Winnipeg Roads & Infrastructure

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Oh, unions causing problems again, you don't say.

When the WPS and the WFPS together now eat up 45% of the city budget there is a problem especially when that number was only 29% ten short years ago.

Of course when Sam and his gang ran the hen-house and giving anything and everything to the WPS and WFPS as long as they stayed out of his way......

[buzzg]

Anyone know what the deal is with Hydro and street light poles in terms of how it's decided what design will go where? I just hate how we have such a mish mash of the on certain streets, especially in signature areas like the Exchange (which should be black). I hate the unpainted, but they're fine on most streets, but they just replaced all of them on one side of Grant by GP mall, and they're a nice, round polished steel, similar to the new ones on Fort. Like they look good, but why there?

[bomberjet]

Decorative light poles by Grant Park seems silly. Standard light pole in the City is cobra style, now with LED's, and a stainless steel pole. I don't think they paint them green anymore, but could be wrong.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Decorative light poles by Grant Park seems silly. Standard light pole in the City is cobra style, now with LED's, and a stainless steel pole. I don't think they paint them green anymore, but could be wrong.

they come in the gray colour now. As far as I know Hydro has not used the green painted pole for new installation in years.

they also don't repaint the exiting ones anymore as a cost saving measure. It use to be they would come by every 5-10 years and sandblast the rust and poster residue off the lower 6 to 8 feet and then repaint them. In parts of the city you can see the different tones of green from where the new paint and old paint met.

Winnipeg Hydro also tried a self rusting pole that was expected to rust on the outer layer and not need any maintainence. There were complaints about them so in the downtown area they ended up being painted / replaced but it looks like Manitoba Hydro used the same style on Bishop Grandon.

[bomberjet]

I remember/see the green tones around. The brown ones are hideous. Must be the self rusting you speak of.

The new grey ones aren't painted, are they? I thought they were just some type of steel. Maybe not stainless, but some type of similar steel. The correct word is escaping me.

[MG922]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

The new grey ones aren't painted, are they? I thought they were just some type of steel. Maybe not stainless, but some type of similar steel. The correct word is escaping me.

I'm not 100% sure about Hydro poles, but for the City poles; they're not painted, and they're not stainless. They are hot dipped galvanized steel. The steel is dipped in a vat of molten zinc and the steel undergoes a chemical reaction to change it's properties. Much more corrosion resistant than regular steel, not quite as durable (or expensive) as stainless.

[bomberjet]

Yes, galvanized. Thank you. Stainless would be expensive, yes.

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by MG922

I'm not 100% sure about Hydro poles, but for the City poles; they're not painted, and they're not stainless. They are hot dipped galvanized steel. The steel is dipped in a vat of molten zinc and the steel undergoes a chemical reaction to change it's properties. Much more corrosion resistant than regular steel, not quite as durable (or expensive) as stainless.

Correct, except there is no chemical reaction. Still plain old steel under the zinc. Items are washed, then dipped in a strong acid to remove any oxides. Then dipped in molten zinc. The zinc acts an anodic coating and wears away over time.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by MG922

I'm not 100% sure about Hydro poles, but for the City poles; they're not painted, and they're not stainless. They are hot dipped galvanized steel. The steel is dipped in a vat of molten zinc and the steel undergoes a chemical reaction to change it's properties. Much more corrosion resistant than regular steel, not quite as durable (or expensive) as stainless.

There were some light gray painted ones that replaced the green ones before going to the current style of coating.

[cllew]

Talking about street light poles one of the worst things to shorten their life is the attachment of all the posters to them. Apparently the tape and paper traps moisture and causes rust to form there faster than on the rest of the pole.

Downtown poles and ones near schools are the worse for being covered in the posters which can also be a visual blight.

[1ajs]

does anyone know why fermore on the rail overpas is 1 lane each way been like this since last fall.... ni signs of work being done seems weird

[Kronos]

^structural issues

http://www.chrisd.ca/2016/03/11/symi.../#.V33AjfTEiJI

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by Kronos

^structural issues

http://www.chrisd.ca/2016/03/11/symi.../#.V33AjfTEiJI

yet there hasnt been any signs of work being done to it at all or is it under the bridge they are working?

[Kronos]

^i travel on that overpass three days a week and have yet to see any work done on the span. No workers, materials, or equipment brought to the area; pylons have sat there for weeks

[TimeFadesAway]

Originally Posted by Kronos

^i travel on that overpass three days a week and have yet to see any work done on the span. No workers, materials, or equipment brought to the area; pylons have sat there for weeks

If the supporting columns look anywhere near as terrible as the concrete railings, the bridge is not long for this world.

[MG922]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

yet there hasnt been any signs of work being done to it at all or is it under the bridge they are working?

Pier/column strengthening. All the work is under the bridge.

[buzzg]

^^^It just seems like there's no real plan here is what I'm getting at. Why did Grant get round stainless ones? Why did Fort (literally downtown's @$$hole) get nice fancy new ones, but in the Exchange we're getting basic unpainted ones, when all the other streetscaping elements are black. I'm all for using the cheaper/longer lasting ones in most parts of the city, but the Exchange deserves better. They used to even paint the parking sign poles black, now they're unpainted.

My biggest pet peeve though right now while we're on them (haha) is street signs. They're a joke here — seem to be one and done. Like the fancy Exchange ones were put up once and never replaced, again, I think in a signature district we deserve better than the tiny crap white and black ones. The BIZ has (stupidly) rebranded, so maybe they all need to be replaced now, or at least put all the nice blue ones back up.

And every signalized intersection in the city is supposed to have the big green signs... I think we're lucky if even 50% do. Even downtown there are a ton that are missing. And don't get me started on the freeway-style signs that only say route numbers and not "To Downtown" or "To River Ave" — that one kills me. NB Donald just past Confusion the sign just says "To Main Street" ... but it should also list River and St Mary's as it's the only way to get to those two streets. Especially with River because anyone not from here looking at a map would not assume you have to go all the way around to get there.

[cllew]

A lot of the fancy signs street were paid for under a 1 time grant.

The ones on Henderson Highway, when they were installed were paid out of some sort of Recycling Rebate according to the then Councillor Lillian Thomas if I recall properly.

It's the same as the banners that get put on the hydro poles or standalone poles. There is money to put them up once and once the wind and sun destroy them they never get replaced as there is no money for that.

there are 3 stand alone poles on Dugald by the St. Boniface industrial park that have not had anything on them for years. There were also poles for welcome to Weston banners in the west end that have not had banners on them and the city paid to have them removed as part of road construction in the area a few years ago

[buzzg]

Right that's what I was saying about being put up once. But they have been replaced by new standard ones, which also cost money to produce. Sure it may cost a little more to produce the others but not THAT much more. I'd bet you that a "no turn on red" sign with another sign indicating times of enforcement is just as much if not more.

Signs on Corydon have mostly been replaced with the Corso Italia branded signs, so they're doing it there. If it's a matter of the BIZ making up the cost difference, then they should be doing that. It's the Exchange District we;re talking about here... Even St. James and West End signage are still getting the fancy ones when being replaced. It looks so tacky right now in the district.

[The Jabroni]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

yet there hasnt been any signs of work being done to it at all or is it under the bridge they are working?

I drive on and under that bridge a few times, as recently as Tuesday, and there weren't any workers on or under the bridge doing work.