September 2022

Mayor TenHaken says FREE youth ridership is part of Sioux Falls ONE initiative

I guess I was a little surprised to hear that the program was a part of Sioux Falls ONE, an initiative that I still have trouble understanding its mission. This program came about because of years of advocacy from former transit board members, a successful program in Rapid City and the work of former school board President Cynthia Mickelson and councilor Curt Soehl. While I do appreciate the presser and the celebration of a wonderful program it kind of sounds like someone is spiking the football after the rest of the team has already hit the locker room.

Downtown Sioux Falls Crane Collapse accident(?)

As reported after the incident, the developer claimed that it wasn’t an accident. This is the definition of the word;

an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.

Seems the canary is singing a different tune today;

Following a 200-foot crane collapse at The Steel District in downtown Sioux Falls, the project is back on track, according to Lloyd Companies. 

The front counterweight separated from the crane and we had the crane tipped over, fortunately, that’s all that really came of it. (There was) very little damage to any precast,” Lloyd Company’s Chief Operating Officer Jake Quasney said. “As you can see now, the building is moving right along.”

As I mentioned before OSHA doesn’t show up to a work site to investigate NOTHING or to be CAUTIONARY. On top of that one of OSHA’s main duties is inspecting cranes before they can be used on a work site;

Companies, supervisors, and workers may not be fully aware of the hazards of operating cranes.  As a result, they may not have implemented proper policies and procedures to minimize risks.  One mechanism to safely evaluate and prepare for risks is through the use of a Job Safety Analysis (“JSA”) or Risk Assessment, which is standard in the industry.  When this does not occur, it can result in catastrophic personal injury or death.  In a JSA, each step of the job is examined to identify potential hazards and to recommend the safest way to perform the work in order to minimize those risks.  According to OSHA:

A job hazard analysis is a technique that focuses on job tasks as a way to identify hazards before they occur. It focuses on the relationship between the worker, the task, the tools, and the work environment. Ideally, after you identify uncontrolled hazards, you will take steps to eliminate or reduce them to an acceptable risk level.

Folks, this appears to be an accident caused by mechanical failure. I await the results of the OSHA report.

Sioux Falls needs to get with the times when it comes to E-Bikes

I appreciated this informative article about E-Bike usage in Sioux Falls;

In Sioux Falls, the bike trail is designated a multiuse trail, and it has a posted 15 mph speed limit. Not every cyclist – e-bike or not – respects that. But it was one of the recent moves to set expectations for those who use the trails.

Part of the problem is that the bike trail has NO posted signs about speed limit, it also has NO posted signs about what is allowable on the trail. Think about it, what is more dangerous? An E-2 that goes 14 MPH or a lightweight pedal road bike that zings past you doing around 25 MPH?

Regulating E-Bikes comes down to two things; 1) speed control 2) throttling.

Other cities have simplified their E-2 bike regulations to just require speed control and NO throttling while on a multi-use trail.

I have argued that E-2’s can actually be safer because you can control the speed and you can set it in a mode that uses pedal assist only.

I have changed my mind about what should be allowed on the trail. I think anything that uses full throttle assist like an electric foot scooter should not be allowed.

I still go back to the economic benefit of regulating E-Bikes properly. It’s good for the sellers, the buyers and the environment. We are just shooting ourselves in the foot by continuing the status quo (which the city isn’t really enforcing anyway).

Trebilcock said the Active Transportation Board, which should convene later this year, likely will look at these issues and make recommendations to the City Council. 

I’m glad to see we may make progress!