North Logan community members want the city to take responsibility for a hazard they say is putting pedestrians at risk and has gone ignored for more than a year.
An uncovered utility access point on a median near Logan Avenue and Patrick Street has exposed pipes inside to the elements and people to a potentially nasty fall, said Romeo Zapata of the North Logan Safety Patrol.
“The location of the hole is on the boulevard,” he said. “So when people try to cross the street, they go to the boulevard and they look for cars; they don’t look for holes. So that’s a double danger.”
SUPPLIED
Robert Firman, operations manager with a nearby plumbing and heating company, provides a temporary fix to cover a hole on Logan Avenue near Patrick Street Thursday.
The Logan neighbourhood hazard is the city’s latest trouble spot. A Wolseley woman fell armpit-deep into a boulevard hole in April, and a West End resident has had no luck getting a crater in front of their home filled.
A city spokesperson said Zapata’s concerns are being considered.
George Alvarez, a neighbour of Zapata’s, complained about the hole last summer after finding a child struggling inside.
“I went to Tim Hortons and I was coming back with a coffee and doughnut and I heard somebody crying,” he said.
The 73-year-old man said he didn’t know where the noise was coming from at first, but when he crossed the street, he found the small child in the hole, his leg badly scratched.
“I don’t know who he was, but I picked him up, I took him out, and he went running,” Alvarez said, adding it’s frustrating that the city has known about the problem since then and done nothing to fix it.
“It’s been over a year, and it’s still the same,” he said.
Both Zapata and Alvarez said they worry someone else will be hurt.
“The pipes inside could add to the injury,” said Zapata. “You are not just falling into a flat area, you are falling into pipes… it could break your leg, your foot.”
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Robert Firman, the operations manager at nearby Tench Plumbing and Heating Ltd., said he thinks it’s “a bit of a joke” the city has been unable to get the hole repaired.
He fashioned a temporary fix Thursday, covering the opening and placing pylons on top. It took him about 10 minutes.
“Two screws and some plywood, and we’re done,” he said, adding if there’s an opportunity to make his community a little safer, he’ll be there “all day long.”
Zapata said while he appreciates the temporary fix, joking Firman works “better than the city,” residents should not have to pick up the slack.
morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca
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