NA Confidential: And like a blight neighbor, Williams Plumbing is there ... for years, and years, and years.

Saturday, February 09, 2019

And like a blight neighbor, Williams Plumbing is there ... for years, and years, and years.

Same shit, different year.

The point is simple. Shouldn't a business like this one located in a primarily residential area be compelled to adhere to minimum standards of appearance and (more importantly) street safety?

Moreover, shouldn't it be WILLING to embrace such minimums before being forced to do so?

Just two blocks east, HyperCars was given a punch list for compliance before being given variances -- and did exactly as requested. I'll never be a supporter of automotive businesses in such a setting, BUT it cannot be denied that HyperCars went the extra mile to be a good neighbor.

Why not Williams Plumbing?

Let's begin the back story on May 19, 2011.

"Municipal dysfunction sweeping prohibited."

I’m continually amazed by prominent examples of neglect that go completely unaddressed.

Almost every day, I walk or bike past Williams Plumbing on the northeast corner of E. Spring and 9th. If I’m not mistaken, long ago it was Cora Shrader’s Shoppe, a nicely maintained corner property.

Now it is a scantily maintained, increasingly dilapidated eyesore used exclusively for what amounts to industrial storage. Extreme weather over a period of years has torn hunks of siding away from both sides of the house, exposing the wood. Worse, the company’s big trucks tend to be parked right on Spring Street, consistently impeding the view of motorists approaching southbound on 9th.

Do these trucks get ticketed when they block the street sweeper, or does the invisible, undefined, non-enforcement Green Line come into play?

Is it downtown or midtown?

Lowdown, or down low?

If there is ticketing, does Williams Plumbing pay the tickets?

Eventually the exterior deterioration was minimally addressed, but illegally parked commercial trucks continued to be an impediment to sight lines. On September 7, 2018 we offered a clear illustration of the issue.

How the Williams Plumbing trucks block vision at 9th & Spring -- a pictorial.

You'll never be able to convince me otherwise: Blocked sight lines caused by an illegally parked Williams Plumbing commercial vehicle were a contributing factor in Matt Brewer's death-by-driver last August.

Still, neither the city nor Keith Henderson did anything to address the situation. From August 20, 2018:

If you want to know how Deaf Gahan purposefully botched the Speck plan for walkable streets, read this article. Hint: HWC dunnit.

NA Confidential: Brief question: has the accident report about Matt Brewer been released? I’m particularly interested in the role of those Williams Plumbing trucks forever parked illegally on the street, blocking the view. Thank you.

Chief Todd Bailey: All crash investigations handled by the Combined Accident Reconstruction Team are maintained by the Floyd County Prosecutor’s Office. I can tell you the case is still under investigation but if you’re looking for specific information you’ll need to inquire with the Prosecutor.

It didn't start yesterday.