A Reader wrote to us about a manhole on Różana Street in Nowogrodziec:
Does a tragedy have to happen for something to change in our town? I will explain the matter to you. In March, I wrote an application to Hydro-Tech asking for the storm drain manhole, which restricts access to the plot for which I pay taxes, to be lowered. Hydro-Tech’s response was brief – it is municipal land, please contact the municipality. After persistent efforts to visit the municipality (COVID restrictions), I contacted our councillor.
He – the Reader reports – also noted that he was waiting for the local government’s response.
Meanwhile, the Reader added:
This weekend, someone drove into the protruding manhole at night. I reported it to Hydro-Tech, and the answer was the same again: it is municipal land, we will do nothing.
And he stressed: – Between 10 and 15 children aged 3–13 play in our housing estate. Does a tragedy have to happen for the authorities of our town to do something about it?
Andrzej Drąg, deputy mayor of Nowogrodziec:
The application to lower the manhole was sent by email to Hydro-Tech on 5 April 2021. An employee of the company visited the site and spoke with the applicant. The manhole does in fact protrude above the ground, but it is on the roadside shoulder and does not pose a safety risk to vehicular traffic. The entire shoulder has been raised, and the manhole has been there for several decades. It emerged from the conversation with the resident that he wants to create a parking space at this location, and that is the actual reason the manhole is a problem for him. The company employee informed the resident that the company would help lower the manhole to the level of the parking space, but he must first obtain the municipality’s consent to create the parking space and permission to carry out work within the road lane. Invoking children’s safety in this case is a far-reaching abuse of the argument.
And he added:
The Municipal Office in Nowogrodziec remains open to residents at all times, Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Only in April, due to a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections, was direct access to the office restricted. However, all letters could be submitted to the submission box in the office vestibule, or residents could make contact by telephone, email, ePUAP or fax. Direct access to an office employee was possible after making a telephone appointment.