What’s wrong?
Iced-up bus shelter in front of Empire Bayers Lake.

Who’s responsible?
Lissette Cormier, Metro Transit, 477-6599.

REMARKS
“Every year at this time, there’s half-assed or even no snow cleanup around bus stops and shelters in the BLIP,” writes reader Evan Morris. “Snow and ice are allowed to build up at the curb around the bus stop forming an ice shelf that won’t disappear until April.” We called Cormier Monday noon; by the end of the day the shelter was cleared, with the promise of special attention given to it in the future.

Send your favourite municipal malfunction to onpatrol@thecoast.ca.

What’s wrong?
Asphalt sidewalk replacements don’t measure up.

Who’s responsible?
Bryan Robarts, Right of Way department, 490-4000.

REMARKS
In early fall, the laying of natural gas pipe cut up the corner of Coburg and Oxford, which was patched with asphalt. Local residents fear that the concrete sidewalk won’t be replaced properly. Robarts insists work will re-start in the spring: After October 15, it’s city policy to replace concrete with asphalt until the weather warms. But it begs the question: Why can’t pipe-laying be better timed for reconstruction done right? —Mike Gorman

What’s wrong?
No “stop” hand at Cunard crosswalk.

Who’s responsible?
Ken Reashor, god of traffic, 490-6637.

REMARKS
Should you cross? Should you stop? Should you proceed with caution? Who can tell? The hand on the crosswalk light at the intersection of Cunard and North Park streets won’t be of any help, since it doesn’t flash or light up. Reashor is out of the office until next week. In the meanwhile, you have only the little glowing man to guide you, so adjust your street-crossing speed accordingly.

What's wrong?
Three itty bitty lanes on Robie Street.

Who's responsible?
Ken Reashor, god of traffic, 490-6637.

REMARKS
Robie is a problem from one end to the other, with too-narrow lanes and unpredictable intersections. Here at South Street, buses spill awkwardly into adjoining lanes. Reashor says a third lane allows traffic to flow more smoothly. Listen, Kenny: having more lanes doesn't magically create more space. How 'bout we use fewer lanes and more buses? -Jonny Linds

click to enlarge

What’s wrong?
Half-missing NSLC sign, Quinpool Road.

Who’s responsible?
Rick Perkins, NSLC spokesperson.

REMARKS
In an ironic case of biting the hand that feeds, some drunk evidently tore the top half off this sign. Now how’re ya gonna know where to go to get the fuel for your next vandalism spree, wise guy? Perkins says a temporary sign will go up until a new one arrives mid-December.

What’s wrong?
Bike-unfriendly barriers, Dartmouth waterfront trail.

REMARKS
The new “chicanes” were required by CN, says Drisdelle, because travelling through them requires facing one direction, then the opposite, so that it’s almost impossible to not see that one train a day rolling at five km/hr down the tracks. And yes, they were specifically designed to force bikers to dismount.

Send your favourite municipal malfunction to onpatrol@thecoast.ca, or call 422-6278 ext. 113. To follow up on past problems, click on thecoast.ca.

What’s wrong?
Malware on reallivestreetshit.com.

Who’s responsible?
Jimmy Melvin Jr.

REMARKS Intrigued by all the hype about Melvin’s site, reallivestreetshit.com, we were warned by Google that “Of the three pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, one page resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent.” Melvin was unavailable for comment, but we hope that someone warns him, lest he be accused of unethical behaviour.

Send your favourite municipal malfunction to onpatrol@thecoast.ca.

What’s wrong?
Broken bylaw enforcement process.

Who’s responsible?
Nobody, everybody, who knows?

REMARKS
As the city fends off charges of arbitrary bylaw enforcement, we’d like to again call attention to Mitchell’s Environmental Treasures at 2183 Gottingen Street, which has been the target of bylaw enforcement for at least five years, to no avail. We suggest that the city admit defeat, stop hassling homeowners and suspend its bylaw enforcement entirely, at least until this blight on the north end is addressed.

Send your favourite municipal malfunction to onpatrol@thecoast.ca, or call 422-6278 ext. 113. To follow up on past problems, click on thecoast.ca.

What’s wrong?
Dangerous toll booth gates.

Who’s responsible?
Craig Paul, Bridge Commission, 463-2481.

REMARKS
Reader Victoria Bell recently rode through the toll booth on her Vespa scooter, only to have the gate lower on her, knocking her onto the pavement. The sensors beneath the pavement, says Paul, don’t register Vespas and some motorcycles with heavy plastic content. “Hopefully with [Bell’s experience] we are able to learn something from it, and make some adjustments,” says Paul. Bell is recovering.

Send your favourite municipal malfunction to onpatrol@thecoast.ca.

What’s wrong?
Flaccid fountain display.

Who’s responsible?
Peter Bigelow, HRM’s property manager, 490-6047.

REMARKS
A reader complains that the fountain in the Common no longer provides the vigourous and sustained performance that so thrilled her over the summer. “She’s right,” says Bigelow, who explains that as the autumn winds kick up, people using the nearby foot paths complain that the bigger stream gets blown onto them, and so the city dials it down. Don’t expect a fix until summer’s return.

What’s wrong?

Slow-going bridge construction.

Who’s responsible?

Alison MacDonald, Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission, 402-0773.

REMARKS

Erection of the euphemistically named “safety barriers” on the Macdonald Bridge should have been completed by now, but so far reach only about halfway across one side of the bridge. Blame the manufacturer, says MacDonald, but the work will still be complete by the end of the year.

Send your favourite municipal malfunction to onpatrol@thecoast.ca, or call 422-6278 ext. 113.

What's wrong?

Deadly nightshades in Spryfield?

Who's responsible?

Urban forester John Simmons, 490-6186.

REMARKS

Reader Virginia Heym insists that this plant, which is spreading from an original bush in front of the fire station on Herring Cove Road, is poisonous and a hazard to children, who might eat them. Simmons has taken this on as a project, bringing samples to the Natural History Museum for identification. See how this proceeds at thecoast.ca/bites.

Update:
Simmons sends the following email:
I took a look at the plant in question, it is not Deadly nightshade ( Atropa belladonna) but Climbing nightshade (Solanum dulcamara). Climbing nightshade is fairly common in this area. I have added a web page that can give more info.
Hopefully this is helpful
John Simmons Urban Forester HRM

Send your favourite municipal malfunction to onpatrol@thecoast.ca, or call 422-6278 ext. 113. To follow up on past problems, click on thecoast.ca.

What's wrong?

No pedestrian crossing light, Alderney Drive and Portland Street.

Who's responsible?

Ken Reashor, god of traffic, 490-6637.

REMARKS

City policy has moved from forcing pedestrians to push a button to activate a crossing light, to not giving them a crossing light at all. This Dartmouth intersection, with a painted crosswalk but no light, is particularly tough for pedestrians, who have to predict several seemingly random traffic flows. Reashor and his staff didn't respond to repeated emails about it.

Send your favourite municipal malfunction to onpatrol@thecoast.ca, or call 422-6278 ext. 113. To follow up on past problems, click on thecoast.ca.

What's wrong?

Missing bike rack, Blowers and Barrington.

Who's responsible?

Allen Taylor, transportation planner, 490-6680.

REMARKS

Getting the city to install new bike racks is like pulling teeth, so it's especially maddening when perfectly goodexisting bike racks disappear, like the one across thestreet from Venus Pizza did sometime in the past year. "Probably we'll replace it," says Taylor. "No one toldus about it."

Send your favourite municipal malfunction to onpatrol@thecoast.ca, or call 422-6278 ext. 113. To follow up on past problems, click on thecoast.ca.

What's wrong?

Lack of landscaping, Agricola Street liquor store.

Who's responsible?

Rick Perkins, NSLC spokesperson, 450-6752.

REMARKS

"It's not our responsibility," Perkins says of the landscaping, and points us to a Toronto corporation that manages the building. "God knows we spend enough on that building." So the provincial representation in a struggling neighbourhood can't spend a couple of hundred bucks on some flowers and shrubs to spruce up the place. Got it.

Send your favourite municipal malfunction to onpatrol@thecoast.ca, or call 422-6278 ext. 113. To follow up on past problems, click on thecoast.ca.