Transportation: Street/Utility Cuts
Q: How will the District manage the work of utility and telecommunications companies that install fiber optic cables beneath city streets?
The Williams administration recently instituted a comprehensive plan for the District's new "Rights of Way" (ROW) program to manage the work of utility and telecommunications companies as they install fiber optic cables beneath the surface of city streets. In addition to the ROW fee that was enacted on April 1st to recoup in revenue the long-term damage done to streets, the program calls for improved management of projects and coordination among firms that have permits to do work. New construction will be phased-in by and scheduled through the Department of Public Works (DPW). The number of inspectors has been doubled from 8 to 16 and inspections will be much more rigorous. In addition, companies who intend to do work must submit traffic plans to minimize disruption to citizens.
The Mayor also announced increased management support for DPW's Transportation Division to administer the ROW plan.
Q. How many street cuts are currently awaiting repair?
There are 1600 street cuts currently awaiting permanent repair. This is down from 1800, the number await repair when the moratorium was issued. In fact, since the moratorium, 1450 cuts have been permanently repaired.
- The city has decided to hold 300 street cuts open past the 45-day requirement. This is for two reasons:
- 200 cuts are being held because other utilities' cuts are imminent on these streets. Rather than repair them and tear them open again, the city wants to permanently repair them all at once. This is part of the coordination made possible by the two-year plan. Once the utility work is completed on these sites, the cuts will be sealed.
- There are another 100 that have been designated for night or weekend work to minimize disruptions to the neighborhood.
- The remaining 1300 temporary repairs are within 45-day window.
Q. Has there been an increase in complaints about street cuts?
Actually, complaints have dropped since the moratorium. Pothole and utility complaints to the Citywide Call Center (727-1000) have dropped from 750 in March to 200 in July.
Q. Has a problem with computer mapping delayed coordination or co-location plans?
No. The city required all companies to submit two-year plans by July 1st. Since that time, city has been mapping out locations of cuts, which requires extensive coordination among all companies. The city expects to have the first draft of the long-term plan completed by the week of August 14th.
Q. How many "stop work issues" have been issued since end of moratorium?
As city stepped up its inspections and record keeping, the Department of Transportation learned about the need to do a better job tracking stop-work orders. That tracking, which began less than week ago, has resulted in record keeping on eight stop-work orders. Such orders can be prompted by lack of signage, failing to implement a traffic plan or other serious disregard of city requirements.
Q. Why are fines not used to better manage street cuts?
To date, we have not effectively used fines. This requires training for inspectors, which will be implemented throughout the fall.
Q. Why are off-duty officers not used to direct traffic?
While the use of off-duty officers was an idea Mayor Williams discussed last spring, Public Safety needs – including putting police on the streets to reduce crime – and legislation has delayed implementation of this initiative.
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