By Sylvia Gurinsky
“No further inspections are usually done on properties after they have been issued a certificate of occupancy,” said Woodling, who added this is common practice for the city.
She said only a complaint would have brought out inspectors.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 29, 2009
That's what Catherine Woodling, a spokesperson for Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, said yesterday after part of a parking garage collapsed yesterday in the city. Here's a link to the whole article, by Leon Stafford:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2009/06/29/parking_garage_inspected.html
How does a facility that welcomes, theoretically, tens of thousands of moving vehicles of varying sizes each year not warrant at least a quarterly inspection? Hasn't Atlanta's Bureau of Buildings ever heard of the term "wear and tear"?
On top of that is the news that Hardin Construction, which was fined $6,300 for a role in last December's collapse of a bridge at the Atlanta Botanical Garden that killed one person and injured 18 others, oversaw this parking garage as well. Subcontractor Metromont Corporation did the construction work on the garage.
Franklin and the City Council must take the next step. Pending an investigation, they need to suspend Hardin's work, and possibly Metromont's as well, on any municipal projects.
Franklin and the City Council also need to take a look at the building inspection process - apparently, to create one. Especially now, there's no excuse for not having follow-up inspections.
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1 comment:
Have to agree with you, it seems like common sense to me. A parking garage is a building structure that gets more wear and tear and weight bearing on each level than most buildings. Maybe this will bring about a change?
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