How have they managed this?

"Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available" (whoistheleader2) 04/26/2020 at 15:52 • Filed to: question

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This one middle school parking lot near me has always had trouble with their parking stops (what are these called?). The concrete curbs have always seemed to be in remarkably poor condition despite being replaced regularly. Why they even need to be there I don’t know.

But about a year or two ago they put in these massive heavy duty concrete curbs, presumably to take the heavier than usual abuse. However, these were too high for most sedans which causes them to just crunch their front lip on them.

I can only guess that people in SUVs think they can just drive over them so they had to make the curbs taller and more aggressive. You can see the state to which most of the old ones were reduced from this constant abuse. Remember, these were all replaced every few years.

It is hard to get across just how massive these things are, which begs the question; “how on earth are people still finding a way to decimate them?”

Nom De Plume > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:05

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I await LongVoyager’s detailed reply glorifying the lowly minivan.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:10

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*bombs along on his mountainbike*

BANZAI!!!

*may have asploded both rims that way once*

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:12

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Kids running into them, kids with truck running over them on purpose 

CB > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:13

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You answered your own question with “middle-school parking lot”

Junior high was an adventure in mistakes.

lone_liberal > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:13

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One question, how much salt do they use on this lot?

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > lone_liberal 04/26/2020 at 16:15

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Exactly zero, being that it snows around twice a year here.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:16

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The post office here got over that by just putting bollards in instead of parking ties. When it comes down to a car vs a steel and concrete pole anchored a few feet underground, the pole always wins.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 04/26/2020 at 16:16

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What, illegally joyriding your parent’s car in the parking lot of the one place you might be recognized? Nah, that’s high school, and then more people would know better than to break a tie rod or crack a wheel on a solid concrete barrier.

Agrajag > lone_liberal 04/26/2020 at 16:16

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Maybe there’s a salt wielding vandal about. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > CB 04/26/2020 at 16:18

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But middle schoolers can’t drive. Do you think it is just car line jumpers with soft roaders who don’t know the value of their tie rods?

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Nom De Plume 04/26/2020 at 16:18

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Even the highest and mightiest minivan would be vanquished by these vicious tall concrete barriers.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 04/26/2020 at 16:19

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I’ve tripped over them plenty of times and the rusty rivet that used to hold them in has nearly impaled my foot . A bike? That sounds painful.

ClassicDatsunDebate > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:21

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Never underestimate the destructive power of hormone addled 16 year old drivers.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:21

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Nothing is safe is school parking spots.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/26/2020 at 16:21

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Bollards seem a bit overkill, but then again so do those monolithic concrete barriers. I’m not convinced anything needs to be there, seeing as there is no possible motivation for cutting through the staff lot in the direction they block.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > ClassicDatsunDebate 04/26/2020 at 16:23

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middle school. These kids are like 11 or 12 max and not at all fit for joyriding.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Agrajag 04/26/2020 at 16:23

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Or a lazy worker at the concrete plant.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/26/2020 at 16:24

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Obligatory

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:27

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13 or 14 max... 

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/26/2020 at 16:31

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Not bol lards, bollix .

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:35

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riding around without lights after dark...i decided to shortcut across a parking lot....

i plain forgot about the fuckers..... so yeah...hit one full whack... did a neat little somersault....hurt..but somehow didnt fuck meself up proper...apparently i bounce... fucked the bike up pretty good tho

ClassicDatsunDebate > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:35

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Ahh...you guys have different vernacular down there....including putting ‘grade’ AFTER the number.  I assumed middle school was what we would call Junior Secondary; grade 8 to grade 10.

facw > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:36

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That’s bad, and I’m confused as to why they think they are necessary. Also as someone who has messed up his bumper at various points on these, they really should be getting lower to account for lower aero cladding on modern cars rather than higher.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > ClassicDatsunDebate 04/26/2020 at 16:42

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No, grades 6 through 8 where high school is grades 9 through 12. Interesting.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > facw 04/26/2020 at 16:44

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Logically, yes, but bending a tie rod by plowing into a curb isn’t logical and neither are most CUVs. I really think they are bigger to account for the big tires and weight of SUVs. Every sedan in that staff lot leaves at least a foot before them to avoid smashing their front lip.

ClassicDatsunDebate > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 16:45

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Yeah we have Elementary which is K-7 and Secondary which is 8-12.  Some places have Primary which is k-2 and some places have Junior Secondary which is 8-10.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > ClassicDatsunDebate 04/26/2020 at 16:53

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Elementary goes through 5th grade (you wouldn’t be criticized for saying grade 5 though) and each have entirely separate school buildings and facilities . The elementary usually have some sort of old long low brick building and the middle school takes up whatever the old high school was. So the high school almost always gets the new buildings and equipment and they are passed down the line. In this case the high school’s historic stadium is still used by them despite being attached to the middle school, which is unusual.

Roadkilled > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 17:00

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This is a school, so the budget for maintenance is limited. They are buying the cheapest parking blocks they can find. They are probably not concrete. I don’t see any aggregate showing in the chipped and broken bocks. They are likely some cheaper material that breaks apart much easier.

In my experience, the parents in a school parking lot are far dangerous drivers than any student, even an underaged middle school student will bel. I can imaging a parent dropping off their kid, being upset about being stuck in line trying to get out of the lot, and then deciding that the fasted way is to take their giant SUV over the parking blocks.  

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Roadkilled 04/26/2020 at 17:10

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That is generally what I think is happening here. Car line cutters in CUVs are crushing cheap barriers necessitating even cheaper replacements.

ClassicDatsunDebate > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 17:12

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Yeah I can see the benefits. It’s tough as a 8 grader to be there with the seniors. Although, it’s not like it was back in the day where it was basically lord of the flies.

wafflesnfalafel > Roadkilled 04/26/2020 at 17:28

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right - like went halfsies on the cement content so it just holds together until somebody runs over it...

Nom De Plume > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 04/26/2020 at 17:43

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LOL, it’s bad news someone reminded me there is a mtb sitting here.  It’s all coming back.  Hope I still bounce.

Under_Score > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 17:57

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The bridge over the road at the middle school is so cool.

Meanwhile, the high school just causes traffic.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Under_Score 04/26/2020 at 18:10

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You know the one I’m talking about? Definitely much safer. And the road is absurdly wide to allow for bus parking, which is just a bonus.

Under_Score > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 18:23

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Of course I do! I’m a county native.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Under_Score 04/26/2020 at 18:25

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Probably should have put a period instead of a question mark since I knew that.

Under_Score > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 18:36

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I honestly don’t know why Marietta has its own school district. By cramming the city limits of one city into a 7A high school, that’s crowded.   Plus, Marietta has an insane demographic and psychographic range. Yes, the super rich dump their kids at Mt. Paran, but there is probably more diversity at Marietta than most other schools. We can agree Walton is rich and Osborne is bad, but Marietta is kind of the middle.

There are plenty of Cobb schools that are overcrowded, too, but that’s what I got for being the closest “good” school to bad areas. Some of my friends were honestly closer to Marietta High than my Alma mater , but they have their own school system.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Under_Score 04/26/2020 at 18:45

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You bring up a good point about the incredible range of people here. Old money, no money, old money pretenders with new money kids, and everything in between mixed into not exactly a melting pot but more like a fruit salad with too many toppings. 

Under_Score > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 18:58

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My parents were early settlers, back when your neck of the woods was too expensive. Now I’m in a hotspot! 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Under_Score 04/26/2020 at 19:08

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I mean in 2000 this random pocket of eccentrics, creeps, artists, and blue collar workers on the outskirts of the historic district wasn’t worth even a quarter of what it is now with the condition of the houses on the street. Many of them remain so the property values continue to rise as the neighbors get less creepy and people move in who bother to maintain the yards. The redevelopment of the square alone was enough to make the property values soar for miles. Crazy how Marietta grew in the last 10 years.

Jetstreamer > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 20:16

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Just put some spikes on top of them, solved.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jetstreamer 04/26/2020 at 20:21

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Doesn't that seem a little dangerous for a middle school parking lot? 

Jetstreamer > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/26/2020 at 21:09

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Nah, ages 11-14 should know that spikes are sharp and sharp things hurt :D.

#flawlesslogic #nextproblem

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jetstreamer 04/26/2020 at 21:14

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I know that well and have tripped and fallen over those crumbling hazards plenty of times in broad daylight and nearly hit them on bikes even more often. And in a system where teachers aren’t allowed to fail students who do no work and make no pretense of learning I’m not sure they have quite grasped cause and effect just yet. Or ever will with how messed up the system is.

And that is a staff lot so some very important people might get a flat which pretty much ensures it would never be approved.