where the sidewalk ends
posted by Brent FinneganThe alleyway between Water Street and Court Square has been closed ever since city officials declared it unsafe back in late April. It’s been three months, for those of you keeping count.
There are two parts to the problem–the cause and the issue. The cause is simple: the support beams holding up the back end of the old Spanky’s building are corroded. The sidewalk and the building are joined at the hip. As Spanky’s falls, so falls the sidewalk… into Black’s Run.
But the issue is something I’ve been confused about for several weeks. eightyone and Rocktown have made recent mentions of the prolonged closure. As far as I can tell, there’s a three-way dispute over who’s going to pay for the repairs. The city thinks that Randall See, owner of the unsafe building should pay. Randall See doesn’t think he should have to pay for it since it’s a public alleyway (even though the city says it only owns the pavement on top of the structure). Roger Ritchie, who owns the building on the Court Square side of Finnigan’s, assumes no financial responsibility for any of it. The people at his office had no further information on the subject.
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The closed-off portion runs beside Finnigan’s Cove. Donna Finnigan said, since a lot of Finnigan’s patrons park in the deck, her business hasn’t been drastically effected by the closure. But customers coming from Court Square complain. And some people hop the fence anyway, because it’s easier than walking around the block. She said a city crew has to repair the blockade almost every Monday.
Rocktown reported last month that “property owners and the city are starting to work toward a solution.” I see no indication of that. Via email, Jim Baker, the city’s Director of Public Works said, “…I do not have the answers to your questions. The issue is in Randall See’s hands and any comments or commitments from the city will be determined by the City Council.” When I talked to Randall See on the phone, he politely stated he had “no further comment on the matter.” So basically no one is talking about this.
It certainly seems that the city, Ritchie, and See are no closer to resolving the issue than they were three months ago. In the meantime, I’m sure drunken people will continue jumping the fence onto the faulty bridge.
-finnegan (no relation to Donna)
posted: July 18th, 2006 by Brent Finnegan
filed under news & meta-news.
Comments: 10
Comments
Comment from danno
Time: July 19, 2006, 6:11 pm
yeah, those boards in the front there definitely look like fresh cut 2×4s.
Comment from ivelostmyshadow
Time: July 27, 2006, 3:48 pm
The property is owned by Randy See according to the City’s online map http://arcims.ci.harrisonburg.va.us/website/city/viewer.htm
There is an easement that allows pedistrians to pass through, but from what I can understand, the City cannot fix the sidewalk anymore than they can go onto any other resident’s property and do repairs. If they had the right to do that, then what would prevent them from going anywhere they want, anytime they want?
Comment from finnegan
Time: July 27, 2006, 5:06 pm
While I agree with you that the city shouldn’t have the right to fix up people’s private property “willy-nilly,” the fact remains that there has been NO progress toward a solution. No one wants to pay for it.
So, I guess my question is: if Mr See decides he’s never going to pay for it, does the sidewalk remain closed forever? It’s inconvenient and unattractive.
My guess is that the city will eventually foot the bill for at least some of the repairs. But it seems like everyone’s waiting to see who will blink first.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have encoraged people to write the city manager. My hope was that, if enough people voiced their concerns, the city would hasten the search for a solution.
Pingback from hburgnews » Blog Archive » more orange netting on water street
Time: August 16, 2006, 11:06 am
[...] You might think it’s some sort of conspiracy to surround Finnigan’s Cove with so much orange construction fencing that no one can get in or out, but the city says the parking deck on Water Street is merely undergoing necessary maintenance. Half the deck will be closed during the work week until mid-November, in order to reinforce the structural integrity of the deck. It’s maintenance, not renovation or addition, so don’t expect things to look much different in November. Another thing the city plans to fix are the leaks coming through the upper deck every time it rains. [...]
Pingback from hburgnews » Blog Archive » Water wait
Time: August 30, 2006, 7:05 pm
[...] Eddie Bumbaugh from HDR talked about the alley between old Spanky’s and Finnigan’s Cove. An engineer has assessed the situation and will be handing in his report to the city staff soon. HDR expected to have it by noon today, but didn’t. It isn’t unreasonably optimistic that it will be reopened in “a matter of weeks.” Donna Finnigan, owner of Finnigan’s Cove, was, of course, interested and vocal during this discussion. Unfortunately, without the report in hand no one was able to give her definate answers. However, depending on the results of the engineer’s assessment, the walkway could be at least partially open to pedestrian traffic during construction. [...]
Pingback from hburgnews » Blog Archive » You can always go…
Time: October 17, 2006, 1:16 pm
[...] Since I spend a lot of time there, I’m always interested in what’s going on in downtown Harrisonburg. About a month ago I was downtown and noticed that the walkway between Finnegan’s Cove and the old Spanky’s had been reopened. As you read here on hburgnews.com, it was discussed at HDR’s meeting at the end of August that depending on the engineer’s assessment, the walkway may be open during reconstruction. I assumed this was the case. When asked about it by hburgnews.com, Miriam Dickler from the city office said that the reopening was “done without city authorization or by any city employees. She added that the walkway is still unsafe and that “whoever opened it was breaking the law.” The walkway was again closed down. [...]
Pingback from hburg news » Blog Archive » Harrisonburg Best/Worst 2006
Time: December 19, 2006, 1:22 pm
[...] Worst (thanks to Finnegan for some help on this section): -The ever multiplying traffic lights (like those at Reservoir and University). -The congestion of the Burgess Rd./Harrisonburg Crossing area -The alley between Finnegan’s Cove and the old Spanky’s remains closed and the hand-off of responsibility involved therein. -The other laments of the Downtown merchants. [...]
Pingback from hburg news » Blog Archive » sidewalk solution
Time: January 10, 2007, 1:34 pm
[...] hburgnews has been tracking the sidewalk saga since July. TM wrote about it again in August and October, when vigilantes took it upon themselves to reopen the sidewalk to pedestrians. It’s been closed for nine months already, and re-construction won’t begin until April or May, with the sidewalk re-opening sometime in the summer. That would make for a total of 14 months without a walkway there. [...]
Pingback from hburgnews » Water Street Alley
Time: September 4, 2007, 12:54 pm
[...] The steel beams beneath the pedestrian bridge are deteriorating, making the bridge unsafe. These same beams support much of the building to the west of the bridge, in order to complete repairs that building will need to be supported while the beams are replaced. [...]
Pingback from hburgnews » alleyway work to begin
Time: October 12, 2007, 2:06 pm
[...] downtown alleyway that’s been closed for the last year-and-a-half (the one we’ve been covering on hburgnews since July 2006) is due to start construction. As David [...]
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