Reporting an Uneven Sidewalk to DC DOT

I am still feeling a bit of a wreck after taking a very hard fall on Friday. We were taking a morning walk and heading towards the WWII Memorial on a sidewalk parallel to 17th street SW. There is a very uneven sidewalk that we have always noticed and avoided - except for this time. I fell on my hand, elbow, hip and knee and have scraped and sore spots to prove it. My Apple Watch fall detection went off asking if I needed an SOS sent. Luckily I was holding my husband’s hand and he tried to keep it from getting worse. I used to report lights that were out and other such things to the DC DOT when we lived on Capitol Hill. So I tried to report this terrible sidewalk using the same website. I got as far as entering in the nearest address and it wouldn’t let me go any further after attempting several times. So I sent an email instead - including a description, a map from my iPhone showing where the incident occurred, and photos of the sidewalk. I also kept the phone number in case I don’t get a response. It’s quite a dangerous problem and the city gets sued all of the time because of this. I am fortunate that things are not worse. But it’s just another reminder about getting old. And every time I move I am reminded of it. 

Scary Letter from Delaware DOT

When we first moved to DC thirteen years ago we got an automated driving speeding ticket near Bethesda. Luckily that was the only time. When we were driving through Lawtey Florida a few years back, we were stuck in a speed trap and paid the consequences. I filed my case with the Florida house and senate offices here in DC as well as the state of Florida representative because it is a well known problem. The office staff all knew about the issue. I received a follow up letter from the Florida State office saying they would address it. We still had to take a written test and pay a fine. So when we drove through Delaware to meet my sister for lunch in Cape May last month, my sister warned us about a speed trap. So when we saw that we would be getting a letter from the Delaware DOT on the USPS Mail preview, we were a bit nervous. My husband was worried about it all day thinking we got another speeding ticket. I wasn’t as concerned because I always like to worry AFTER I know the exact situation, rather than imagine what it might be. Finally when the letter arrived, we were both relieved to learn that it was for a pay toll. I vaguely remember that I may have missed a toll when we drove from Maryland to Delaware. We have an Ezpass device but it’s not stuck to the windshield and I have to hold it up every time we need to use it. My husband was asleep at the time and I just didn’t notice - but I sort of did. But by that time I did, it was too late. All I can say is that I’m glad the invoice was for $5.60 rather than some outlandish speed trap. Nevertheless it ruined our day! Now I need to find out from Subaru if you can hang the transponder next to the eyesight safety feature on the windshield. Then I won’t have to worry about missing another toll. 

Street Light Repair Request

We have black out shades on the windows in our studio apartment because of a street light that sits right in front of the building. The other night I noticed it was very dark outside - unusually so. When I looked again through the window I noticed that the street light was out. I've sent in requests to the department of transportation to repair signal lights that aren't working, and the DC website to report overgrown weed and grass situations on city property. So I checked the website to see if street light outages could also be reported. The DOT has a section specific for street lights. So I started to fill it in until it asked for a photo of the light along with a number. I waited for the next day to see if the situation was a one time occurrence or if the light was really out. It was still out. I took a photo of the light and went outside to see if it had a number - which it did. But it was not the number the form was requesting. I sent in the request with all the information and received an acknowledgement. The item would be checked and hopefully repaired within 7-10 business days. They also state they will let me know when the issue has been closed. I sent the receipt of the issue to the listserve in the building. The idea was to let everyone know the issue was reported, but also hint that it's nice if everyone takes action when they notice something is out of whack. If everything always went according to plan I would feel hopeful. But having lived here eleven years one becomes a bit jaded. Thank goodness it's just not that important in the scheme of things.