Chris Konizer photographed a strange rebricking goof on the Downtown Mall. #
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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I was noticing that too. After further examination I think it might be some sort of compliance deal. If you look closely, both sides are aligned with the sidewalks they start with. There is a much bigger discrepancy on 4th street by 5 guys.
It looks like it may be part of a drainage system? There seems to be a drain at the sidewalk and there’s definitely a drain in the middle/right of the photo, so maybe the drain moves diagonally across the Mall at that point. Not sure, but it’s more likely than someone doing THAT bad of a job.
To me, the true fail is the fact that they shimmied those thin slices of brick to finish the portion just to the left of the “covers” or whatever they are (bottom half of the photo in the center). That’s just poor bricking planning and they’re bound to come up sooner rather than later, which will lead to wobbly bricks and a potential hazard.
The brick misalignment would be unacceptable in most other situations, but I guess the old saying “good enough for government work” hold true yet again in Charlottesville. Remember, the City Hall Annex ended up 4 feet from where it was supposed to be. This counts as right on target by that standard.
I wonder if an architect was supervising the brick work. The city hired one for the project didn’t it?
These are called “truncated domes”. They are placed at road crossings in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act as a means of making persons with visual disabilities aware that they are about to enter a road, via the change in texture under their feet. You might recall that these strips were installed on the Mall when the 4th Street crossing was opened.
Looking at the alignment of the domes, it’s pretty clear what happened. The strips were started from the back of the cross street curbs on opposite edges of the Mall, and hit in the middle. I’d be surprised if this little mistake was not fixed very soon.