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Two guys try to rid the Charles River of all those traffic cones, but state troopers stop them
By adamg on Fri, 01/28/2022 - 8:17pm
Victor H spotted one of the heroes we need but don't deserve on the Charles River today, trying to collect the cones that somebody keeps tossing onto the ice from the Mass. Ave. Bridge because he really, really hates bike lanes.
But while Cone Man may be a hero, he's not invulnerable, so he's wearing a wetsuit and brought a kayak with him. Also among his vulnerabilities: State Police. Troopers spotted him and the other Cone Man on the ice and ordered them off.
Roving UHub videopgrapher watches the Cone Man with a kayak walking off the ice:
Our roving videographer adds:
Sad because MassDOT isn't going to pick them up, but the Commonwealth is clearly willing to spend money stopping someone else from cleaning them up. I talked to one of the cone-pickers and he said they hauled up a few dozen with a rope before MSP showed up and told them to stop.
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Comments
Seriously
Just defund the (expletive) police. Or, better yet, if the city cops are going to throw a (expletive) fit over a taqueria being open until 4 because of staffing, then staff those hours with staties.
Seriously, what is your
Seriously, what is your problem with this specifically?
A river that was only partially frozen and unsafe to walk on early this week when we were in a deep cold snap, that weakened a tiny bit during the week when we had one day that was sunny and hit mid-40s, hadn't yet frozen back even to where it was Sunday/Monday, and some supposedly well-equipped amateur walks out on thin ice on his own initiative.
That guy is not only putting his own life in danger.
He breaks through that ice, police and fire units will be putting themselves in danger to get him out.
Telling him to get back on dry land is EXACTLY what police should be doing in that situation.
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They're cones. Cones that some ass threw off the bridge. Pain in the rear, but not worth risking his life or their lives to rush out half-assed and get them this week. Put together a safe plan for on-ice work - or wait until the ice melts and dredge them out later.
He has a wetsuit and a kayak
He knows what he's doing.
if he knew what he was doing
if he knew what he was doing he'd be tied to something. that wetsuit isn't going to help him breathe under the ice.
Come on man
I am sure that in your ideal society, that if someone falls through the ice then it is entirely their fault and therefore they should be left to their fate. The other 99% of us think that emergency responders should always save people from drowning or hypothermic shock - even if those people did something stupid! And since rescuing someone from a frozen river is very dangerous, the police were correct to stop some random civilians from going out on the ice.
Save the traffic cones!
Such drama.
A kayak is lovely when you're
A kayak is lovely when you're in open water.
It might make sense to drag one along the ice to climb in and skim across puddles and thing spots.
But it's not as if he can "Ah-Ha!!!" jump into the kayak if the ice breaks.
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A wetsuit is great when you're in your kayak in open, cold water and roll - or somehow fall out of the kayak
If the ice breaks, the wetsuit gives you a chance to last long enough in the cold water to maybe get yourself out.
If the ice breaks, the wetsuit gives you a chance to last long enough in the cold water for someone else (police & fire) to risk their lives to try to save your sorry ass.
If the ice breaks and you're so extremely unfortunate as to get submerged and slide away from the opening and under the ice sheet, the wet suit will primarily serve to keep freezing from beating out drowning (and, again, maybe last long enough for someone to risk their lives to try to save you)
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He's out there on thin ice.
He's out there without a safety line to a partner on dry land.
He's out there without anything to spread the load of his weight on the ice.
He may have all sorts of mad skills and assessed it as an acceptable degree of risk for himself - but it's not just about him
All this stupid drama just
All this stupid drama just because they didn't use Jersey barriers
If he's wearing a wet suit this week
He does not know what he is doing. We are firmly into dry suit weather.
What makes you think
What makes you think that a drysuit is somehow more appropriate than a wetsuit? If anything, the opposite is true here.
I am often in very cold water, with a suit on, and I will pick a wetsuit every single time. Have you considered what happens if the drysuit fails???
Plastic cones vs any risk.
Plastic cones vs any risk. Really its a fail. =
Risk is a constant for non-motorists
We're already managing the risk to our lives daily and having road-ragers trying to order us off the road. This guy has judged a one-time temporary risk to be less than the potential permanent loss of badly-needed bike infrastructure on this bridge.
Maybe he wouldn't feel it was necessary if the government didn't temporarily preview every safety improvement as a "pilot project". The government will feel free to abandon it as they have in the past if bicycle/pedestrian/public transit users don't vigorously defend improvements against road-rager and NIMBY pushback.
Are those really the only two choices?
Are those really the only two choices?
Also, "temporary risk" is a weird phrase. All risks that you get away with are temporary.
Maybe if...
..the police actually arrested the NIMBY scum who threw the cones in the first place, and if said NIMBY get prosecuted and convicted and sent away for a long time, instead of the police bothering this guy, it'd be more productive.
I admire his hope in saving
I admire his hope in saving the planet. He must have kids. Personally, I'm just trying to hold on to my job and not be homeless.
This has been
an emotional rollercoaster!
airboats?
Do any "heroes" have access to an airboat like they use down South that travel over land and water by means of a big fan? That would do the trick in this situation.
Top Gear saves the day
A hover van, perhaps?
Maybe?
But my money would be on a Quebecois style bateau.
The staties have one but it's
The staties have one but it's out of service right now. It was considered for the cone rescue.
The blame game
Why are you blaming the cops or the citizens who volunteer to clear up the mess? Shouldn't the blame be placed on the vandals who endangered the lives of those who use the bicycle lane.
Cone rage
Why the outrage over the cones on the ice? I think they act as a colorful reminder of someone's stupidity and childish behavior, and of everything that gets dumped into/onto the Charles those cones certainly seem the least dangerous. When the ice melts they will float to shore and get picked up. Does kayak man go around and clear out storm drains to help with run off into the Charles or does he just like put on his survivor gear and play outside?
Easy solution
He should go back late at night. You know, when the cops evidently don't give a fuck about what people do with the cones in and around the bridge.