IN ANSWER TO RYAN SHELL'S POST:
Greensboro Should Strive to Provide Shelter for all Bus Stops
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It might be difficult to put a shelter at every bus stop. But every one should have a solid place for one's feet when they get off the bus and a bench on which to wait for a ride.
At some stops riders are forced to step off the bus onto muddy spots or wet grass and then either cross a wide street at mid-block or walk down a busy street or through tall weeds to cross at a congested intersection.
These problems should be addressed first. Safety at stops and the location of convenient stops and dry places to step on when alighting are important to riders.
These were items on my agenda when I ran for Greensboro City Council. I have mentioned them to GTA and City Council Members, GDOT and others for many years.
I have lived in Greensboro since 1971. We have not had adequate bus service in all the time I have lived here. Interest in improving transportation options has been on-and-off with Greensboro Government. I am glad that you will be joining me in working on these problems.
Showing posts with label Pet Peeves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pet Peeves. Show all posts
Reply to RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT
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A Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007 editorial in the News and Record Entitled Reckless Endangerment said:
"Part of the problem is a culture that still embraces alcohol abuse as a rite of passage. (In another eminently useless college ranking, the Princeton Review on Monday released the Top 10 'party' and 'stone-cold sober' schools.)"
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Another Part of the Problem is the practice of glamorizing alcohol use and encouraging college students to drink by encouraging them to attend events like the one planned in Downtown Greensboro on Sept. 8
"From 6-11pm, see free entertainment and sample food vendors, giveaway booths and two beer gardens selling Natty Greene’s and Budweiser beer.
From 7pm until 2am, downtown restaurants, bars and some retail shops will offer extended hours and special promotions for event attendees during Downtown After Dark.
Transportation is available through HEAT and GTA buses running as late as 3am and students of HEAT partner schools can ride for free using their student ID or a school issued HEAT fare card."
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Our society cannot continue to send two messages to our young people by speaking out against alcohol use and also continuing to make big money from the consumers of this deadly drug. I am not advocating making alcohol illegal. We know that doesn't work. Just stop promoting it's use as the best way to have a good time. Can one enjoy a sporting event sober? Can one enjoy a musical event sober? Can we have a street festival without having several beer gardens promoting locally brewed beer? I think so. Greensboro can do better.
See earlier post against Encouraging Students to drink in Greensboro.
A Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007 editorial in the News and Record Entitled Reckless Endangerment said:
"Part of the problem is a culture that still embraces alcohol abuse as a rite of passage. (In another eminently useless college ranking, the Princeton Review on Monday released the Top 10 'party' and 'stone-cold sober' schools.)"
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Another Part of the Problem is the practice of glamorizing alcohol use and encouraging college students to drink by encouraging them to attend events like the one planned in Downtown Greensboro on Sept. 8
"From 6-11pm, see free entertainment and sample food vendors, giveaway booths and two beer gardens selling Natty Greene’s and Budweiser beer.
From 7pm until 2am, downtown restaurants, bars and some retail shops will offer extended hours and special promotions for event attendees during Downtown After Dark.
Transportation is available through HEAT and GTA buses running as late as 3am and students of HEAT partner schools can ride for free using their student ID or a school issued HEAT fare card."
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Our society cannot continue to send two messages to our young people by speaking out against alcohol use and also continuing to make big money from the consumers of this deadly drug. I am not advocating making alcohol illegal. We know that doesn't work. Just stop promoting it's use as the best way to have a good time. Can one enjoy a sporting event sober? Can one enjoy a musical event sober? Can we have a street festival without having several beer gardens promoting locally brewed beer? I think so. Greensboro can do better.
See earlier post against Encouraging Students to drink in Greensboro.
Real Scoop on Parking Downtown
From the N&R Yesterday. "A subcommittee of city officials and merchants has been studying possible solutions since spring. The group plans to discuss its recommendations Tuesday with the full Downtown Development Advisory Committee. Then any proposals go before council for a vote."
Actually, city officials, DGI, merchants, property owners, big business and out-of-town consultants have been discussing parking problems in Downtown Greensboro for many years. The most recent series of discussions started when an out-of-town consultant arranged to talk to some of the people who are directly affected by parking.
I met with him. I was the only person who attended the meeting. The meeting was set up early so that working people could attend. The meeting was so early that I was not allowed into the City Hall because it was not open to the public yet. When I finally got in, the consultant and I talked about parking downtown for quite a while. I won't go into any details here, but several months later, I was surprised at what was presented to the Downtown Advisory Committee. It was not what I expected.
I attended several meetings where new parking regulations were discussed. Most of the suggestions were very helpful to the nighttime businesses that have been encouraged to make Greensboro Downtown the place to be at night.
Did you know that renting a parking space from the City of Greensboro, only guarantees you a place if you can find a vacant one in one particular lot or parking garking garage from 8am to 6pm. All other times all meters, city lots and garages have unlimited free parking for anyone.
So, what's the deal? Charge the people who work and shop downtown during the day, but let everyone park free at night.
WHAT ARE WE THINKING?
Here are some other thoughts about Downtown Parking (with some corrections in my spelling and grammar) that I posted on the Inside Scoop Blog earlier today.
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Eric,
The 30 minute passenger parking in loading zones was put into place for very short term parking to run in for a cup of coffee, take out food, make a delivery or to load up a purchase that would be a hassel to carry to the parking garage. At the time they were put in, parking in the garages was much more expensive than parking on the street (even if you got a ticket, the fine was less than parking half a day in any of the decks). It seemed like a fairly good idea at the time.
Delivery trucks are NOT as big a problem as some people think. There is plenty of room to drive on either side of even large trucks making deliveries to most nearby retail stores and restaurants.
I have suggested to the City Council and to the Downtown Advisory Board and to Downtown Greensboro Inc. that a good use of some of the extra tax money downtown property owners pay and/or a portion of sales tax paid on purchases in the Central City would be to have traffic cops in the downtown area during a few heavy traffic times to keep the traffic flowing at a reasonable pace.
REALLY ?? You didn't know that a portion of the county sales tax that is collected Downtown comes back to the quasi-judicial non-profit Downtown Greensboro Inc. A large portion of it used to clean up after the bar traffic and to maintain the Cement Park at Elm and Friendly.
My suggestion to use humans to direct traffic has fallen on deaf ears for many years. This solution was used in the "old days" and is used in congested areas of forward-looking cities and in our large, local shopping centers. I guess the shopping centers are trying to be customer friendly, which increases business.
Most of the people who "make the downtown rules" don't have a personal financial interest in downtown and don't seem to care about how hard the parking regulations are on merchants.
For at least the past 30 years, most of the changes in the Central Business District of Greensboro have done more to hurt the area than to help it.
Some of the things that have been done:
*Trying to turn downtown into an outdoor mall with no parking.
*Closing alleyways so that deliveries and maintenance could not be done from behind the buildings.
*Having no bus stops in the shopping/business district of Elm St.
*When city busses cross Elm Street, at Market, Washington, McGee and Lindsey streets, they don't stop to load or unload passengers.
*Having the HEAT (free student transportation vans) run a short loop by the bars two or three nights a week, but never close to daytime shopping.
*Raising the price of metered parking and installing meters that will not register any parking time on them until at least 25 cents has been put into the slot. So if you park for 5 minutes, you still pay for 30.
*Closing streets, making traffic heavier on those left open.
*Removing turn lanes and narrowing streets by extending sidewalks into traffic lanes.
*Installing medians which make auto, bike and pedestrian travel harder and more dangerous.
*Now, there is talk of moving the Visitors' Center from the Downtown area to inside the Coliseum.
I could go on and on, but it probably will not do any good. We need some good ideas about how to improve the downtown. What I meant to say is that we need some officials who will listen to good ideas and then act on them. There is much talk about helping and saving downtown and making it day and night friendly. What a bunch of rot.
I will attend the meeting Tuesday. The talk will not be driven by customers or small business owners.
There is one suggestion that does seems reasonable.
*Use the loading zones for taxi stands during certain hours at night so the drunks can get home safely.
I hope to see you at the meeting.
Actually, city officials, DGI, merchants, property owners, big business and out-of-town consultants have been discussing parking problems in Downtown Greensboro for many years. The most recent series of discussions started when an out-of-town consultant arranged to talk to some of the people who are directly affected by parking.
I met with him. I was the only person who attended the meeting. The meeting was set up early so that working people could attend. The meeting was so early that I was not allowed into the City Hall because it was not open to the public yet. When I finally got in, the consultant and I talked about parking downtown for quite a while. I won't go into any details here, but several months later, I was surprised at what was presented to the Downtown Advisory Committee. It was not what I expected.
I attended several meetings where new parking regulations were discussed. Most of the suggestions were very helpful to the nighttime businesses that have been encouraged to make Greensboro Downtown the place to be at night.
Did you know that renting a parking space from the City of Greensboro, only guarantees you a place if you can find a vacant one in one particular lot or parking garking garage from 8am to 6pm. All other times all meters, city lots and garages have unlimited free parking for anyone.
So, what's the deal? Charge the people who work and shop downtown during the day, but let everyone park free at night.
WHAT ARE WE THINKING?
Here are some other thoughts about Downtown Parking (with some corrections in my spelling and grammar) that I posted on the Inside Scoop Blog earlier today.
----------
Eric,
The 30 minute passenger parking in loading zones was put into place for very short term parking to run in for a cup of coffee, take out food, make a delivery or to load up a purchase that would be a hassel to carry to the parking garage. At the time they were put in, parking in the garages was much more expensive than parking on the street (even if you got a ticket, the fine was less than parking half a day in any of the decks). It seemed like a fairly good idea at the time.
Delivery trucks are NOT as big a problem as some people think. There is plenty of room to drive on either side of even large trucks making deliveries to most nearby retail stores and restaurants.
I have suggested to the City Council and to the Downtown Advisory Board and to Downtown Greensboro Inc. that a good use of some of the extra tax money downtown property owners pay and/or a portion of sales tax paid on purchases in the Central City would be to have traffic cops in the downtown area during a few heavy traffic times to keep the traffic flowing at a reasonable pace.
REALLY ?? You didn't know that a portion of the county sales tax that is collected Downtown comes back to the quasi-judicial non-profit Downtown Greensboro Inc. A large portion of it used to clean up after the bar traffic and to maintain the Cement Park at Elm and Friendly.
My suggestion to use humans to direct traffic has fallen on deaf ears for many years. This solution was used in the "old days" and is used in congested areas of forward-looking cities and in our large, local shopping centers. I guess the shopping centers are trying to be customer friendly, which increases business.
Most of the people who "make the downtown rules" don't have a personal financial interest in downtown and don't seem to care about how hard the parking regulations are on merchants.
For at least the past 30 years, most of the changes in the Central Business District of Greensboro have done more to hurt the area than to help it.
Some of the things that have been done:
*Trying to turn downtown into an outdoor mall with no parking.
*Closing alleyways so that deliveries and maintenance could not be done from behind the buildings.
*Having no bus stops in the shopping/business district of Elm St.
*When city busses cross Elm Street, at Market, Washington, McGee and Lindsey streets, they don't stop to load or unload passengers.
*Having the HEAT (free student transportation vans) run a short loop by the bars two or three nights a week, but never close to daytime shopping.
*Raising the price of metered parking and installing meters that will not register any parking time on them until at least 25 cents has been put into the slot. So if you park for 5 minutes, you still pay for 30.
*Closing streets, making traffic heavier on those left open.
*Removing turn lanes and narrowing streets by extending sidewalks into traffic lanes.
*Installing medians which make auto, bike and pedestrian travel harder and more dangerous.
*Now, there is talk of moving the Visitors' Center from the Downtown area to inside the Coliseum.
I could go on and on, but it probably will not do any good. We need some good ideas about how to improve the downtown. What I meant to say is that we need some officials who will listen to good ideas and then act on them. There is much talk about helping and saving downtown and making it day and night friendly. What a bunch of rot.
I will attend the meeting Tuesday. The talk will not be driven by customers or small business owners.
There is one suggestion that does seems reasonable.
*Use the loading zones for taxi stands during certain hours at night so the drunks can get home safely.
I hope to see you at the meeting.
Traffic NO-NO
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I love crosswords. They are an exercise in thinking about things in different ways. Yesterday I was working on the crossword puzzle in the Saturday edition of the News and Record. I found the answer to one of the clues doesn't apply to Greensboro. The clue was "a traffic no-no." The answer was UTURN.
In Greensboro and in many other cities nowadays, it is almost impossible to drive anywhere without at least one U-turn. These annoying medians that are using up transportation funds that could be used in better ways are causing many U-turns. Many are made around medians that are not wide enough to accomodate the full length of an average-size passenger vehicle.
It seems to me that the medians would cause more accidents and traffic back-ups. And while I am on the traffic track, I have some comments on red light traffic cameras. I think they are a good idea. The money trail could be worked out. I think that one of the main reasons the traffic light program failed is not because of a law that most of the profits have to go to schools. I think that one reason the program failed is because offenders had to pay first and appeal later. Because the fine was relatively small, and there was no violation record to increase insurance costs, there was very little incentive to hire a lawyer and no profits for insurance companies. Lawyers and Insurance Companies hate that.
The NC legislature could change the law to bring back traffic cameras by allowing a better distribution of the fines. I guess that the law-makers in NC are too busy taking care of trivia and campaign fund-raising to even think about doing much useful work.
I love crosswords. They are an exercise in thinking about things in different ways. Yesterday I was working on the crossword puzzle in the Saturday edition of the News and Record. I found the answer to one of the clues doesn't apply to Greensboro. The clue was "a traffic no-no." The answer was UTURN.
In Greensboro and in many other cities nowadays, it is almost impossible to drive anywhere without at least one U-turn. These annoying medians that are using up transportation funds that could be used in better ways are causing many U-turns. Many are made around medians that are not wide enough to accomodate the full length of an average-size passenger vehicle.
It seems to me that the medians would cause more accidents and traffic back-ups. And while I am on the traffic track, I have some comments on red light traffic cameras. I think they are a good idea. The money trail could be worked out. I think that one of the main reasons the traffic light program failed is not because of a law that most of the profits have to go to schools. I think that one reason the program failed is because offenders had to pay first and appeal later. Because the fine was relatively small, and there was no violation record to increase insurance costs, there was very little incentive to hire a lawyer and no profits for insurance companies. Lawyers and Insurance Companies hate that.
The NC legislature could change the law to bring back traffic cameras by allowing a better distribution of the fines. I guess that the law-makers in NC are too busy taking care of trivia and campaign fund-raising to even think about doing much useful work.
Practice What You Preach
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A letter from Greensboro citizen Ed Keohohou in July 12, 2007 Greensboro N&R states:
Candidate for city office should purchase locally
"How can anyone run for City Council at large and make claims that he will support the city of Greensboro, but take his graphic business out of state? Not only out of Greensboro and Guilford County, but out of state. That's an insult to the business community. Go figure, people."
My comment on the N&R website:
Thank you Ed for your comment. Much lip service is paid to supporting local businesses by candidates for city council and also by sitting members of the council.
All of my promotional materials were purchased locally when I ran for Greensboro City Council. Having been a small business owner for over 25 years, I understand the importance of buying locally. I practice what I preach.
Thank you again for your support of local businesses.
A letter from Greensboro citizen Ed Keohohou in July 12, 2007 Greensboro N&R states:
Candidate for city office should purchase locally
"How can anyone run for City Council at large and make claims that he will support the city of Greensboro, but take his graphic business out of state? Not only out of Greensboro and Guilford County, but out of state. That's an insult to the business community. Go figure, people."
My comment on the N&R website:
Thank you Ed for your comment. Much lip service is paid to supporting local businesses by candidates for city council and also by sitting members of the council.
All of my promotional materials were purchased locally when I ran for Greensboro City Council. Having been a small business owner for over 25 years, I understand the importance of buying locally. I practice what I preach.
Thank you again for your support of local businesses.
If YOU'RE Blogging YOUR Ignorance of English
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I understand that blogging is not a class in grammar or spelling. Bloggers write and are read because of their ideas and their willingness to state their news and opinions for the whole world to see. I admire bloggers who are willing to have on-line, on-the-record conversations.
Now, for my criticism: I am a bit embarrassed by the use of YOUR to mean You Are. YOUR is not a contraction. It is a possessive pronoun. YOU'RE is a contraction meaning YOU ARE. I cringe when I read YOUR used incorrectly on some of my favorite blogs.
We all (or most of us) make gramatical and spelling mistakes. This happens when we are typing too fast or when we don't proof read or even if we do, it is hard to proof our own wok. I'm not complaining about gettomg diingers on the wrong jeys. Oops, I mean fingers on the wrong keys. I'm not complaining about long, run-on sentences or lots of things we do to try and make our point. But this YOUR and YOU'RE thing really bugs me.
I hope this criticism is taken as constructive, not mean-spirited. And for anybody who cares, I know I make lots of mistakes; but, confusing your with you're is not one of them. I also know the difference between there, their and they're.
For more on this subject try English-Zone.com
I understand that blogging is not a class in grammar or spelling. Bloggers write and are read because of their ideas and their willingness to state their news and opinions for the whole world to see. I admire bloggers who are willing to have on-line, on-the-record conversations.
Now, for my criticism: I am a bit embarrassed by the use of YOUR to mean You Are. YOUR is not a contraction. It is a possessive pronoun. YOU'RE is a contraction meaning YOU ARE. I cringe when I read YOUR used incorrectly on some of my favorite blogs.
We all (or most of us) make gramatical and spelling mistakes. This happens when we are typing too fast or when we don't proof read or even if we do, it is hard to proof our own wok. I'm not complaining about gettomg diingers on the wrong jeys. Oops, I mean fingers on the wrong keys. I'm not complaining about long, run-on sentences or lots of things we do to try and make our point. But this YOUR and YOU'RE thing really bugs me.
I hope this criticism is taken as constructive, not mean-spirited. And for anybody who cares, I know I make lots of mistakes; but, confusing your with you're is not one of them. I also know the difference between there, their and they're.
For more on this subject try English-Zone.com
Good Leader Should Just Say NO!
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In a Counterpoint Piece in Jan 6, 2007 News & Record Greensboro City Council member Tom Phillips wrote "Sometimes leadership requires saying 'no'."
I agree with that statement. I also think that Mr. Phillips should have added that our elected officials should just say NO to corporate welfare and greedy real estate developers who masquerade behind the term "economic development."
See N&R @ http://blog.news-record.com/staff/letters/
In a Counterpoint Piece in Jan 6, 2007 News & Record Greensboro City Council member Tom Phillips wrote "Sometimes leadership requires saying 'no'."
I agree with that statement. I also think that Mr. Phillips should have added that our elected officials should just say NO to corporate welfare and greedy real estate developers who masquerade behind the term "economic development."
See N&R @ http://blog.news-record.com/staff/letters/
Bond Issue Issues
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I am not satisfied by media reported reasons to vote for or against bond issues on the November ballot. Some of these reports resemble news releases for new products on the market or one-sided public relations announcements from corporations or celebrities.
The famous Roman Forum was a public meeting place and marketplace. So, I suppose that a place to sell an idea or a slate of bond issues is a function of a marketplace; therefore, one function of a forum. A marketplace is where people pick and choose what they will buy from among the many offerings.
There are several forums about the eleven proposed bond issues. Are speakers from both sides of the issues being invited to speak? Will different opinions be expressed? Will questions be answered accurately? Will moderators be neutral? I truly hope so.
If there are speakers for the eleven Bond Issues on the ballot in Guilford County in November, should there also be speakers against some of the Bond Issues? Everyone has a vested interest in these outrageous expenses being proposed. Some of them are only necessary because of irresponsible monetary and fiscal policies of government. Some are wants, not really needs of our area. Some can enhance the quality of life here, others will not.
.
Whether to authorize or not to authorize Municipal Bond sales (borrowing money to be paid back by tax revenues) should be decided by a well-informed public, based on the good of the community as a whole, as well as personal interest.
If you want to pay more taxes for a project that you think would benefit our community, then do so. If there are others that you feel are essential services that should be provided by government, and you think that there is no good way to fund them under current tax rates, then vote for those bonds.
Some questions to ask before voting:
Is tax money currently being spent wisely?
How will the proposed bond money be spent?
What is the actual texts of the proposed bond issues?
Will the bond issue money be supplemented by general revenues?
Will some of the projects be worked into the general budget, even if not funded by bonds?
What are the restrictions on spending certain bond money?
How long will it take to pay-off the bonds?
Who is providing space for public forums?
Who is speaking at public forums and how are they chosen?
A forum about bond issues should be a place for taxpayers to exchange their views and receive relevant information. A forum should not be a session where citizens are force fed reasons to vote for tax increases by representatives who have vested interests in some of the referendum issues at hand or a coalition of such groups.
I am not encouraging anyone to vote only on pocketbook issues, but a thinking public cannot continue to reward bad spending decisions by increasing the allowance of government. Think about it.
forum
A public place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.
coalition
An alliance or union, especially a temporary one. A temporary alliance for combined action.
vested interest
A personal stake or involvement in an undertaking or state of affairs, especially one with an expectation of financial gain. A person or group having such a personal stake or involvement.
I am not satisfied by media reported reasons to vote for or against bond issues on the November ballot. Some of these reports resemble news releases for new products on the market or one-sided public relations announcements from corporations or celebrities.
The famous Roman Forum was a public meeting place and marketplace. So, I suppose that a place to sell an idea or a slate of bond issues is a function of a marketplace; therefore, one function of a forum. A marketplace is where people pick and choose what they will buy from among the many offerings.
There are several forums about the eleven proposed bond issues. Are speakers from both sides of the issues being invited to speak? Will different opinions be expressed? Will questions be answered accurately? Will moderators be neutral? I truly hope so.
If there are speakers for the eleven Bond Issues on the ballot in Guilford County in November, should there also be speakers against some of the Bond Issues? Everyone has a vested interest in these outrageous expenses being proposed. Some of them are only necessary because of irresponsible monetary and fiscal policies of government. Some are wants, not really needs of our area. Some can enhance the quality of life here, others will not.
.
Whether to authorize or not to authorize Municipal Bond sales (borrowing money to be paid back by tax revenues) should be decided by a well-informed public, based on the good of the community as a whole, as well as personal interest.
If you want to pay more taxes for a project that you think would benefit our community, then do so. If there are others that you feel are essential services that should be provided by government, and you think that there is no good way to fund them under current tax rates, then vote for those bonds.
Some questions to ask before voting:
Is tax money currently being spent wisely?
How will the proposed bond money be spent?
What is the actual texts of the proposed bond issues?
Will the bond issue money be supplemented by general revenues?
Will some of the projects be worked into the general budget, even if not funded by bonds?
What are the restrictions on spending certain bond money?
How long will it take to pay-off the bonds?
Who is providing space for public forums?
Who is speaking at public forums and how are they chosen?
A forum about bond issues should be a place for taxpayers to exchange their views and receive relevant information. A forum should not be a session where citizens are force fed reasons to vote for tax increases by representatives who have vested interests in some of the referendum issues at hand or a coalition of such groups.
I am not encouraging anyone to vote only on pocketbook issues, but a thinking public cannot continue to reward bad spending decisions by increasing the allowance of government. Think about it.
forum
A public place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.
coalition
An alliance or union, especially a temporary one. A temporary alliance for combined action.
vested interest
A personal stake or involvement in an undertaking or state of affairs, especially one with an expectation of financial gain. A person or group having such a personal stake or involvement.
A stupid rant from me
As I was driving home this morning from Downtown Greensboro, I turned onto Adams Street. It is a little street in my neighborhood that gets more traffic than it should for such a narrow street. It wasn’t used much until the crazies in the so-called neighborhood association conned the GDOT people into putting up a traffic barrier at East Lake Dr. and Friendly Ave. The barrier, which was built after McIver Street was realigned to help traffic leaving the UNCG parking deck, prevents traffic from crossing Friendly on East Lake. The ugly cement barrier helps to divert traffic through the neighborhood and onto Adams. The traffic barrier was a really stupid way for the city to waste money.
Anyway, as I turned onto Adams Street I saw a small car entering the street at the other end of the block. Being a good southern girl, I stopped my vehicle, checked behind me and backed close to the curb behind some parked cars. I figure the man driving the approaching car was either mad at his wife or he didn’t grow up in the Greensboro area or probably anywhere south of here, with the possible exceptions of Florida, Atlanta and Charlotte.
I think this because he did not even acknowledge that I had gone out of my way to allow him to pass on this narrow street. He didn’t look at me, he didn’t smile, he didn’t wave, he didn’t even nod. He just proceeded past me as if he owned the street and I didn’t exist.
I know that there are many people who are good, safe, thoughtful drivers in our town. I know that all the butt-heads aren’t from afar. Some have learned good driving manners since they moved here, some may even have brought good manners with them.
Maybe some people are just distracted and don’t think about how rude they are on the road. And some just take out their frustrations on strangers. Whatever reason others have for being rude, it is their problem. I will continue to try and over look their ignorance. I will be a polite driver and I will continue to acknowledge a fellow traveler who shows courteous behavior on the road. I promise.
BTW: I am also considerate of pedestrians and bike riders who are not always following good safety practices.
I’m finished now. Thank you for letting me take out my frustration with rude drivers at my computer, and not while driving.
Anyway, as I turned onto Adams Street I saw a small car entering the street at the other end of the block. Being a good southern girl, I stopped my vehicle, checked behind me and backed close to the curb behind some parked cars. I figure the man driving the approaching car was either mad at his wife or he didn’t grow up in the Greensboro area or probably anywhere south of here, with the possible exceptions of Florida, Atlanta and Charlotte.
I think this because he did not even acknowledge that I had gone out of my way to allow him to pass on this narrow street. He didn’t look at me, he didn’t smile, he didn’t wave, he didn’t even nod. He just proceeded past me as if he owned the street and I didn’t exist.
I know that there are many people who are good, safe, thoughtful drivers in our town. I know that all the butt-heads aren’t from afar. Some have learned good driving manners since they moved here, some may even have brought good manners with them.
Maybe some people are just distracted and don’t think about how rude they are on the road. And some just take out their frustrations on strangers. Whatever reason others have for being rude, it is their problem. I will continue to try and over look their ignorance. I will be a polite driver and I will continue to acknowledge a fellow traveler who shows courteous behavior on the road. I promise.
BTW: I am also considerate of pedestrians and bike riders who are not always following good safety practices.
I’m finished now. Thank you for letting me take out my frustration with rude drivers at my computer, and not while driving.
ugly, illegal signs
I was pleasantly surprised tonight at the Greensboro City Council meeting. Several members of the council brought up one of my pet peeves. The ugly commercial signs that adorn utility poles and invade right of way spaces all around the city. I have complained about these for several years.
After some discussion about who is responsible for removing the signs and citing the offenders, the Council asked City Attorney Linda Miles to look into the possibility of doing more than just having the illegally posted signs removed by city workers.
I hope the city staff follows up on this and does more to stop the practice. Every one of the signs has contact information on it, but apparently when city staff called the numbers listed, the folks who answered the phone would not identify themselves. I would think that it would not be hard to find out who pays the bill for a listed number. Who would put contact information on a sign and then not identify themselves when called? Sounds like a shady deal to me.
The other thing that made me happy was that a paper towel dispenser has been installed in the ladies room on the second floor (city council chamber floor). Now I have a choice of using the hot air drying machine or drying my hands with a real towel. Up until this time, I have carried a hanky or paper towel with me to City Council meetings.
After some discussion about who is responsible for removing the signs and citing the offenders, the Council asked City Attorney Linda Miles to look into the possibility of doing more than just having the illegally posted signs removed by city workers.
I hope the city staff follows up on this and does more to stop the practice. Every one of the signs has contact information on it, but apparently when city staff called the numbers listed, the folks who answered the phone would not identify themselves. I would think that it would not be hard to find out who pays the bill for a listed number. Who would put contact information on a sign and then not identify themselves when called? Sounds like a shady deal to me.
The other thing that made me happy was that a paper towel dispenser has been installed in the ladies room on the second floor (city council chamber floor). Now I have a choice of using the hot air drying machine or drying my hands with a real towel. Up until this time, I have carried a hanky or paper towel with me to City Council meetings.
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