On a slippery slope with AT
A woman who suffered a fractured tail bone after slipping on a pavement in Avondale town centre says her fall could have been avoided.
Last month, Michelle Burstall was on her regular Saturday morning walk with her niece when the accident happened.
‘‘It’s quite ironic, I was actually saying to her that I always make it a point to walk gingerly on the slippery bricks, and I as I was saying these words to her I slipped on the very bricks I had been referring to.’’
Burstall says at the time she went into shock and did not realise the severity of her injuries. It turned out she had fractured the lowest part of her spine called the coccyx.
More upsetting than the painful injury, she says, is the fact that it could have been prevented.
‘‘Auckland Transport (AT) have known about the slippery Avondale bricks for a very long time, and I have no idea why they aren’t doing anything about it.’’
Spokesperson for the authority Mark Hannan says they have received around 11 calls about the pavement in ‘‘recent weeks’’.
The bricks were installed in 2009. Hannan says AT first became aware of the issue after receiving a single complaint last winter.
‘‘The surface was dealt to with a hard broom,’’ he says. Shortly after her injury, Burstall emailed AT.
‘‘I got a rather curt reply, I think. They just said ‘sorry to hear about your fall we are going to sandblast the bricks’. Where was the part where they admit responsibility?,’’ she asks.
The response from the AT, August 5, says the work would be completed within two weeks. However, Hannan says after considering a number of a solutions, including sand blasting, the authority decided to go with regular water blasting instead.
‘‘Water blasting has been done and will continue to be done weekly,’’ he says.
Another local Jason ValentineBurt says he avoids the area because he uses a walking stick.
‘‘I used to give the local post shop about $1000 to $1500 worth of business, but now I just don’t come here.’’
Barbara Palmer, 81, says she too has had a very close call on the sidewalk.
‘‘I cannot afford a fall at my age. So I just stay away from the place. It is a shame nothing has been done to fix it.’’