Death Risk 1
Badly Designed Facilities
Propark’s I-91 North Garage has three entrance gates, one of which is located on East Columbus Ave in Springfield, MA. At this location on East Columbus Ave the street is two lanes wide in each direction with a central divider. The posted speed on this part of East Columbus Ave is 35 miles an hour, although cars typically drive 45 miles per hour or faster. To use the East Columbus Ave entrance to the ProPark garage a driver enters a left hand turn lane which cuts through the median, and waits for the two oncoming lanes of traffic to to clear to make the left into the garage entrance. This entrance has only enough room for a driver to pull off the street before reaching a gate, where one needs a parking pass to enter the garage.
Poor Maintenance
One morning I attempted to enter the garage using the Columbus Ave entrance and found that my ProPark access card failed to open the gate. I sounded my horn, hoping to get some help but no attendant came. Leaving my car blocking the gate, I went to the ProPark office looking for someone to help me. The office attendant told me to pull around to the other gate acting irritated that I even asked for help. Going back to my vehicle, I had the difficult and dangerous task of backing out across two high speed lanes of traffic and back into the left hand turn lane, allowing me to pull forward and drive around the garage. Because of the curb locations for this entrance there is no way to back into the closest lanes.
Incompetent Personnel
Backing out of that gate I was very nearly in a serious accident as a pickup truck driving too quickly on East Columbus Ave nearly broadsided my car. Pulling around to the main gate, I told the garage attendant that the gates had failed, and he told me that he knew this, and that the gates on that side hadn’t been working all day. I told him that it was extremely dangerous for someone to have to back out of that gate to pull around the building and that there should be something there to prevent anyone from pulling in. I told him I had just nearly had someone hit me backing out of the gate onto the street. He told me “Well, whatever happens out on the street doesn’t matter.” I was shocked by ProPark attendant’s irresponsible attitude towards safety and felt that something needed to be done. I proceeded to pick up a traffic cone near the attendant’s booth to put in front of that entrance to help prevent someone else from potentially getting killed. The attendant came running after me and said that the cone I was moving was Parking Garage property and I wasn’t allowed to touch it. I put the cone back down where it was and went to work.
ProPark Retaliation Mentality
The next day my boss brought me into his office and told me that he’d heard that an incident had occurred in the parking garage, and that he didn’t want to hear any more about what went on in the garage. I explained to him about the failed parking gate and that I was attempting to move a traffic cone to indicate to other drivers that there was a dangerous condition. He told me that I shouldn’t move that cone because as a company employee I would make the firm liable for any accident that might occur. At that point I felt very unsupported by the company, and then understood that it was the policy of Dietz and Company Architects was that I deal with any disputes with the parking garage alone. I also understood that neither Propark nor Dietz and Company had any concern for my safety.
Recommendation
Because of the poor maintenance of the ProPark facilities and because of the incompetence of the ProPark staff It is my recommendation that that the East Columbus side gate of the North Garage be permanently blocked off to prevent the potential of someone getting killed when this gate fails again. There is simply no safe way to back out of this entrance onto Columbus Ave.
Left hand turn into ProPark Garage. (Note skid marks on pavement.)
Danger backing blind into high speed traffic when this gate fails.
Death Risk 2 ———->>>
