By james art 
Q. Jeff says what with all the railroad crossing repairs, pothole filling, intersection cleanups, and general street repairs Street Scene wants done, I think you’re trying to shut track shops down.
A. Not me Jeff, WE!
For those railroad crossings
Speaking of railroad crossings. Street Scene has learned that city managers, local electorates, county representatives and statewide officials have had to conduct ongoing letter-writing campaigns to keep railroad crossings in their respective jurisdictions at an acceptable standard of repair.
Street Scene also discovered that the Pinsly Railroad Company, which recently purchased (they’re calling it a rebrand) the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railways that runs through Tallahassee, has been on a tear in recent years, acquiring one railroad after another across America.
To name a few: the Florida Gulf & Atlantic, the Pioneer Valley Railroad in Massachusetts, the Grenada Railroad in the Mississippi Central, the Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad, the Vermilion Valley Railroad, and the Camp Chase Railroad. More recently, they have focused on the Hondo Railroad located in Hondo, Texas.
Pinsly does a lot of good when it buys abandoned or failed short railroads, bringing them back as productive operating lines. However, with a network of hard-copy papers across the country seeking to force Pinsly to respond to public complaints about the poor state of level crossings, which remain in disrepair, Street Scene wonders if Pinsly’s leadership has allowed their focus on acquisitions to distract from their promise to keep railroad crossings well maintained and safe.
Street Scene is officially requesting that Ryan Rutledge, CEO, M. Scott Lynn, COO, and Dan Fransen, VP of Safety, send all funds and measures necessary to relocate every single railroad crossing in Tallahassee and Leon County, Florida. to the expected and required standards of safety and acceptable smoothness of the vehicle so that no vehicle repairs are required while drivers are traveling on the Pinsly railway property.
You read that right. Railroad right-of-way, property belonging to the railroad, was carved out across the country long before surface public right-of-way roads. There were dirt tracks and some dirt roads, but off-track betting restrictions were introduced much later.
In fact, the idea of a right-of-way boundary was later copied by the railroad and designed into public roads. Another spice of education; did you know that highway engineers use templates to design safe curves while planning road layouts.
These patterns are “railway curves” invented and used by railroads to ensure safe travel at high speeds. I still keep my box of railroad curves given to me by my father when I chose engineering as my profession. Oh yes, before I was inundated by my educated street urchins, the railway invented altitude. Eons before Daytona Speedway.
Where marked roads existed, local authorities were more than happy to hand over land deeds in an attempt to attract the railway to their towns. Many, if not most, crossings share maintenance costs and labor with states and local municipalities, so maintenance can be performed as needed.
In doing so, Street Scene joins the citizens of Tallahassee and Leon County as we implore Pinsly Railroad Company CEO Ryan Ratledge to reach out to our local decision makers to take the necessary steps to create regular railroad crossing maintenance schedule in Tallahassee and Leon County, Florida.
We are the capital of Florida; we must earn this honor every day.
What’s up with these dump trucks?
Q. Nancy says dump trucks have been going up and down Maclay Road since last June. From about 7:30am to 4:30pm, you can’t go 5 minutes without seeing one. What is happening and what effect will this have on Maclay Road?
A. What’s going on Nancy looks like a construction project at Maclay School.
Street Scene often gets this question about heavy trucks bumping and rattling on local roads at all hours. Ninety percent of the construction work is done early morning to evening. Construction involving major highways and interstates is performed at night whenever possible.
I would like everyone to understand two things. 1. All of us who own and operate vehicles on public roads pay road tax to build and maintain our roads. 2. These taxes do not involve abuse. The continued bombardment of heavy truck traffic will deteriorate the condition of any road, well-designed interstates are no exception. Local asphalt roads faster.
Loaded dump truck operators are notorious for allowing their trucks to veer off the curb, breaking off the edge of the asphalt pavement. That’s what I call abuse. Dump truck drivers tend to have busy schedules, so cutting corners when making a right turn seems acceptable. It’s not. It’s abuse. Not only abuse of the paved radius and unpaved radius and street signs, but private property as well.
As discerning concerned citizens, we can and should report to Street Scene, Leon County Public Works or Tallahassee Public Works if we see any driver allowing their vehicle to damage our roads or bordering greenery and beautification areas. Another abuse we see from time to time is concrete spills. When we see spilled concrete on our roads, we need to call local law enforcement with as much information as we can provide. They will find and notify the perpetrator to clean it up.
Leaves on Blair Stone
Q. John reports that foliage is blocking the footpath/not going north on Blair Stone Road.
A. Thank you John, can I assume you mean north facing. Tallahassee Public Works is on the way. If the pedestrian light goes north, it probably won’t be there when public works arrives.
Be patient with parent pickup
Q. Jerry asks Street Scene to address the issue of parents blocking roads while waiting to turn into school pick-up areas. On a recent day, parents blocked Centerville Road all the way to McLaughlin as they waited to turn onto Montford/Roberts schools.
A. Not to downplay this troubling phenomenon of transportation safety, my in-depth investigation into this matter has determined that it is a global problem. One locality tried to address the issue by banning parking anywhere on the streets. The rebellion was so swift and intense that the proposal died before it saw the light of day.
My recommendation is that we all recognize that the inevitable situation of vehicles blocking lanes will sometimes exist out of necessity. Whether it’s a local bus picking up or unloading passengers, first aid for traffic accidents, cafes or fast food restaurants overflowing, vehicle breakdown, insufficient left and right turning lanes, bad weather or parents queuing to they take their children.
I ask parents to pull as far to the right as possible. Better to block a partial lane of traffic than to obstruct the entire lane.
Phillip Stewart is a retired Florida State Police Officer, Traffic Management Project Engineer, and Forensics Expert. Write to [email protected].