The South Portlander

David Jacobs, who heads the Ferry Village Neighborhood Association, is complaining that the city failed to inform his group of a spill Tuesday morning on Preble and Henley streets from a blown-out hydraulic hose on a city bus.
Public Works spread sand on the road and Clean Harbors was called in to clean up the chemical mess, which extended for about eight city blocks.
A two-vehicle accident involving a pickup and passenger car occurred Tuesday night at the site, and early indications from police are that sand in the road may have contributed to the crash, said Jacobs, who is looking into the matter.
As of Thursday morning, it still appeared that the street had not been swept of the sand, even though rain had washed some of it away.
The city has no obligation to contact neighborhood associations with news. But Jacobs says he thinks these volunteer groups can play a vital role in getting information out to alert residents of problems that affect the neighborhoods.
With the large number of tanker-trucks that travel Ferry Village roads, better communication is essential, Jacobs said.
“We want the city to use us as a resource to help them do their job,” said Jacobs, a former City Councilor. Jacobs has an email list of 150 people in the Ferry Village area. He said that those contacts could have been encouraged to let their friends and neighbors know.
“If residents were informed that there was fluid and sand on the road, they could have avoided that street,” Jacobs said.

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By the best change on 2008 08 14

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By David Jacobs  (davidjacobs@mindspring.com) on 2008 08 17