Man slips on bumpy pedestrian curb buttons, breaks his leg
QI am writing after researching cases where people slip or fall due to those yellow sidewalk bumps. Might you be able to share advice about getting compensated for an injury? I am not litigious minded, but want to seek compensation for a fall my daughter’s Australian fiancé took.
He slipped in the rain on the yellow dots in a San Francisco Safeway parking lot and broke his fibula. What started as a no-big-deal-get-it-fixed has turned into surgery, two months off work, and since he’s on a working visa, it’s now in jeopardy. — Robin Moustaka, Perth, Western Australia
A
Oh, geez. My sympathies to him. I first wrote about this three years ago and was flooded with complaints and praise for these truncated domes.
They are designed to meet requirements by the Americans With Disabilities Act to inform blind pedestrians that they are stepping into traffic. But some make it difficult for people using walkers, wheelchairs, canes and crutches to easily cross these dotted surfaces. Others say they are also a huge headache for non-disabled folks like your future son-in-law.
Try calling the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund at 510644-2555 or other disabled groups to point you in the right direction.
Q
Do you have any information about what’s happened to the 4th street on-ramp to Interstate 280? Last week, the evening commute was stop-and-creep from at least Santa Clara Street. I think the metering light may now be on. — Brent Fairbanks, Saratoga
A
Oops. The ramp meter had issues and the software has since been reprogrammed. The meter should be off during the afternoon commute and only on during the morning. It should be back to normal this week.
Q
San Jose said it would finish construction on westbound Taylor Street near The Alameda. But it doesn’t seem any progress has been made lately. What is the delay? — Maria Ward, San Jose
A
It’s been the rain. Paving can’t proceed while it’s wet out, and that can cause a ripple of delays. Westbound Taylor is down to one lane while crews finish up work on the intersection, including installing new signs. The city hopes to be done by the end of the month.
Q
You said that Santa Clara County has no red light cameras. My wife and I have noticed cameras on virtually every light on Yerba Buena and Aborn roads in the Evergreen area. What are those cameras for? — Frank Gire , San Jose
A
To monitor traffic signals instead of relying on pavement sensors, which are prone to breaking down.