There’s a reason things go out of fashion. Often they just don’t work, and in some cases they’re downright painful. This dangerous style of rain grate thankfully went of of fashion in most cities in the late 1970s along with bell bottoms, tie-dye and scraggly long hair. Too bad this bike trap is still seen on the streets of San Jose.
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- If you don’t know better, the rain grate might not seem like a problem.
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- But even with my relatively wide city tires, it’s a wheel trap.
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- The grates further down road are safer. Why did they use an old style one?
Location: Coleman Avenue at Airport Blvd, San Jose, California, USA. Special thanks to Mark Sauerwald for alerting me to this bike lane’s dangerous rain grate.
ian menzies
August 10, 2012 at 1:20 am
Burnie,on the nort coast of Tasmania ,has these everywhere.(and they pretty much sum up Tasmanian attitudes towards cyclists.
cheers,
Ian
Steve A
August 10, 2012 at 10:29 am
They had a similar grate in Hurst, Texas, in new sewer work. When I pointed out the danger, the City Engineer made the contractor replace it with a safer one – no argument and no excuses. You and I recognize the danger, but a child could easily be thrown into traffic and killed. Even if the City doesn’t care, its lawyers DO. Even if nothing happens, keep a copy of the complaint – that kid’s parents will thank you. The Hurst events can be accessed via the web link. I hope to see a similarly inspirational response pop up here!
ladyfleur
August 10, 2012 at 11:04 am
I sent a request in to the City of San Jose. I’m hoping they’re as responsive as your city. And it’s not just kids in danger. Any novice cyclist, anyone not paying attention, riding after dark–these are all cases where this kind of grate can bring someone down.
Rachel Unger
September 29, 2013 at 8:45 pm
How does one send a request to the city? I know you’ve done it before, and it works, but how?
ladyfleur
September 29, 2013 at 9:18 pm
I tweeted to @SJ_Bikeshare. I also happen to know John Brazil who’s in charge of the San Jose Department of Transportation bike and pedestrian programs.
Do you have an issue that’s in San Jose?
Rachel Unger
September 29, 2013 at 9:29 pm
We’ve tried emailing through the SJ city website – I asked you here, and it was (of course) only then that it occurred to me that “maybe I can Google that…”
It’s a broken glass issue in the street. I don’t know if they send street sweepers by request or by schedule, but I’ll let you know how this turns out!
ladyfleur
September 29, 2013 at 9:59 pm
Good luck! San Jose has a lot of territory to cover and city budgets are slim. A friend working for city hall lost his job due to budget cuts this summer. He and his wife moved back to Texas which is a real bummer.
fiedlerin
August 10, 2012 at 10:55 am
UGH! That brings back memories of tram tracks… I don’t miss them at all. Even though you didn’t fall into them as far you still got stuck and weren’t able to turn your front wheel to get back out.
ladyfleur
August 10, 2012 at 11:00 am
The streetcar tracks are dangerous too. A man died into Toronto the other day after getting his wheel caught in tracks and falling on his head.
Rachel Unger
August 10, 2012 at 12:01 pm
I’m glad you found out about it from a person, rather than discovering it with a wheel. Thanks for passing the warning along.
samapoc
August 12, 2012 at 6:05 am
Guy from Houma, LA hit one Of these while crossing a drawbridge. He’s now a quadrapalegic and barely drinks from a straw.
ladyfleur
August 12, 2012 at 8:40 am
How horribly tragic! I knew someone who got caught in an expansion joint on a bridge, but he escaped with minor injuries.
I did report this grate to the city and they responded “We are working on getting this addressed. Will keep you updated” Once they get it fixed, I’ll post an update.