Douglas is full of jacked up four-wheel drive pickups, SUVs, and Jeeps. They look nice. They should be offroad machines. But they’re no match for the Central Square Spike, a protrusion at the corner of Bryan Street and Madison Avenue between City Hall and Central Square Complex.
The Spike, as we at the Golden Peanut have come to call it, is a result of the Bryan Street water line project that began in December of last year. The project took several months to complete and caused traffic problems on Bryan and Pearl Avenue while it was being completed.
The road is open but the project left its mark. The biggest reminder is the cap sticking up out of the road. It’s mostly out of the way but people do weird things while driving and there’s not doubt it’s been hit since completion. Recently, a few social media posts have mentioned it. The Spike poses a potential problem for vehicles, even the pseudo-offroad parking lot princesses that look tough but have never seen anything more than a big pothole.
The Spike brings to mind another manmade obstacle in the city limits — the Bo Jo Ella Bump. The Bump is a manhole that sticks out of the ground on the right of way on the Westgreen Highway at Bo Jo Ella Drive. There’s no telling how many bicycles have crashed at night on the Bump. It’s also a sure bet that people have tripped and fallen over the Bump as they walk up and down the highway.
Be careful if you’re driving on Bryan Street near the Central Square Spike. Be equally careful if, for whatever reason, you need to walk along the Westgreen Highway around Bo Jo Ella. Both the Spike and the Bump could ruin your day.