Eastern Market Attacked!
3 08 2009Less than a month after the grand reopening of Eastern Market the beautifully restored area already has the scars of street work. It seems that Washington Gas workers used a jackhammer to dislodge and destroy the brand new cobble stone street that was just installed. Reader Sean sent in these photos of the horror.
We all know too well how these “patches” end up being permanent fixtures of our cities street scape. Even scarier though, is the additional spray painted targets, we hope they don’t repeat this on other parts of the cobblestone!
Just in case there was any confusion over who was responsible.
What the hell is wrong with this city? This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. Was there zero coordination between stakeholders during construction? So f*cking stupid.
Washington Gas pulls this stunt all over Capital Hill.
They jackhammer and deface brick streets with spay paint all over the hill without cleaning off the paint or replacing the brick/cobblestone. The fact that they just did this to the new Eastern Market cobblestone just shows how heedless they are to the damage and defacement they cause (right after we rebuilt the place!!!)
Another quasi-government entity in the district run by morons…
Nothing is as permanent as a “temporary solution.”
So typical of WGL and PEPCO. Church Street between 14th and 15th NW was recently redone after years of waiting. Within days, a substantial piece was dug up for utility work. Seems hard to believe that this happens. DC is what it is
I don’t understand why Pepco and Wash Gas have such trouble coordinating with the city…. nor do I understand why DC accepts meritocracy and stupidity when it comes to making DC a beautiful and functioning place. I attended a meeting for Adams Morgan for the 18th St redevelopment plan. It seems that Pepco has already announced that there will be delays.. and this plan had been in the works for 6 years. WTF? DC seems to be ok with this type of behavior as well as to expect it. WFT? What can be done?
I have the same thing right in front of my house. There is paint all over the place from WASA doing work and I can’t get anyone to clean it up. I don’t understand how it can be so hard to just clean it up after they are done.
Ouch! Such a shame Washington Gas to sully up that beautiful real estate.
The fire trucks and WG responded many times to a gas odor at the other end of the Market. Maybe they are holding the map upside down. More holes to follow. No blue bucks until they get it right
The IG’s report on the death of David Rosenbaum at the hands of DC’s incompetent EMTs summed it up best.
A “culture of indifference” pervades throughout the city.
No pride, no sense of ownership, no sense of responsibility for the city, their actions, or even one another. Its all about ‘gettin’ paid’ and “what’s owed”
Gee, what could have caused that?
WG and PEPCO are beholden to no one. The government boards that used to requlate them, don’t anymore. The market will deliver golden-plated service and low-prices, don’t you know. No, now that the utilities aren’t regulated and they have a century head start on the “competition” (whoever they might be), service like this is what we get. The utilities don’t care, aren’t accountable and will do whatever they please thank you very much.
Washington Gas has unfortunately had to make emergency cuts to investigate gas leaks. When the repairs are completed the pavers will be replaced and the damage will be fixed.
Repairs have been completed on my street and yet paint is still everywhere!
[...] Feel free to write a love letter to the city of DC for defacing the brand new cobblestone street outside Eastern Market. [...]
Its my understanding that DDOT has revoked the blanket permits for the local utility companies to tear up the streets, in an attempt to cut down on stupidity just like this. Now, utilities must apply to DDOT for permits for each project, and will be forced for the first time to do some planning ahead, consolidating projects so roads get torn up as few times as possible.
I doubt that this applies to emergency situations such as this where a gas leak is suspected though.