Only this time, he’s tilting at bus shelters
An acquaintance of mine noticed that utility boxes at the side of the road are often protected by bollards. For anyone who doesn’t know what a bollard is (in this context), bollards are those concrete or steel posts that stop idiots from driving into things when they drive where they are not supposed to.
He also noticed (well it’s hard to miss – no pun intended) that bus shelters just sit out there at the side of the road with nothing to stop vehicles from running into them. And since bus shelters often contain people, he wondered why protecting a little utility box was more important than protecting a place where people stand and wait.
Now the bus shelters where we live are enclosed on four sides, with the exit facing the road. So, even if you see a vehicle coming toward the shelter where you are, the only escape route is to go towards the road. Contrast that with a fire exit that always leads you away from the hazard!! Well, says I, I guess the people waiting for the bus are just like tethered goats waiting for a disaster they can’t escape.
And so … he wrote to the government agency that has their logo on the bus shelter. They said “not our responsibility, try the Regional municipality”. And so … he wrote to the regional municipality. They said “not our responsibility, try the local municipality.” And so … he wrote to the local municipality. He never heard back.
Tethered goats – he liked that phrase. He’s saving it for his letter-writing campaign, and maybe a website as well if he needs to give the politicians a poke.
Final score
The final score isn’t available on this one. It’s ongoing. At the time of posting, nobody had actually said “we’re responsible for this”.
