported back to me:
Don, thank you for forwarding the message about the sidewalks and pedestrian traffic. I have talked with the contractor about the work on the sidewalks, and we addressed the issue by widening our tapers in the areas that are getting improved, so that they will remain open during the construction. They also removed the sidewalk closed signs once the approaches were redone, as well as adjusting signs as needed, such as business open ,sidewalk closed etc. As for the comment about the contractor forcing a man out into the street and not holding traffic for him, what I have seen is that the flaggers have been doing a very good job at watching for people and helping them across areas in the work zone as well as doing there best to keep the traffic moving efficiently. On Friday the contractor will be continuing with the roadway excavation and saw cutting , they will also be falling back and making sure all the ramps and temporary crushed surfaces are smooth and accessible for the weekend. Let me know if there are any other concerns that I can help with
One might wish for a more aggressive response, but it does seem like the concern was heard loud and clear. Score one for Twitter. My lesson, of course, was next time to ask right away for the specifics of the complaint.
A final note: by sheer coincidence, the day before this event, I met Frank Eliason, who works for the same company I do, Comcast. Frank is nationally regarded for using Twitter to provide customer service. So it was rather symmetrical, the very next day, to reflect the same approach in government.
