Oil slicks on bike path

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

Hey!

The entirety of the bike path appears to be covered in oil. Like, all the way from cedar to davis square. And it was on the intersecting streets too.

Anyone have any idea what did that? I just... can't understand how that much oil got on a place cars don't go.

Comments

[veek.livejournal.com]

No idea, but I'm seeing it all over: Arlington, Cambridge, Boston. I wonder if there's some sort of oil in treatments people put on ice/snow. Would be weird, but we live in a strange world.

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

That's so weird! Crazy.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

is it a light sheen or a slick?

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

depends on where you are, but in most places it's a sheen. In some places there is definetly a thick amount.

[ron_newman]

A city snowplow with an oil leak? Worth a call to 311 if you haven't done so already.

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Calling now.

[ifotismeni]

there was an oil spill on 95S in lexington yesterday. i wouldn't doubt that car in transit have spread it all over and bikes from the street have carried it as well.

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

interesting!

Thanks for the heads up.

[ifotismeni]

yeah that's my working theory -- i drove from boston to stoneham and burlington this morning, stops along the way, and saw oil sheens *everywhere.* i know the oil spill yesterday was late afternoon and made the home commute a mess in general.

[ron_newman]

How did you hear about this (or were you caught in it)? I can't find anything online except one little mention in Lexington Patch.

[ifotismeni]

it was a front-page story yesterday on boston.com and i remember we were all sending around the link at work since most people take 95S home from here.

[ron_newman]

I tried searching boston.com just now for things like lexington oil spill and came up with nada.

[ifotismeni]

http://twitter.com/#!/BostonUpdate/status/34706253447954433

it didn't merit a full story. it was one of those alerts they run on the top of the page.

[ron_newman]

Thanks. I may drop a mention of this over to Universal Hub.

Edit: Done

[ifotismeni]

and yeah that is really weird that only patch has the story.

[ron_newman]

toddpage, could you please unlock this post? Make it readable to everyone and not just members (friends) of the davis_square community. I posted a link to it at Universal Hub and now people there are having trouble reading it. Thanks.

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

oop. didn't even realize it defaulted to otherwise.
sorry.

[ron_newman]

Thanks. I'm pretty sure the community default is 'everyone', but maybe it's copying your personal journal's default for some reason.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

livejournal goes by your own personal default. (since mine is friends only i always have to remember to change it when i post to communities.)

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

I've been seeing a lot of oil in snow melt puddles, all over the city, since before the oil spill mentioned above. Many cars drip oil -- just look at the parking lane on any street. The big snow piles held several weeks of oil.

I'm guessing the wet streets had oil mixed with the water, and it got carried onto the path by bike wheels.

[ron_newman]

Whatever it was, it's not there anymore. Either it evaporated, or it's mixed into the frozen water puddles.