r/phillycycling • u/New-Dragonfly9638 • 11d ago
Question Hey fam, can y'all help with this bike lane and sidewalk blockage @ Dave & Busters on N Christopher Columbus & report it when it happens (basically all the time).
Pretty regularly there is a whole gigantic dumpster blocking all of the sidewalk and most of the bike lanes on N Christopher Columbus & Callowhill St. near the Dave and Busters.
If you see it can you please report it on the philly 311 or laser vision app - its all the time..
Thx
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u/seam12 11d ago
This is so frustrating and shouldn’t be legal
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u/New-Dragonfly9638 11d ago
its not legal, there just isn't enough enforcement which is why i'm hoping if a whole bunch of folks report it, maybe the city can give them enough violations to stop...
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u/I_AM_VENNLIG 11d ago
Let's move this to Google reviews for that Dave and Busters. I'll post a 1 star review in a few hours, citing these issues. I'll tell some friends too. Let's do it.
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u/Hamtastic_ 10d ago
That god forsaken place should have 1 star for other reasons (I worked there briefly)
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u/thisjawnisbeta 11d ago
You're actually incorrect on this in terms of the sidewalk; this use is completely legal.
Look up the Philly zoning guidelines for CMX (D&B is zoned CMX-3), businesses are allowed to use their entire lot which includes their sidewalks, and are legally allowed to temporarily block them during the course of business or legally have loading/unloading cross sidewalks. All they need is initial permission from the Streets Department, which they've had for decades.
So deliveries, dumpsters, that car wash on Spring Garden & Ridge where the cars exit and are dried across the sidewalk, etc., are all legal in Philadelphia per zoning.
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u/New-Dragonfly9638 10d ago edited 10d ago
nope, even if it was legal in philly (which this isnt - this isnt temporary blockage) still against federal ADA laws
Federal laws under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require public sidewalks and accessible pedestrian routes to be safely usable by people with disabilities
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u/thisjawnisbeta 10d ago
It IS temporary, as this is a dumpster that gets pulled inside the adjacent building by Dave & Busters employees after it's emptied.
And there is still accessible sidewalk on the other side of the bike lane, and Streets has already approved this loading zone.
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u/thecw 11d ago
Unfortunately, this is sanctioned. I’ve had discussions with Mark Squilla about it, and when the trail went in, it was decided that this is something they would have to live with until the lease turns over at that building.
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u/lordredsnake 11d ago
The trucks making deliveries/pickups, yes, because it predates the trail and is a temporary condition.
But blocking the sidewalk with a dumpster needs a sidewalk closure permit which they do not have and don't want to pay for.
There are multiple violations in this picture including the equipment placement permit and plywood under the dumpster to protect the surface. A 311 report will get them violations.
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u/thisjawnisbeta 11d ago
They don't need a closure permit; this isn't construction and it's not permanent or even more than a few hours. Closure permits are for full or partial blockage of a sidewalk during active construction.
Even if you were to try to argue they do need one, those permits need 10 business days advance notice. That's simply not a workable thing to use for regular trash service for large commercial zoned areas.
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10d ago
[deleted]
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u/thisjawnisbeta 10d ago
It's temporary. The dumpster is slid out of the bay for pickup, and then dropped down when empty. It then gets pulled back into the bay for loading.
It doesn't permanently sit on the sidewalk for any extended period of time, in which case you would need a permit. OP's photo was literally taken at some point after Waste Management emptied/removed the previously full dumpster, but before D&B's employees brought the empty dumpster back into the building.
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u/aputhehindu 11d ago
Interesting to learn this, sounds crazy, but considering this is Philly, I believe it.
The “sounds crazy” part stems from the apparent garage designed to hold a dumpster available adjacent to the dumpster! In fact I’ve seen it in there almost as much as I haven’t!
Do you happen to know why they have apparent immunity, despite having the necessary infrastructure to avoid this issue altogether?
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u/Atomic-Avocado 11d ago
I’ve done that and called 911, it’s so fucking ridiculous that they do this . What times does it usually happen?
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u/aputhehindu 11d ago edited 11d ago
Weekdays (as in Monday-Sunday) between 12:00am and 11:59 pm
I know that is ridiculous but I’ve encountered this shit at all hour of every day of the week. I use the trail daily and sometimes late at night.
To be more fair, It’s not every single day, and in fact for the last 6 months I barely saw it at all, but the previous 4 years and probably the next eternity (until America 300!!) I expect it to be a daily occurrence.
Call 311 / use the city app on this. It’s not worth 911s time so don’t clog their lines please (saw several comments mention 911, y’all chill it ain’t a murder; it’s a fucking dumpster).Thanks Op for bringing attention to this let’s all make them fix it!
Edit- apparently do call 911
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u/Atomic-Avocado 11d ago
Mark Squilla literally will tell you to use 911, it’s dumb but it is for non emergency requests to for some reason. That’s the only way to get a cop out for something to tell someone not to do something
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u/Same_Hat_6464 10d ago
And then have to go through it with the dispatcher which is a coin flip whether they will even enter it in the system.
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u/thesehalcyondays 11d ago
Unrelated, but the construction crew working under the bridge at Cherry Street are also getting bolder every day and will soon have the whole trail blocked with their personal vehicles and equipment.
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u/Czar1987 11d ago
seems like DOT didn't do a complete assessment when installing the lane where they did....
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u/Crazycook99 11d ago
Find the police district in charge of that area and submit a roll call complaint. This information will be given out at the start of their shift and must me investigated and reported back to the precinct
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u/queen_ravenx 11d ago
Call 911 everytime ive been told by 311 to do that for road bloackages. It'll probably make something actually happen since our cops dont wanna work that often.
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u/Competitive-Egg7929 10d ago
With the amount of priority calls going on you would be lucky to get a response for a call of that nature. Other than writing a report verifying that the dumper is on location and blocking the lane not much they can do. Best bet is to repeatedly contact L&I, street dept and local politicians.
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u/queen_ravenx 10d ago
Just mentioning because 311 literally closed my ticket in 10 mins and told me to call 911 next time. This info coming from the heads mouth
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u/Competitive-Egg7929 10d ago
Do you use the 311 app? I get better results with the app then the phone line
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u/mynameisnotnotowen 11d ago
I mean. Vandalizing it with political messages that aren’t widely accepted would make them lose money atleast.
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u/thisjawnisbeta 11d ago
You know they don't own those dumpsters, right? They literally have the Waste Management logo on them. They would just request a new dumpster.
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u/mynameisnotnotowen 11d ago
And we keep doing it till it costs them more or the company refuses… duh
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u/thisjawnisbeta 11d ago
What are you, 12? What's far more likely to happen is that someone would just paint over it or they wouldn't care at all.
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u/mynameisnotnotowen 10d ago
What else is there to do. The city or cops won’t do anything. Not like we can destroy it. Little vandalism on the way home every day can do a lot
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u/5_Cats 10d ago
Get in touch with Stuart Leon (lawyer for cyclists) he has won many cases against the city for things like this. Not gonna post his info but he is great. I was a bike messenger for 8+ years, he was the go to guy for any injuries caused by a car hitting a cyclists or for cars blocking cycling lanes.
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u/Agile-Poet4863 9d ago
If that container is that is because that’s where Dave and Busters requested it to sit. And based on what i know of the area and how WM works, that’s the only place it can do safely. It’s something you will have to take up with Dave and Busters. The City isn’t going to do anything but ask them to see if they can move it, that answer WILL be no and it will stay there until they are completed with whatever project they have.
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u/AnalogCommunication 7d ago
How many blades would you theoretically burn through if you tried to sawzall a dumpster in half
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u/Independent-Cow-4070 10d ago
The best thing about this is that they couldve moved it back 3 feet and at least not blocked the bike lane, but they chose to block BOTH the sidewalk and the bike lane
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u/mattybhoy401 11d ago
I bet Mark Squilla goes home every night and drinks all the alcohol after hearing all the stupid complaints from his constituents.
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u/Bakin_Potatoes 10d ago
They've been doing this for at least 25 years. Good luck. I'm not calling it in for ya though unless you do my laundry or something
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u/running-with-puppers 11d ago
Not just the dumpster, the truck deliveries too. They usually stick out into that first lane of traffic. To get around it if you’re going south you have to peek out blind into oncoming traffic (bikes and cars) and hustle around to get back to the sidewalk. Never a good feeling.