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Tree crews
blocking lane
need permit

Question: A tree-trimming crew was working along Pacific Heights Road recently. The truck was stationary and blocking an entire lane when I passed it several times each day. It was impossible to see around it and determine whether cars were coming. Most times I drove past, there was no one directing traffic, so drivers were forced to go blindly into the oncoming lane of traffic. Aren't crews working along, and blocking, city streets required to have someone directing traffic?

Answer: In this case, yes.

"Any time someone blocks any portion of the City and County right of way -- a sidewalk or roadway -- they do need to come in for a street usage permit," said Ty Fukumitsu, a traffic engineer with the city Department of Transportation Services.

Depending on the job and the scope of work, the permit holder probably would be required to hire police officers or provide some kind of traffic control for safety, he said.

Traffic control measures include putting up cones or advance-warning signs.

With the information you provided, Fukumitsu checked the department's computerized databank and found that the company did have a permit to work along Pacific Heights Road.

"The contractor had to provide traffic control in that area as part of the permit requirements," he said, adding, "I shall take care of that problem."

For similar complaints or questions in the future, call DTS at 527-6009.

"We do spot-check" to make sure that permit requirements are being followed, Fukumitsu said, "but there are thousands of permits out, so obviously we can't catch everything."

Q: Where does one go to have a passport photo taken? Can we go to any photographer, or are there selected studios that one must go to?

A: You can go anywhere or have anyone take your photo -- with the exception of photo vending machines -- but make sure the photographer knows what's required.

The State Department has strict requirements for passport photos. Among them:

You must submit two 2-by-2-inch identical photographs of yourself, taken within the past six months and showing your current appearance. The photos must be in color, showing your full face, front view, against a plain white or off-white background.

You must be dressed in normal street attire, unless it's religious attire worn daily -- and you cannot wear any headgear that obscures your hair or hairline.

Prescription glasses, hearing aids, wigs, etc., normally worn should be worn. Dark or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are taboo unless needed medically. In that case a medical certificate might be required.

The photos should be printed on thin photo-quality paper. Digital photos are allowed but should probably be processed by a professional lab because home printers might not provide the image quality required. Only original photographs are accepted.

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