During Thursday's Legal Committee meeting, chair Margaret Morris, with the help of council attorney Ken Dow, made it clear that she really wanted to get in order and on paper her proposal to raise the price of every parking ticket so that the council can vote on the proposal tonight and get the new ticket fees codified. There's a whole lot to say about the proposed increased initial fees and late fees (the latter is beyond absurd!), but I will just stick with one aspect of the fee overhaul and juxtapose it with reality on the ground.
The car above had just turned off of Park Place. Yes, it was stopped, though the two elderly pedestrians, while standing in the crosswalk, essentially got permission from the driver to resume their crossing of the street. Pedestrians attempting to communicate via eye contact with people behind the wheel and glass of a multi-ton vehicle, particularly those that are moving, is usually a challenge, never fun, not always successful, and often doesn't end well. Vehicles tend to have the upper hand in this ugly relationship that is regularly forced on pedestrians. My motto is, "You can't reason with a vehicle; you can only curse it. Don't assume it's going to stop."
On Wednesday at 9:10 am, inside the HPD station at 701 Union, I came across three people (two seated, one standing) waiting for someone behind the Parking Bureau window to lift the blind so that they could pay their parking tickets. None of them looked thrilled to be waiting and wondering. One woman was filling out an envelope to be put in the slot, having given up on the idea of handing her money to a human being. She didn't have a hard surface or clipboard to write on. 45 minutes later, the blind was up and the clerk was ready to accept money, questions, and complaints.
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At the 32-minute mark of the meeting, during a somewhat lengthy discussion about a recent incident in the 700 block of Warren Street involving a so-called first amendment auditor that got HPD's attention, committee chair Henry Haddad, apparently not quite sure what these "auditors" do or who they are, had a question for the others in the room who did know. Interrupting Dominic Merante, Henry asked, and I quote: "Is this one of those YouTube assholes... that comes up to you in public?"
Rest assured, though, because during last night's meeting of the so-called SAFETY Committee, Police Chief Franklin announced that Winter Walk will be back this year! Hoo-f'n-ray! That's right, the so-called SAFETY Committee found time to talk about Winter Walk 2027 but not about the epidemic of lawless, reckless, dangerous, and COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL ebikes and escooters on our streets and, especially, ON OUR SIDEWALKS. If the cracked or missing sidewalk don't get ya, an escooter or an ebike from behind will! Enjoy Winter Walk from your wheelchair (if you survive the "accident")!
I first noticed the strange wet problem on Spring Street on July 31st, nearly two months ago, if only because someone had marked it with spr...
