new pedestrian hazard on State St.
Sidewalks on State St. in the Loop were recently coated with a substance that I assume was intended to seal them and make them easier to clean. I discovered this afternoon that this coating has an unintended consequence: it's slippery when wet.
This was the first time I walked on it in the rain, and it was not fun. I was having trouble, and I'm wearing shoes with semi-sticky soles. It was almost like walking on icy sidewalks in winter.
During a 2 block walk, I saw 3 people slip and fall. One was an old lady who slipped and landed hard at the curb ramp - right in front of the bus. Fortunately the bus was stopped, and the driver saw what was going on and waited as a few of us helped her get up and made sure she was okay.
I'm not sure how many other streets have this stuff, but it's bad news for peds. Be careful out there.
Tags: Loop, State, Street, coating, hazard, pedestrian, safety, slippery
Views: 559
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on -
Someone I know may have submitted this as a tip to TV news in the hope that they might make a 'thing' out of it.
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Permalink Reply by James BlackHeron on -
Another good reason not to ride on the sidewalks. If one has a hard time walking on it when wet imagine how slippery it is to roll a bike onto. Hopefully someone will fix this mistake soon before someone gets hurt. Usually these types of things only get fixed AFTER someone gets hurt -and sues.
Welcome to the world of stupid humans.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on -
I saw lots of potential lawsuits out there yesterday. In addition to the falls I witnessed, there were plenty of other folks slipping and almost falling like I did. Today could get ugly.
Usually these types of things only get fixed AFTER someone gets hurt -and sues.
That's exactly what I fear in this situation - someone getting badly hurt, then more people getting hurt until a lawsuit forces TPTB to fix what they messed up.
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Permalink Reply by Jenn_5.5 mi on -
Guess who slipped and fell?! Even after knowing... I still slipped. Thanks to the Visionary who thought this one up!
I can't put my shoes back on because that is where I got the worst of it... Stupid Sidewalks!
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Permalink Reply by Chris C on -
When I first read this I thought it was a prank by a bunch of teenagers or a frat or something. What an epic failure. It's up there with testing the lens AFTER the satellite is in space.
Sorry about the injury. Nice gam btw.
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Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on
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Do we know exactly what part of State street is involved? At the very least there should be a few 311 reports.
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Permalink Reply by Jenn_5.5 mi on
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I walked from Monroe to Washington... Stupid City Target was calling my name!
Btw... Thanks Chris! Make a girl feel better after she bust @ss! Gold Star in my book!
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Permalink Reply by Serge Lubomudrov on -
I've just found that one doesn't need to hold on while calling 311. I don't know whether online complaint filing is any better, but . . . anyway, in case you are like me and didn't know this, here's the link. You need to chose "Sidewalk Survey" for the problem in question.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
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I've seen this coating on State Street from Congress up to Lake. I don't remember noticing if it extended all the way to Wacker.
It ends at the building facades as you turn onto any of the east-west cross streets. The textured sidewalk surfaces were slick yesterday after it had been raining a little while. I saw people wiping out when they made the transition from textured surface to smooth concrete.
Just made a report. And it started raining again a few minutes ago.
h' said:Do we know exactly what part of State street is involved? At the very least there should be a few 311 reports.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
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That really sucks. I'm sorry to hear it.
Jenn_W said:Guess who slipped and fell?! Even after knowing... I still slipped. Thanks to the Visionary who thought this one up!
I can't put my shoes back on because that is where I got the worst of it... Stupid Sidewalks!
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Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on
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"Sidewalk Survey" will most likely end up in a list waiting to be reviewed when the sidewalk work is budgeted (usually in May for the following year IIRC). Unfortunately I don't see a more appropriate option.
Serge Lubomudrov said:I've just found that one doesn't need to hold on while calling 311. I don't know whether online complaint filing is any better, but . . . anyway, in case you are like me and didn't know this, here's the link. You need to chose "Sidewalk Survey" for the problem in question.
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