Club Admiralty Blog
A blog about life in general, in as many languages as I can manage. Ενα ιστολόγιο περι ζωής, πολυγλωσσο - σε όσες γλωσσες εχω μεράκι να γράψω.
The sky is falling!
%AM, %b %America/Chicago %2006, %R WorkThings like this make me laugh out loud at the stupidity of people.
Sweeping things under the rug NEVER works! Well it works if you intend on coming back to pick up the trash relatively soon
We knnow the sky is falling...the big question is whether or not the floor will disappear from under our feet because of this.
Anyway - for your reading pleasure:
UMass closes big garage in Boston
By Cristina Silva, Globe Staff | July 21, 2006
The University of Massachusetts at Boston has closed an underground parking garage that has been decaying for decades, appeasing some students and staff who have become more fearful of falling concrete in the aftermath of the Big Dig tragedy.
Chancellor Michael F. Collins, citing safety concerns and repair costs, abruptly announced the immediate closing of the garage Wednesday afternoon in a meeting with campus officials. Faculty, staff, and students received the news via e-mail.
When asked why the university gave such little notice, Collins said he was partially motivated by the death of Milena Del Valle, who was killed when ceiling panels crashed on her car as her husband drove through the Interstate 90 connector.
``There isn't a construction decision made in this day that isn't influenced by what happened that day," Collins said.
Collins had decided in June to eventually shut the garage down after learning it would cost $150 million to repair the two-story structure, which doubles as a foundation for much of the campus. The closing of the 1,560-car garage reduces available parking by half for the commuter school, which is currently holding summer classes . University officials said they are working on an alternative parking plan and urged students to take public transportation in the meantime.
For decades, staff, faculty, and students have called for restoration of the garage, which has been plagued with leaks, crumbling cement beams, and potholes since it was built in the 1970s. In 2005, a large piece of concrete fell and partially crushed the car of a retired dean as a finalist for the chancellor position toured the campus.
``People are constantly tripping on potholes in the garage and twisting their ankles, and things are constantly falling on people's cars," said Tom Goodkind, a machinist at the school and a representative of the Service Employees International Union. ``We always joked that it would take someone's death to get them to do something about the garage, and now they finally have."
Over the years, the garage has become a dreary labyrinth, with walls and floor so eroded from the salty environment that they look like a coral reef. Nets hang from the ceiling to catch fragments of falling cement, a problem linked to the use of low-quality concrete in the construction.
A probe in the 1970s found that a New York construction firm had bribed legislators and used low-quality concrete. Two state senators were convicted and jailed for accepting cash payoffs in 1977.
Yesterday, orange traffic cones blocked motorists from entering the garage, and security guards redirected traffic to outdoor parking lots on campus.
The effects of the closing of the garage could grow in the fall, when the university's 12,000 full-time students return to campus.
``People are going to be fighting for a spot," said David Williams, a junior who drives to campus.
Collins, who said he was told of the garage's problems before he was hired last year, has had engineers inspect the building routinely. In the past year, the university spent $1 million on repairs, but made only a small dent in repairs and had to rope off 600 parking spots deemed unusable.
Instead of using the garage again, the university will spend $25 million in state funds to stabilize the structure and ensure the security of the five buildings resting on top of the garage, he said.
Collins said he did not know whether the university will build a new garage. For the next school year, the university will consider offering a valet service to maximize its parking capacity or creating parking off campus and shuttling in students and faculty.
``We could have said, `Let's just put up a new parking garage somewhere,' " Collins said. ``But we want to take our time and do it right, so we do not ever have this problem again."
At a press conference yesterday about the Big Dig, John J. Sullivan, a candidate for lieutenant governor , said the garage closing shows the need to act quickly on the Big Dig.
``They closed it today because the . . . place is falling down," Sullivan said, ``and that's going to happen here [in the tunnels] if we don't get our act together."
CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO ARTICLE
Sweeping things under the rug NEVER works! Well it works if you intend on coming back to pick up the trash relatively soon
We knnow the sky is falling...the big question is whether or not the floor will disappear from under our feet because of this.
Anyway - for your reading pleasure:
UMass closes big garage in Boston
By Cristina Silva, Globe Staff | July 21, 2006
The University of Massachusetts at Boston has closed an underground parking garage that has been decaying for decades, appeasing some students and staff who have become more fearful of falling concrete in the aftermath of the Big Dig tragedy.
Chancellor Michael F. Collins, citing safety concerns and repair costs, abruptly announced the immediate closing of the garage Wednesday afternoon in a meeting with campus officials. Faculty, staff, and students received the news via e-mail.
When asked why the university gave such little notice, Collins said he was partially motivated by the death of Milena Del Valle, who was killed when ceiling panels crashed on her car as her husband drove through the Interstate 90 connector.
``There isn't a construction decision made in this day that isn't influenced by what happened that day," Collins said.
Collins had decided in June to eventually shut the garage down after learning it would cost $150 million to repair the two-story structure, which doubles as a foundation for much of the campus. The closing of the 1,560-car garage reduces available parking by half for the commuter school, which is currently holding summer classes . University officials said they are working on an alternative parking plan and urged students to take public transportation in the meantime.
For decades, staff, faculty, and students have called for restoration of the garage, which has been plagued with leaks, crumbling cement beams, and potholes since it was built in the 1970s. In 2005, a large piece of concrete fell and partially crushed the car of a retired dean as a finalist for the chancellor position toured the campus.
``People are constantly tripping on potholes in the garage and twisting their ankles, and things are constantly falling on people's cars," said Tom Goodkind, a machinist at the school and a representative of the Service Employees International Union. ``We always joked that it would take someone's death to get them to do something about the garage, and now they finally have."
Over the years, the garage has become a dreary labyrinth, with walls and floor so eroded from the salty environment that they look like a coral reef. Nets hang from the ceiling to catch fragments of falling cement, a problem linked to the use of low-quality concrete in the construction.
A probe in the 1970s found that a New York construction firm had bribed legislators and used low-quality concrete. Two state senators were convicted and jailed for accepting cash payoffs in 1977.
Yesterday, orange traffic cones blocked motorists from entering the garage, and security guards redirected traffic to outdoor parking lots on campus.
The effects of the closing of the garage could grow in the fall, when the university's 12,000 full-time students return to campus.
``People are going to be fighting for a spot," said David Williams, a junior who drives to campus.
Collins, who said he was told of the garage's problems before he was hired last year, has had engineers inspect the building routinely. In the past year, the university spent $1 million on repairs, but made only a small dent in repairs and had to rope off 600 parking spots deemed unusable.
Instead of using the garage again, the university will spend $25 million in state funds to stabilize the structure and ensure the security of the five buildings resting on top of the garage, he said.
Collins said he did not know whether the university will build a new garage. For the next school year, the university will consider offering a valet service to maximize its parking capacity or creating parking off campus and shuttling in students and faculty.
``We could have said, `Let's just put up a new parking garage somewhere,' " Collins said. ``But we want to take our time and do it right, so we do not ever have this problem again."
At a press conference yesterday about the Big Dig, John J. Sullivan, a candidate for lieutenant governor , said the garage closing shows the need to act quickly on the Big Dig.
``They closed it today because the . . . place is falling down," Sullivan said, ``and that's going to happen here [in the tunnels] if we don't get our act together."
CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO ARTICLE
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